Things have changed.
There used to be a time when I would approach a trip in a blasé manner, insouciantly setting off with the biggest lens that I had and a back up lens which I strictly viewed as exactly that – a back up.
It's different now. I became a lot more serious about my photography. I started going for a lot more trips. Phototrips can be expensive and the old, familiar quest for RoI reared its head up, even if the corporate world has been left far behind in the dust of life's journey.
I am not cribbing. I thoroughly enjoy the whole process of planning and getting ready for a trip. Yeah...as some of my friends insist, I am wired weirdly.
So, here goes…this is what I typically do in the months before I leave for a trip.
The Research :
I trawl the internet for content of the place that I will be going to, of the subjects that I will be photographing. I go through countless videos to get a sense of what to expect, to study the images captured in that trip. I specifically look for content that has been made around the same month or season that I would be traveling in to get a better idea of the environment.
This helps me get a very good idea of what images appeal to me.
Which are the images that ‘speak ’ to me ?
How does it move me ?
Would I love to take similar images ?
If yes, I keep a separate folder of these images. The whole idea is to be able to identify an opportunity, to take a similar image, in the field at the earliest. That becomes a lot easier if these images are seared in my mind.
On the left is Rachel Bigsby's - a wonderfully talented photographer - image. I loved it and I was constantly looking for such an opportunity and created the image on the right when I saw the chance
This is different from copying, btw. In the wild you will never get exactly the same scene. This is an exercise by which you are more aware of what you like and what you would want to create.
For example, once I had seen this image on the left by Trevor Cole and loved the powerful imagery in it. In Amboseli, while waiting for some wild subjects, we noticed goats being taken back home.
Trevor Cole's image on the left was a great capture of light and dust. Having that image in my memory helped me see an opportunity while waiting for wilder subjects in Amboseli ( image on right )
( If this topic interests you...check out Steal like an Artist by Austin Kleon )
Let me give you another example.
At Amboseli, the typical image that one really searches for is that long line of elephants trudging across the dry lake bed. However, in my research, I had also seen a few extreme tight shots of elephants that I just loved. I wanted to take similar images and was always looking for those opportunities, even if the more obvious and natural thing to do will be to take a wide angle shot of the entire herd.
The wide angle view of a line of elephants is the shot one aims for, but I had seen a few tight shots
that I loved and was constantly keeping an eye out for opportunities
It doesn’t always pay off. But, if you don’t identify an opportunity and go for it, you will never have a chance at all.
The Goals :
Once I am somewhere along the road of clarity of the images I would like, I start putting down my goals from the trip.
This is a list of specific shots that I have pre visualized.
I write in detail about how I would want to compose the image, where the subject will be in the frame, will it be a tight shot or a wide one etc. I try to be clear about the emotion that I want to convey. Some people actually sketch their shots as part of their pre visualization exercise. Whatever works to ensure that you are able to identify an opportunity early.
I try to also put down themes that I would like to go after. My process is a simplistic one right now. I identify themes that I would keep in mind for a trip. Ideally, I should think of themes cutting across trips, small projects that can go on for a fair bit of time. At the moment though, I am struggling with identifying any such project, so the simplistic way has to do.
To give you an example, for my first trip to Svalbard, one of the themes that I had in my list was – Insignificance. I wanted to evoke a sense of awe about the magnificence that is the Arctic.
This is one of the images that I shot since the thought of the theme was running in my head. This polar bear was rather close but I went wide and tried to include the spectacular background too to give a sense of not only its environment but also the majesty, the sheer scale of it, which can render a rather huge subject so tiny.
When you see a polar bear, the instinct would be to take a close up shot. But one of my themes was 'Insignificance.'That aim led me to create the second image
In my last trip to Mara, I had wanted to take images that convey the sprawling vastness of the place and the wide open skies. The seeming endlessness about it. I saw these two opportunities with the Black Rock pride which would allow me to try to meet that goal.
These two images were framed with the sole purpose of showcasing the spread of the Mara landscape. The second scene would traditionally get ignored since the animals had their back to us.
But because my subject was the spread of the land, I saw an opportunity using the lions as a reference
The Gear :
The choice of the gear will naturally depend on the goals. I have narrowed my choice of lens to three – a wide angle, a zoom and a prime lens.
The wide angle lens that I go for is a 24-70, the zoom is a 70-200 and the prime used to be a 600, which I have now replaced with a smaller and lighter 400. I must confess the weight of the 600 notwithstanding, I do miss the clarity and the bokeh it provided.
However, there will be different types of trips or different types of goals that I have, which might require different lens. I then rent out the lens that I need. For example, when I went to Goa last year, I needed a macro lens that I don’t own. Or, when I went to Hornoya, I knew there will be opportunities to go really wide and I rented a 14-24 mm lens.
I had rented a wide angle lens and that helped me take this image of all the birds flying overhead
while keeping the stationary European Shag as the anchor
Ideally, I would like to have each lens with a camera body and avoid changing lens on the field.
Changing lens in the field is just too painful. I end up constantly worrying about making a choice and losing an opportunity after I make the choice. Like the example of the elephants I had mentioned earlier, there was an opportunity for both a wide angle shot and a tight one. Having only one camera body for the two different lenses that I need, might mean that I miss an opportunity for a tight shot if I have the wide angle lens kitted, or the other way around. It can be maddening. Sometimes, its just difficult to change lens. When you are in a Zodiac, bobbing about, in sub zero temperatures, changing lens isn’t a prospect you welcome.
Unfortunately, the gear list doesn’t stop there.
You will need hard drives ( one main, one back up ), you will need memory cards, card readers, spare batteries, battery chargers for charging all the number of things that have to be charged, universal adaptors, laptop, laptop charger, lens cleaning kit…drone if that is allowed...phew.
Unfortunately, most camera bodies have totally different batteries and hence every camera body will need a spare battery and a separate battery charger. Rather painful.
Some of the stuff I packed for my last trip to the Arctic
This is also where I inevitably screw up. I have gone on trips without the right card reader. Or the battery charger. I have even gone on a trip without the hood for a lens. To poke your lens without a hood, out of a tent while it is snowing outside, is a trifle unwise.
I have listened to a friend’s wise counsel and now ‘Hood’ is separately added to my list of things to carry. ( I might still screw up, I am extremely capable that way )
The Clothing :
This is absolutely critical as the wrong, inadequate or insufficient choices can hurt.
You really would not want to have the wrong gear when you are planning to be in sub zero temperatures. Also, in most places you do tend to set out rather early in the day it can be quite cool or cold at those times. Its wise to check the weather, the temperatures and the highs and the lows.
How warm should your jacket be ? What sort of inner warm clothing would you require ? Would you need a buff to cover your face as a protection against dust ? Or the wind ?
What sort of gloves would you need if you are going to the colder places ? Would you still be able to hold your camera and navigate your fingers over the controls ? Would the touch screen respond to the touch of a gloved fingers ? Would you require inner gloves ? Spare ones ?
What about boots ? And socks ? Or would sandals suffice ? Would crampons be needed ? I remember I was foolhardy enough to believe that I can do without crampons when we had gone to Norway. Fortunately, I bought one just before we left for Hornoya. I can’t imagine how I would have managed in the snow there without crampons !
Fortunately, some stuff could be rented locally...like these insulation suits we had to wear in Batsfjord
( a lady we met on the bus to Batsfjord exclaimed incredulously...
" You are going to Batsfjord now to photograph ducks ??? You must be insane !! )
Will it rain ? Rain jackets, rain pants for yourself, rain covers for the lens then.
Well...not only rain but if we have to lie down on wet and muddy ground !!!
How many spare pants and T shirts and underclothing do you take ? That’s a big problem area for me. I am an incorrigible over-packer. I prepare for back ups and back ups for back ups. The last two years have been a constant, conscious battle to go lighter.
I think I have marginally improved, but …there are those who still roll their eyes at my luggage. Rather unappreciative, my friends.
The Refresher :
This, definitely is the most inefficient item on my list.
Sadly, I don’t pick up the camera much in between trips. Which is just an extremely dumb thing to do, but that is how it has been. And hence, before every trip, I spend some time with my different cameras, just going over the controls, the settings, a little refresher so that I don’t run the risk of forgetting and struggle in the field.
An item that needs to get knocked off from the list. Some day.
Phew…well, by the time all this is done…it’s time to leave.
The most important point to keep in mind, however – a good photo is a bonus.
To enjoy the good fortune to be out there with these gorgeous creatures in the small sliver that is their home, should always be most important !
And yes...if I am thinking about all this and writing about it..., it is cos I am about to set off on a trip !
Yay !!!
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Very useful insights.