I’ve been blessed to be able to travel the world and capture countless moments of the beauty and intrigue of our natural world for over a decade now. I’ve seen and accomplished more than I could have ever dreamed of. I’ve dealt with highs and lows, and moments more stunning than my dreams. I’ve been robbed thrice, yet found more kindness in humanity than I knew existed. I’ve had weather take out my gear, and I’ve had lenses come crashing down from mountainsides I was climbing. I’ve had hard drives die, and precious images forever lost. But I’ve learned that no matter the photographic result, my heart and mind has been changed for the better, always, with every trip I’ve ever made.
For this feature, I’ve teamed up with WD to assist me in my explorations…
For this feature, I’ve teamed up with WD to assist me in my explorations…
As a travel photographer, you must lug your gear into a location, typically explore wildly and without a fully-formed plan or path, all in the hopes of capturing that perfect iconic image. Then it’s all up to you to be sure that image makes it back to civilization so you can share it with the greater population. But sometimes, it’s not that easy. Sometimes, things happen. And sometimes, the worst thing happens.
I’ve been robbed three times in my travels, and the worst was in Puerto Rico where while hiking in the rainforest, I had my rental car windows busted and my entire pack stolen. Not only did I lose my hard drives, but my money, passport, toiletries, clothing, and other personal effects were taken. I was stranded without my things, and without my gear, and worst of all, or so it felt to me at the time, without the photos I worked so hard to capture days before. Not only have I learned to be more creative with my hiding spots, but I now carry small, lightweight hard drives on me at all times, and I stuff them full of my latest photos that haven’t been saved in the cloud. Thinking back now, I could have taken the time to seek out internet in one of the small villages prior to my venturing into the rainforest, but at the time, I took my chances and ended up paying for it.
Now, having learned from that experience, as well as a few other experiences of gear breaking or weather intervening, I choose my portable/external drives more carefully. I always carry a lightweight, small hard drive on my person, like WD’s My Passport Go, which is a fast, drop-resistant (up to 2 meters) solid state drive that’s made for the roaming tech traveler. I also carry multiple other hard drives, each mirroring the original. I really like the My Passport Ultra for Mac, which is a tough hard drive with a ton of space. It’s housed in a refined metal cover, giving it a sleek look and a strong shell to help weather the worst the wild world can throw at you. Well, mostly. I tend to also outfit my larger hard drives with padding in waterproof sacks.
I’ve been robbed three times in my travels, and the worst was in Puerto Rico where while hiking in the rainforest, I had my rental car windows busted and my entire pack stolen. Not only did I lose my hard drives, but my money, passport, toiletries, clothing, and other personal effects were taken. I was stranded without my things, and without my gear, and worst of all, or so it felt to me at the time, without the photos I worked so hard to capture days before. Not only have I learned to be more creative with my hiding spots, but I now carry small, lightweight hard drives on me at all times, and I stuff them full of my latest photos that haven’t been saved in the cloud. Thinking back now, I could have taken the time to seek out internet in one of the small villages prior to my venturing into the rainforest, but at the time, I took my chances and ended up paying for it.
Now, having learned from that experience, as well as a few other experiences of gear breaking or weather intervening, I choose my portable/external drives more carefully. I always carry a lightweight, small hard drive on my person, like WD’s My Passport Go, which is a fast, drop-resistant (up to 2 meters) solid state drive that’s made for the roaming tech traveler. I also carry multiple other hard drives, each mirroring the original. I really like the My Passport Ultra for Mac, which is a tough hard drive with a ton of space. It’s housed in a refined metal cover, giving it a sleek look and a strong shell to help weather the worst the wild world can throw at you. Well, mostly. I tend to also outfit my larger hard drives with padding in waterproof sacks.
Other things to consider when you’re a travel photographer, who bounces between working in a home office and spending lengths of time on the road and in the sky, is you must balance your must take gear with the burden. I like to feel free when I’m searching for the best shot. I don’t like to have to think about or lug around loads of gear, luggage and packs. So I bring the basics, with a few backups as I mentioned prior, and I hope for the best. There’s nothing worst than being overburdened when you’re trying to explore the wilderness to find wildlife and other beautiful spectacles.
I simplify, and take one rucksack, fill it with 1-2 camera bodies (depending on the goal of the shoot and the terrain), 2 lenses, 3-4 hard drives, 2-3 changes of clothes, some survival gear, and that’s about it. This allows me to be vigilant in my exploring, with the capability of moving quick and free to wander, without burdening myself with too much weight, or too many pieces of luggage. Some photographers take entire crews with them, but I like the marriage between my travel experience and the world around me, as to create more authentic and inspired content.
If you would like to learn more about WD’s digital storage solutions, click here.
(Main photo by rubenv via Flickr)
Disclaimer: Product for this post was provided by WD. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions of WD.
I simplify, and take one rucksack, fill it with 1-2 camera bodies (depending on the goal of the shoot and the terrain), 2 lenses, 3-4 hard drives, 2-3 changes of clothes, some survival gear, and that’s about it. This allows me to be vigilant in my exploring, with the capability of moving quick and free to wander, without burdening myself with too much weight, or too many pieces of luggage. Some photographers take entire crews with them, but I like the marriage between my travel experience and the world around me, as to create more authentic and inspired content.
If you would like to learn more about WD’s digital storage solutions, click here.
(Main photo by rubenv via Flickr)
Disclaimer: Product for this post was provided by WD. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions of WD.
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