On Assignment: A look inside My Mountain Biking Photo Bag

I am packing now for a job next week in Western Australia. I am excited about this trip because it will be my first time in that country. Deciding what photo gear to bring for this shoot is tricky because the assignment includes a week of pedaling 400 km off pavement on trails with no support vehicle. Will I ever I do a photo assignment that was actually easy? The big challenge on this assignment is I will have to carry all my own gear. My solution is

to carry minimum clothes and camp gear (you don't want to stand too close to me after day 4) and carry my stuff on a B.O.B. trailer. Last year you might remember I made a video about using a B.O.B. see it here.

Figuring out what to toss into my camera bag has been really fun. Of course I want to bring everything, but I have decided to make a few cuts here and there. Here's a pic of the cameras, lenses and geek stuff I am bringing on the bike. I'll also have a tent, sleeping bag, cook gear, etc.

This is everything packed up for the trail. I could bring only the yellow bag on the left and make some great photos, it contains a camera and two lenses, but when on an assignment you need a back up camera and you need to produce exceptional photography.What helps me in that direction is found in the other three bags.

To save on bulk and weight all my big, fast 2.8 lenses will stay home this trip. When I am riding I'll have access to a Nikon D-300s camera fitted with a 16-85 4-5.6 lens in the handelbar bag and also a 70-300 4.5-5.6 tele-photo lens (That's the yellow bag). Once in camp the D-3s camera will come out for low light work in the morning and evening.During the day the D3s will be riding in that bright orange pelican case you see in the left of the photo along with my SB-900 flash.

I know you're thinking, why is Bill bringing that big D-3s camera! The simple answer is just love this camera and on the more practical side of things I can make good use of the D-3s high iso performance. Take a look at the opening double page spread of the tree and ferns that I shot for a Australia Geographic magazine story a few months back to see what I mean, you can see the photo here. The photo was taken at iso 1250 at 1/3 second with my D3s. If I didn't have a love affair with the D-3s  I could just bring a second backup D300s to save a little weight, but will an additional  pound or so hurt me that terribly?  I guess I'll find out.

Other lenses I'll have along is a 16-35 f4 , 50mm f 2.8 and 16 mm 2.8 fisheye. I'll have lots of spare batteries and flash cards for both cameras. The tripod is a tiny carbon fiber gitzo, and it will come in handy for a few shots I have in mind. There's also some pocket wizards for triggering remote pics and flash.

So that's my pile of camera stuff for a week long bike based assignment. This heap of optics and electronics should be just the right stuff to inspire the creative energies on the trail and help me produce some nice photos.  When I return in a couple of weeks I'll report how things went out there.

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Mikkel Bølstad]

Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to see the images from your bike trip with this setup. As for bringing two camera bodies on trips, I am often guilty of that too. While definitely not a pro, I still can't afford loosing out on pictures.

[Get Great Looking Photos]

Hi there, just wanted to tell you, I loved this article. It was practical. Keep on posting!