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Garry Black Photography |
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SCOTLAND
PHOTO TOUR |
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If you have any
questions about the equipment that you have, or are considering buying for
this trip, please contact me for my advice. |
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EQUIPMENT |
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Scotland offers a huge variety of subject matter to photograph; diverse landscapes, stunning coastal scenery, people, towns, villages and castles. Should you bring every piece of camera equipment that you own to photograph every possible scene? Well depends upon how much equipment that you own and how much you want to carry all over the place with you. I own quite a bit of photographic equipment, but on most trips I always try to bring just the minimal amount. There are a couple of reasons for that. #1. I don’t like carrying around a ton of equipment. It’s tiring enough just being out all day photographing, I don’t want to feel like a pack mule as well. #2. The more equipment you bring with you the more time you waste going through your camera bag trying to find the right lens, filter or whatever you’re looking for. Listed below are my suggestions for camera equipment for this trip. |
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CAMERAS Consider bringing along a second camera body, in case one body suddenly fails on the trip. Remember to bring lots of spare batteries! |
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LENSES To successfully capture the wide-ranging variety of subject matter that we will have to photograph, you will need a varied range of lenses. For my style of photography, I normally bring my wide angle, short telephoto and long telephoto zoom lenses. Your photographic style and the subject matter that you like to photograph may be different from mine, so your preference in lenses could be different from what I have chosen. |
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FILTERS The most important filters to bring are split neutral density or graduated neutral density. They are clear in one half of the filter and dark in the other. These filters help to control the contrast balance (exposure) of a scene. They are commonly used in a scene to capture the detail both in a light sky and the darker landscape, thereby providing the correct exposure for the entire picture. They don’t add any colour to the picture, only create an image that looks similar to what we see with our eyes. If you don’t own one of these filters already and are planning on purchasing some, don’t get the round screw in type, but rather the plastic rectangular ones. You might also want to bring along a Polarizing, a Yellow/Blue Polarizing and an 81A or 81B Warming filter. |
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TRIPODS Whether you use a tripod or not on this trip is entirely up to you. If you do choose to bring one, I recommend that you consider using a quick release plate with your tripod head. One thing that I have noticed over the years is the time that people waste trying to attach their camera to their tripod; with a quick release plate it should only take a matter of seconds to attach or remove it. This is really important, as light can change very rapidly creating a fleeting photographic moment. If your head doesn’t have a quick release plate there are some adapters that are available. I suggest Manfrotto’s # 354, # 225. If you are debating whether or not to bring a tripod, or what type, here is an excerpt of an article that I wrote for Canadian Camera magazine: “While on the subject of unused photographic equipment, why are so many photographers reluctant to use tripods? I’ve found that the people who loathe tripods are the same people who wrestle and fight with them when trying to get set up for a shot. In some cases it’s just a matter of learning how to use them properly, while for others, the person has opted to buy a cheap tripod and is now paying the price. When buying a tripod there are several things to look for. While size and weight are important, for far too many people that is the only criteria. What you should be considering are the leg locking/release mechanisms; can you quickly and easily extend and retract the legs? Do the legs splay out? This is crucial if you’ll be photographing anywhere where the terrain is uneven. Finally the last thing to look for in a tripod is how close to the ground it will go. With many tripods you can reverse the centre column, in practicality very few people do, it’s just too bothersome. It’s much better to get one that will go low to the ground.” |
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FILM Whether print or slide film, it’s up to you, just make sure that you buy 36 exposure rolls. One thing that I can guarantee you is that you’ll use a lot of film. How much is a lot? The old saying that you should take twice as much film and half as much clothing makes good sense. To calculate how much film you’ll be using, think about how much film you’d normally shoot on any trip. Some people shoot more film because of bracketing for exposure, if this is you, then you’ll really need lots of film. Probably on average most people will shoot 3 rolls a day (50 rolls for the trip). Which film speed(s) should you bring? Again this depends on what type of film you’ll be bringing. Higher speed print film is better than high-speed slide film. You might want to bring some of each, and if you have 2 camera bodies, then use one for slides and the other for prints. If you’re using a digital camera none of this applies to you, however, if you’re shooting digitally make sure that you have enough memory cards for a full day of shooting. |
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After reading all of this, which I hope you have, you may be wondering what equipment I will be bringing on this trip. Here’s my list: |
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2 Camera Bodies |
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17 – 35mm F2.8 Lens |
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28 – 70mm F3.5 Lens |
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80 – 400mm VR F5.6 Lens |
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Polarizing Filter, Cokin Yellow/Blue Polarizing Filter, 81A Warming Filter, Red Enhancing Filter, 1 and 2 stop ND graduated filters |
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Fiber Carbon Tripod, 3 way pan head and quick release. |
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Spare Batteries and Zip Loc Bags for film storage |
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Shower cap or a plastic bag large enough to cover the camera and lens, to keep the rain/mist off and a plastic bag to cover my camera bag as it isn’t waterproof. |
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80 - 100 rolls of film, a split between Velvia 50 and Provia 100 ISO. On my last trip to Scotland, which was also for 16 days, I shot 79 rolls. |
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Finally if you have any questions about equipment or film for the trip,
please get in touch with me. |
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