Michael Freeman - The Photographers Field Guide: The Essential Handbook for Travelling with Your Digital SLR Camera

Before you get out in the field with your camera, its essential that you spend some time on preparation. The idea here is to make life smooth and easy on the road, so that the adventures are reserved for the place, the people, and your experiences, not the disappointments of missing excellent photo opportunities because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time, your battery packed up, or you ran out of memory cards.

Being Prepared

Careful preparation can show you what to expect when you arrive at a location, but it wont tell you everything. In this shoot, I knew the rocky island was there, but not the driftwood which forms a perfect frame.

Over the course of this chapter well look at how best to prepare for your trip, whether its a days hike in the mountains or an extended travel adventure.

It really pays to find out as much as you can about what you are setting off to photograph, whether its a place, people, or an event. This doesnt mean that you have to burden yourself with a reference library, but at least cover all the basic information sources, such as guidebooks and anything you can find on the Internet. Researching what you intend, or are likely to want, to photograph will help you assess what equipment you are likely to need and also provide you with the opportunity to read about the experiences of other photographers who have undertaken similar trips. Any helpful hints and tips you can unearth in advance of your travels will help enormously once youre on the road.

There are many ways of traveling with a view to taking photographs. Some travelers like to fix a schedule down to the precise minute, never deviating from their perfect plan. At the opposite extreme are those who steadfastly refuse to commit themselves to anything, determined to follow the whim of the moment. And in between are infinite shades of traveling style. Of course, one of the advantages of planning is that you know in advance exactly which arrangements you absolutely do have to make right now, and which dont matter. If you travel high season anywhere, you have less flexibility than if you are going somewhere unpopular or out of season.

Today, most photographerswhether amateur or professionalwho need to travel light when out in the field use digital photography equipment. As so much digital equipment is very specific and cannot be interchanged with that from other manufacturers dont rely on being able to acquire the right bits and pieces on the road. One basic assumption you should make as part of your preparation is that you must have everything that you will need for the camera with you before you leave. Its essential to consider memory cards and spare batteries, plus any other equipment that you can carry easily and which will help get the shots you want, such as filters or additional lenses. Remember to also include any item of equipment that you personally cannot do without.

Many years ago, while I was being briefed for a book assignment at Time-Life, the Art Director, Lou Klein, gave me a piece of advice in his usual didactic way. Photography, he said, is about being in the right place at the right time. Yes, it sounds obvious, but what good advice, because it lays out the priorities. He didnt mention composition, lighting, sense of timing, or any of that, simply because these skills were taken for granted. Of course you had to know how to make a good picture, but the most important thing was to put yourself in the best position to shoot, that advice applies as much to the amateur photographer as it does to the professional.

Maps are the key, whether topographical, street, plans, or even aerial photographs, all of which are available in surprising abundance for most destinations. Having a map makes everything quicker and avoids wasting time and getting lost. I rely heavily on them, whether its a street map for city shooting or a topographical map for trekking and landscapes.