The filter that I have come to appreciate more as time passes is the neutral density filter, or, more specifically, the variable neutral density filter.  This puppy can do things for you that will add a completely new dimension to your photography, from landscape to portrait work, which is a pretty broad range.  It is why I refer to it as the Super Filter, and I think it is one filter that should be in every photographer’s bag.

 Variable Neutral Density Filter

The variable neutral density filter  (VND), or sometimes called a Fader ND Filter, is a flexible version of the neutral density filter that allows for the relative density or f stop of the filter to be dialed in variably between 1 and 8  or more stops.  It operates much like a polarizing filter, where the front element of the VND filter is simply turned to reduce the amount of light entering the lens.  The term “Neutral” refers to the fact that the colour of the light is not affected by the filter, only the amount entering the lens.

Variable neutral density filters are not cheap, by any means, but they are well worth the expense.  Prices can range from $30 for a cheaply made one to over $600 for the top of the line model.  The one I purchased has good quality Hoya glass and cost $120.

Using VND filters

Use of neutral density filters is well documented in landscape photography.  They are most frequently used to slow down time exposures, allowing for flowing water to become blurred, or waving grasses to become more etherial.

Use of the neutral density filter in portrait photography, however, is a bit less obvious, until one considers the interplay between flash and ambient lighting.  It is best to illustrate with a simple example:

Portrait use of VND filters

To use this filter effectively in portrait work, we want it to control all of the ambient light in the scene.  In other words we want to ensure that our background does not blow out. Often we want to even underexpose the background while properly exposing our subject with flash.  The most straight forward way to do this is to underexpose the background by either shutting down the aperture or increasing the shutter speed.  Both of these options can work, but will make our flash work a lot harder.  If we want to blur the underexposed background while properly lighting our subject, the process becomes a bit more difficult.

 Sync Speed

Every camera/flash combination has what is termed as the sync speed.  This is the shutter speed that allows the flash to use its maximum output. When using flash you want to generally avoid increasing the shutter speed above its sync speed (usually around 1/250 unless your camera/flash sync speed is higher).  Many modern cameras permit high speed sync with flash, allowing shutter speeds up to 1/8000 s.  While this can sound good in theory, the problem is that once your shutter speed slips into the high-sync flash world, your flash will be putting out less light than at the normal sync speed and working a lot harder.  You may need to use more than one light and/or bring in the light a lot closer than your original plan called for.  At 1/8000s you may well find that you are planting your light beside or up your subject’s right nostril.  In terms of energy efficiency, staying at or below the sync speed is the way to go.

 First Control the Ambient Light

This is where a VND filter can be very handy.  By cutting down on the amount of light entering the camera, we can effectively give ourselves a break on the required lighting power and aperture size we need to expose our subject relative to the background.  Through a bit of experimentation you can adjust the interplay between the camera, filter, and flash settings to get the effect you are looking for.

My youngest son agreed to interrupt his breakfast long enough to pose as my test victim.  In this initial photo I have set the VND filter so that the background is quite dark (about 2 stops down).  The shot is taken with a shutter speed of 1/250 f/22 and my flash is set at iTTL with a +3ev on the flash so that it puts out enough energy to properly expose my subject.

 Get the F Stop You Want

It isn’t a very good attempt.  The small f stop gives me too much depth of field, showing some of the reflections off of the wall in the window.  The flash is really working hard as well at +3ev.  What I really want to do is increase the exposure of the ambient a little bit and blur out the background by reducing the depth of field.  That should also get rid of the pesky reflections in the background.  Fortunately both of these can be accomplished by opening up the aperture to f4.5.

For this shot I turned off the flash to show the effect of opening up the aperture on the exposure, leaving the VND alone.  We can see that our background is at a pleasant, understated exposure and nicely blurred.  We just need to light the boy up.

 Fine Tune Your Flash

Now we have turned the flash back on, but it is still set on a iTTL + 3ev, basically nuking the subject and completely overexposing his cute little face.  Also note that our background has not been affected at all, as we would expect.

Because there are so many moving parts in this type of photography, it is best to work with one variable at a time and adjust the others as we move along.  Now that our shutter speed is set, our ambient lighting is right, and our aperture is giving us the kind of limited depth of field we are looking for, we can begin to pay attention to the final lighting of our subject.

This final test photo was made while “Fabio” here was finishing his breakfast.  The flash compensation was dropped to iTTL 0ev so he no longer glows in the dark and will probably avoid being irradiated enough that he can give me grandchildren someday.

 Conclusion

The use of the VND has given a great deal of flexible options in terms of how to integrate the background  with the subject and the chosen lighting.  It is the Super Filter of photography in my opinion and, for that very reason, will not be far from my side on future shoots, both landscape and portrait.

Doug Pruden is a Calgary portrait photographer and founder of Prairie Light Images. He has had a 43 year passion for photography since he was a lad of 10.  His current emphasis is on portrait and travel photography, both of which he addresses on his blog at his website.  You can find him @prairielight on Twitter or at +Doug Pruden on Google+ .  Please drop in and say hello!

Photography Tutorials, Case Studies and Discounts - LightStalking Photography Newsletter.

Charlotte by simonlesleyphoto, on Flickr

What is a Prime Lens?

Quite simply, a prime lens is simply a lens with a fixed focal length. Sometimes they’re called “Primary Focal Length” or “Fixed Focal Length” lenses.

Note: Sometime’s there’s a little confusion as the term “Prime Lens” can be used to refer to the primary lens in a combination lens system. For this article we’ll be talking about them in their fixed focal length meaning.

What Are the Advantages of a Prime Lens?

A prime lens can be great for a lot of reasons. For starters, the optical performance of prime lenses is usually a lot better than zooms as they are built to specialise in their single field of view. That means that they most often have a much wider maximum aperture setting than other lenses. This makes them perfect for shooting in lower light situations (bars, clubs, concerts) and also for getting a limited depth of field (great for portraits for example). The fact that you can open up the aperture so far also means you don’t have to resort to flash as much.

The other big advantage is that prime lenses are usually smaller and lighter than zooms, which can mean a lot to those of us who like to shoot for extended periods and sometimes get weighed down by our gear.

Ra Ra Riot – Corn Exchange, Cambridge. 11/10/07 by richt/tlobf, on Flickr

What Are the Disadvantages of Prime Lenses

Basically prime lenses are not as versatile as zooms. You have to use your feet (ie move your shooting position) in order to get the exact image crop that you want. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing (in fact it’s good to practice composition with your feet rather than lens or in post production), but in certain situations it can be an irritation. Other than that, there isn’t a lot of downside to primes.

What Prime Should I Get?

This really depends on what you plan to be shooting.

Traditionally, on film cameras the 50mm prime lens held pride of place as it was the lens that most approximated the field of view of human vision. With the advent of cropped sensor DSLR cameras the 35mm focal length prime lens is the standard for that.

On the other hand, the fastest prime lenses for DSLRs are in the 50mm range. The 50mm f/1.4 lenses for both Canon and Nikon are great lenses. Even the cheaper Canon and Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lenses are great (and very cheap). The 50mm is still the most popular prime lens.

tender neem leaves by { pranav }, on Flickr

If you plan to be shooting a lot of portraits, then you might want to go with a focal range closer to 85mm which is hugely popular among portrait photographers. If you want to shoot birds, then the 300mm prime is where you will want to start looking. This really depends on what you will want to be shooting.

As a general guide, look back though your images taken with your zooms or kit lenses and look at what focal lengths you used for the majority of your images. That will probably be a good place to start for looking for a fixed focal length lens.

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So what are the pro’s and cons of using a tripod?

Lets start with the Cons.

If you have ever carried a tripod all day you will know how awkward they are. If you are not bashing yourself in the legs, then you are knocking over some old lady or causing a pedestrian traffic jam by obstructing a busy street. If you have ever flown with one, there goes at least 5KG of your valuable luggage space and don’t think every airline will allow you to take it on as hand luggage, for you may get a shock.

As well as being heavy they slow you down, the magic moment may have left the building by the time you have swung the camera round to get the shot. Also as far as I have found there isn’t a good camera day bag around that lets you “easily” carry a tripod, at the very best it will hang from the side of your bag, at worst you will be hand holding it all day.

Taken from a moving boat this image would be impossible with a tripod

 
So what about the Pros

Carrying a tripod will allow you to get shots beyond the scope of handheld. I am not just talking about low light shots either; in bright light a tripod can be invaluable. For example, when taking architectural shots, you need a good depth of field so you need to stop your camera down which in turn lowers your shutter speed. Now you could overcome this by increasing your ISO but why sacrifice quality. Also if you are using a perspective control lens, its virtually impossible to work without a tripod. Landscape photographers are another group that like to use small apertures to create a good depth of field within their image. When using a telephoto on a stationary subject a tripod will greatly reduce camera shake and allow you to compose and focus the image to a much more accurate degree.

Composing and focusing with a long lens is much easier using a tripod.

Another Pro which may seem odd as have already seen it in the Cons section is that a tripod slows you down. The advantage of this is you start to think more about composition, using your eyes before using the viewfinder and looking for the great shots in more detail.

How many of you realize that every time you take a photograph with a DSLR, the vibration of the shutter and mirror movements can and do degrade the image? A tripod can reduce this, some higher end cameras even allow you to lock the mirror up, obviously without having composed the image on a tripod first you would be shooting blind.

Great depth of field even in the dark!
 
Which one to buy?

This is quite a simple answer, the best one you can afford. The common equation in film-making circles is the tripod should cost at least 1/3 of the price of the camera. Now I am not suggesting the same equations is true for stills camera but there are a lot of very cheap tripods out there that may seem like a bargain, right up until the moment you realize either, your images are not any better than without it or it breaks.  Look to be paying at least $100 plus for the legs and a minimum of $50 for a head. There are many choices to be made, way beyond the scope of this article, different types of heads, Aluminum or carbon fiber legs, you need to put in as much though into buying a tripod as you did buying your camera. One suggestion is support your local camera store, if you have one. Yes they will probably be a tad more expensive but they will explain to you what is best and more importantly let you try it out.

The last word

A photographer without a tripod is like a doctor without a stethoscope. You are not going to need it every time but you will sure miss it when you do need it.

Jason Row is a British born travel photographer now living in Ukraine. You can follow him on Facebook or visit his site, The Odessa Files. He also maintains a blog chronicling his exploits as an Expat in the former Soviet Union

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Ferris wheels are not dramatic by kevin dooley, on Flickr

The Look of Film.

Many photographers today spend huge amounts of camera time and post processing time to try and recreate the film look. There is a definite and pleasing look to the quality of film, it’s impossible to describe with mere words and it’s not necessarily a better look than digital, its just different. So the easiest way to create the film look?  Use a film camera.

The Feel of Film

Maybe it sounds a little crazy, but those of us brought up in the days of Kodak, Fuji, Agfa and Ilford will tell you there is something very special about putting your hands into your pocket and pulling out a roll of film. Placing the leader of a roll of 35mm into a Nikon, unwrapping a roll of 120, whilst trying not to expose too much of the film to light, simple skills that marked you as a photographer.

The Cost

It might seem odd that I include the cost as a reason to return to film but bear with me on this one. Every time you put a roll of film in your camera, it has cost you money. That cost continues with the development and printing. Every time you take a poor picture, it has cost you, personally. But the counterpoint to that is that every time you a good picture, you will appreciate the value of your knowledge of photography. It’s too easy these days to rely on the camera to create the image. Delete the poor ones keep the good ones. When you have to pay for each image, you will learn to make each one count, and that will stand you in good stead when you return to your DSLR.

Caithness (jan 09) by Hermés, on Flickr

Learning to Understand Exposure.

The previous reason, leads us onto learning exposure. Although film is generally regarded to have a higher tonal range than digital, is has a lower tolerance to incorrect exposure, especially if you are using transparency. An underexposed image cannot be recovered by merely shifting the levels, it needs to be right when the shutter clicks and you need to understand what is happening when the exposure is made.

Understanding Color Temperature

Unlike a digital camera where you can set a color balance or let the camera do it automatically, you have to buy the right type of film for the right type of light. The first time you use a roll of daylight film under tungsten lighting, you will start to understand the importance of the color of light.

Pro Cameras at Low Prices

For many of us former film users, cameras like Nikon F5’s, Hasselblads, even Leica’s, were the stuff of dreams. They idea of one day owning one of these marvels of imaging fueled our passion for photography. Take a quick trawl through eBay today, and you will find mint quality samples of these cameras for less than the price of a base level DSLR.

Do it Yourself

For aficionados of the digital darkroom this may sound odd, but getting your hands dirty by developing and printing your own films is in my personal opinion, one of the great highlights of film photography. Its easy enough to make a temporary darkroom in not much more space than it you would need for a desktop computer and A3 printer. The sight of a large black and white print, slowly revealing itself under the gloom of a red safe light should thrill even the most hardened digital darkroom enthusiast.

So there you have it, if you have a hankering for trying out film, there are little or no obstacles. Trawl through eBay, or your local camera store, bag yourself a bargain. Most professional camera stores still sell film and will also know where you can get it developed and printed. If at the end of the day you still prefer digital, old film cameras make great ornaments for your home.

Jason Row is a British photographer based in Ukraine. Follow him on Facebook or see his work at The Odessa Files.

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Spotted Eagle Ray formation, Keauhou Bay, Big Island, Hawaii. by SteveD., on Flickr taken with a Canon G12 Bridge Camera

So what are they all to do?

Introducing Bridge Cameras

Now usually there will be a slew of reasons that a person might like a camera somewhere between a DSLR and a point-and-shoot compact camera. Weight, quality images, more control, price – these are all reasons that crop up time after time.

Bridge cameras (cameras that “bridge the gap” between compact and DSLR), by-and-large, cover most of these issues well. With smaller cropped image sensors which allows their lenses to have a shorter focal length (than most DSLRs), the zoom range of most of them is great (often up to and over 400mm equivalent).

Margate Sunset by Andrew Stawarz, on Flickr with a Nikon P7000 Bridge Camera

Key benefits of a bridge camera include:

• size – most are small enough to fit into a handbag snugly
• weight – they’re almost all a lot lighter than any DSRL
• quality – many bridge cameras shoot RAW and have excellent sharpness
• versatility – most don’t require you to have any camera knowledge, but if you’d like full manual control and even the
• lens versatility – while the huge focal range of default lenses on a bridge camera are great, some even offer the ability to fit lens modifiers to the front for macro, wide(r) angle or even more telephoto.

I have several professional photographer friends who carry around one of these when they’re out and about their daily activities – you know – in case “that shot” presents itself as an opportunity.

It’s not necessarily all up-side though. If you are used to the control offered by a DSLR then you might find the control functions of a bridge camera a little limiting (some might actually enjoy this – it really depends on what you’re after).

Chrysanthemum by Roni G, on Flickr on a Panasonic DX5 Bridge Camera

Limitations you will run into include:

• usually have no optical view finder
• limited iso settings – usually a minimum of 200ISO (comparable to low end DSLRs)
• shutter lag – the time between when you press the button and the shutter goes off can be a little delayed
• low light – if you want great images in low light, then the sad fact is that you will get much better performance from DSLRs (and higher-end ones at that!)

Some popular bridge cameras include these: Nikon P90, Canon Powershot S and the Fujifilm Finepix-S series. There is a good comparison of some of the better bridge cameras available here.

Now, a bridge camera isn’t always for everyone. They are getting squeezed by low-end DSLRs and high-end compacts (which are all improving with time). But they can be a nice half-way point for a band of photographers who don’t want either of those. And, if you get the camera that suits you, it’s personal preference that wins every time.

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Female Ommatius Robber Fly by Thomas Shahan, on Flickr taken with a combination of the options below.

Extension Tubes – These empty tubes are placed between you camera and an existing lens (I use my 50mm, but they work on others). Basically, the further away from the sensor that the lens is, then the greater the magnification of the image will be. The cheaper ones have no electronic contact points meaning that you will have to control the focus and aperture manually. More expensive ones allow this automatically. You can pick up a set of Kenko extension tubes (new) on ebay from around $30.

Eye Arrangement of a Hogna Wolf Spider by Thomas Shahan, on Flickr taken with Extension Tubes and Reversed 28mm lens (see “reversing ring” below)

Bellows – A macro bellows works on much the same principle as extension tubes by fitting between your camera and existing lens in order to move the lens further away from the sensor. The effect is a magnified image. The difference is that you can control that distance exactly as the bellows allow you to slide the lens out along rails to your desired magnification. I picked my Macro bellows up on ebay for about $80.

20110327-IMG_3957 by kellyv, on Flickr taken with Bellows

Reversing Ring – These cheap little gadgets simply allow you to put your lens on backwards. A cheap one won’t have any electronic contact points, so once again you have to control aperture manually and focus can be controlled mainly by moving towards or away from the subject. You can find a reversing ring on ebay from around $15. I use one to reverse my 50mm and it works fine.

Commelina communis (露草) by onigiri-kun ～Busy～, on Flickr taken with a Reversing Ring

Lens Coupler – You can also get a cheap device which allows you to attach a lens to your camera in the normal way, but then add a reversed lens on the front of that. It’s a similar process to a reversing ring, but allows you to use that extra lens (and its associated automatic functions). These start from around $5 on ebay.

Close Up Filter (aka close up lens) – Another cheap option is to add one of these bad boys to the front of your existing lens. These lenses decrease the minimum focussing distance, allowing you to get a lot closer to a subject. You can also stack several close up filters to increase magnification even further.

close ups 5-19 024 2 by Sarah_Jones, on Flickr with a Close Up Filter

A Note on Quality

These options are really to ease you into the world of macro photography without breaking the bank. Many of the options come with their own set of problems though. For examples, close up filters will give you problems with chromatic aberations and reversing rings can be a great way to get dirt inside your lens. Certainly none of these options is as “easy” as simply dumping a lot of cash on a great macro. But remember that skill can make up for a lot of the problems. Case in point is the stunning macro photography of Thomas Shahan, much of which is done with a bellows and reversing ring.

Use these options to test your dedication to the world of macro photography. If you find that you’re loving it so much and feel that you’re being held back by your equipment, then by all means explore more expensive lens options. Just don’t fall into the trap of thinking that an expensive lens is going to improve your skills. As you can see above, there are some very stunning things you can do with the “cheap” options in macro.

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Ignore the ads. You don’t have to break the bank if you’re going to invest in things that help you make beautiful portraits. Here are some basic things that you can invest in if you’re serious about portraiture, but don’t want to spend too much money.

1. Buy a reflector.

A reflector is a good investment. Sunlight is free, so making portraits with natural light is extremely affordable. A reflector is a cheap way of lighting your portraits. A good reflector to start with is one that has some flexibility. There are reflectors that come with two sides, one silver side and one gold side. Other reflectors are “five-in-one,” like the Photoflex MultiDisc 5’n1 that I use. This reflector, which comes in a medium size, has a gold side, a silver side, a white side, a mixed gold and silver, and if you take out the zippered cover, it becomes a diffuser. This is a great reflector for its value, and if you take good care of it, it will help you make great portraits for a long, long time.

A portrait lit with a window and a gold reflector. Copyright Aloha Lavina.

2. Use a window.

A cost effective way of controlling the light that is hitting your subject is a window. Placing the subject perpendicular to the window will create side lighting, where one side of the subject’s face is lit, and one side has shadow. The great thing about using a window is that you can make beautiful portraits right in your own home. No transportation expense, no studio rental, and no extra equipment necessary. Just your camera and sunlight streaming through a window.

3. Need a fill light? Buy white cardboard.

With your window, at certain times of day, you might notice that your subject’s shadowed side has too dark of a shadow, and you need a fill light. This is the light that us used to bring out details in the shadow side of the portrait.

A cheap, easy way to create a fill light for your window portrait is a large piece of white cardboard. Placing the cardboard parallel to the window, on the other side of the subject will create a fill light from the light that is hitting the cardboard and is bounced back to the subject’s shadowed side.

Portrait lit with a window and using cardboard for fill. Copyright Aloha Lavina.

4. Need a bigger fill light? Invest in a white shower curtain.

If you are making a full body length portrait, you might need a bigger fill light. A white shower curtain or white bed sheet is an affordable full-length ‘fill light.’ Hanging the bedsheet in the same position relative to your subject as the white cardboard gives you a ‘bigger’ light to fill those shadows for your portrait.

5. Get one off-camera flash unit.

If you are really serious about making portraits, you can buy a flash unit. Check that your on-camera flash can trigger your flash unit. This way, you don’t need to buy a trigger/receiver system, which is extra expense. Setting your camera to Manual, and the flash to Commander Mode, while setting your flash unit to Remote and the Group and Channel to the same Group and Channel as your camera sets up your off camera flash. When your on-camera flash emits light, that flash of light will trigger the flash unit, and you have a ready made strobe. You can make pretty good portraits with just one light, even a small light like an off-camera flash unit.

6. Make a snoot out of an empty cereal box.

Now that you have a flash unit, you can control lighting even more using a snoot. A snoot is a light shaper that focuses light in a tight area. It is usually an elongated tube, one end of which is attached to the flash unit, and the other end open, pointed at the subject.

You can make a snoot. One way is to get an old cereal box, cut it open so it’s one piece of cardboard, and then wrap it around the light-emitting end of your flash unit. Cut according to the size of the flash unit’s dimensions, then take some black electric tape and tape over both sides of the cardboard. After covering the cardboard in black tape, wrap your new creation around the flash unit again, and then tape together so it becomes a tube that fits around the flash.

Now you have a snoot to focus light on the face of the subject. Any time you want to avoid spreading the light too much, you can use your homemade snoot to focus it. And it only cost you a few cents. Another advantage of my cereal box snoot is that I can fold it and store it easily in a pocket of the camera bag.

Lit with cereal box snoot and one flash unit. Copyright Aloha Lavina.

7. Make a softbox out of a normal cardboard box and a piece of white paper.

Another portrait basic you can make now that you have off-camera lighting is a softbox. Softboxes are light shapers that are–no surprise here–shaped like boxes. The sides encasing the flash unit are usually designed to prevent light from ‘spilling’ out so it only comes through a the white front of the softbox. The purpose of the softbox is to soften the light, diffusing it as it passes through the white front of the box, and making the light and shadow soft on the subject.

You can get yourself a softbox by making it out of white paper and a normal cardboard box. Cut a hole in the bottom of the box where you can insert the head of your flash unit. Make sure you don’t cover the sensor of the flash unit, as you need the flash to respond to your on-camera flash on Commander Mode. Then, take the white paper and tape it over the open, front end of the box. You’ve got yourself a softbox!

If you’re serious about portraits but also serious about saving money, you might want to try these tips. All you need is a couple of basic purchases, and some sessions of arts and craft.

Aloha Lavina is an editorial fashion and travel photographer whose photographs and writing have appeared in books and magazines including CNNGo and recently, Big Chili magazine and Readers Digest PhotoYou. You can see her work at her website, read her articles on her blog or follow her on Twitter.

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If you travel with a bit of gear, you’d want a bag that promises durability and protection, security, convenience, and the ability to hold all your gear.

Durability

The Think Tank Airport International Version 2 roller bag delivered on durability. It accompanied me on 10 flights for the past few weeks, four regional flights in Asia, two domestic flights in Asia, two intercontinental flights, and two domestic flights in the United States. The bag rolled over rocks, sand, gravel, and concrete as well as airport hallways and airplane aisles, and not once did the wheels snag or get damaged. Apart from surface scratches, the wheels are fine.

Did I have to worry that the jiggling from all the different surfaces would damage the equipment inside? Disembarking in Los Angeles, the handle slipped from my hand, and the bag fell to the floor with a bang. But I wasn’t worried; ThinkTank makes firm molding, and the four lenses, the two camera bodies and the backup viewer hard drive were fine inside. For surfaces where I really didn’t want to roll the bag over because they were too rough or had too much drag, the handles on the side, bottom and top ensured I had a good grip while carrying the bag over my head.

Size Convenience

The Airport International is a great choice for someone who travels intercontinentally, especially when there are domestic flights involved. Domestic flights are usually on smaller aircraft, and although the cabin bag size regulation is only slightly different, the aircraft storage sizes for passenger bags differ. The different aircraft used on domestic flights have different overhead bin sizes. On the 32-seater Dornier 328, where the overhead bins are shallow, there is no way you can fit the Airport International’s 33 x 47 x 16.5–19.1 cm dimensions inside the overhead lockers. In the Dornier, I had to ask the flight attendant to store the bag where the crew stored their cabin bags. The best thing about the Airport International when I had to ‘part’ with it was that there is a security system that comes with the bag. A TSA combination lock secures the main zipper sliders. A front cable and a lock secures a laptop case if you store your laptop in the front stretch pocket. Finally, there’s another cable and lock that you can use to chain your entire bag to an immovable object.

Another domestic flight I took used a 74-seater Bombadier Q400. This slightly larger domestic aircraft had slightly deeper cabin lockers, and I was able to store the Airport International inside the overhead bin. On intercontinental flights and regional flights that use Airbus or Boeing jets, the cabin storage bins are roomy and the Airport International fits perfectly in the overhead bin.

Gear and Fit

For both assignments I worked on at this time of travel, I had to bring my 15.6 inch laptop. At first I thought the laptop would fit in the elastic pocket outside the bag; the laptop can be inserted slightly more than halfway into the pocket; but I didn’t feel that it was that secure, and certainly part of the laptop hanging out didn’t give me confidence to leave it in the pocket while it was riding in the overhead bins. So I had to bring a backpack laptop case in addition to the Airport International. ThinkTank does have a product called the Low Divider set, so you can fit the laptop in a sleeve inside the bag, but this is sold separately and I did not have it while traveling.

On the last leg of my trip, I picked up an iPad 2, and it seems to fit well in the outside elastic pocket. Again, the soft quality of the material used for the pocket doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in putting the iPad there, so I carry it with the laptop in the separate backpack. I can foresee the convenience of traveling with the laptop or iPad tucked into the elastic pocket though, for the security check when you have to separately scan your mobile computing device; having it in the pocket makes it easy to take it out during security checks.

I like the space inside the bag. It holds four lenses, one of them a long telephoto, and two camera bodies. I’ve also already used this bag for an editorial fashion ad assignment, and it was a great bag for two camera bodies, 50mm and 85mm lenses, and three portable flash units. The inside of the bag cover has some convenient pockets for CF cards, remote control, wireless triggers, and cords, etc.

The bag has a built-in pocket at the top below the handle that stores a passport, and the front zipped pocket is perfect for storing pens, small notebook or camera manual, an iPod, printout of e-ticket, and other small bits.

Other features I like

• The Airport International V2 comes with its own waterproof cover that stores in a corner of the bag and is easy to slip over the bag when you need it.
• The handle is extendable for tall folks and has a first tier for short folks.
• It’s relatively light, around 4.3–5.2 kg, so it’s easy to lift even with equipment inside. Of course, if it were lighter that would be a plus, especially if you are carrying more than one camera body and more than two lenses.

Value

ThinkTank gave me this bag to review, but if I had to buy it, I probably would. The U$369 price tag is reasonable for a bag that carries as much as it does, provides security and is a durable bag with convenience features.

I have to say that were it offered with the Low Divider Set at the current price or slightly higher, it would be an even better bargain and would definitely be the bag I would recommend to photographers who travel a lot.

Photography Tutorials, Case Studies and Discounts - LightStalking Photography Newsletter.

Spear Fisherman (Nikon D700 — ISO 640, 16mm, F/5.6, 1/2000 Sec.)

Surfer (Nikon D700 — ISO2000, 16mm, F/5.6, 1/2000 Sec.)

Using a plastic casing basically allows you to submerge your camera up to 10 meters of depth, allowing you to photograph from fresh new angles. It’s not designed for serious underwater professionals, as there is no way to place a strobe with this type of casing.  However, if you only want to shoot with natural ambient light, this might be a great option.

I have had my plastic casing for a few months now and haven’t had any problems with leaks or malfunctions. It has proven to be very durable. It has been well worth the $100 I spent on this casing and it has allowed me to get pictures I would have otherwise not been able to.

Having the best tools can certainly help us in our image making, but it shouldn’t stop us from doing what we love to do. That is to take beautiful images!

Whale Shark Encounter (Nikon D700 — ISO 2500, 16mm, F/20, 1/200)

Castnetter (Nikon D700 — ISO 640, 16mm, F/2.8, 1/3200 Sec.)

Some Technical Tips:

1. When using a plastic underwater casing I have found it best to shoot with a wide angle lens. This allows you to capture as much of the surroundings as possible. I also generally like to get close to my subjects, so a wide angle allows me to do this.

2. Try shooting with a faster shutter speed which allows for compensation of water movement. If you are shooting in Aperture Priority, you may need to raise your ISO in order to get a faster shutter speed.

3. Shoot in continuous mode. This will allow you to get more photos off  in order to capture the perfect expression/timing of your subject.

Starfish Collector (Nikon D700 — ISO 640, 16mm, F/5.0, 1/400 Sec.)

Jacob Maentz is a freelance travel, culture and documentary photographer based in the Philippines.  His passion lies in creating images that communicate a strong sense of place and cultural awareness in unique, challenging situations. You can visit his website here, read his articles on his blog or follow him on Facebook.

Photography Tutorials, Case Studies and Discounts - LightStalking Photography Newsletter.

Packing for an overseas photo trip is the same whether it is for a paid assignment or a personal project. Keeping a consistent and sensible packing routine for your camera equipment not only helps you prepare to take amazing photos, but it also makes sure that your equipment is safe and that you will have the necessary items you need once you arrive at your destination.

Here are some things I’ve learned over the years of traveling with photo gear.

Match equipment to the trip’s purpose

The best place to start your packing for a photo trip is your purpose for the trip itself. If you are going somewhere far for the sole purpose of bringing back some awesome photos, you need to think about what tools will allow you to capture that awesomeness.

I always start with the purpose, and then match the hardware to it. For a photo story on a Buddhist festival, I packed a camera with a high ISO sensitivity because I knew I would have to take photos inside temples where often the only source of light were candles and small windows. I also packed a couple of lenses that could open up to a very wide aperture, f/2.8, to help my camera ‘see in the dark.’ For the majority of my trips, I only bring two lenses and one camera body, so I really have to take only what’s essential.

Pack according to your trip’s purpose. Copyright Aloha Lavina.

Anticipate shooting situations

A good photographer will research the geography, customs, and possible shooting situations, among other things, before heading somewhere. Geography is key to knowing over what terrain you will be carrying your photo gear. Bringing a dozen lenses plus tripod and accessories on a trip that involves a lot of hiking up and down hills is unwise, for example.

Knowing geography beforehand also helps you decide what you might capture. Are you going to be in crowded areas with a lot of chances for portraits? Maybe a wide angle lens is key to those crowded situations. Do people in that place get annoyed easily when you stand close to them for a portrait? Maybe the telephoto lens should go in the bag. Are there chances for breathtaking landscape shots? Then maybe you should pack that ultra wide lens and the tripod.

Anticipate shooting situations. Copyright Aloha Lavina.

Have a backup plan

Whether you are going on a photo trip that lasts one week or one month, having enough memory is something you will have to solve at packing time. With memory cards becoming cheaper, it’s possible to buy as much memory as you need without having a backup drive or laptop with you, as long as you organize the cards into used and empty and never mix them up. Some photographers also decide to shoot in JPG instead of the bulky RAW, and so open up lots of space on their memory cards.

But if you are shooting with the intention of processing your images, and possibly submitting them for publication later on, it may benefit you in the long run to think of some storage solutions while on the road so you can shoot in RAW. Bringing a laptop with plenty of hard drive space is one solution. Another solution would be to invest in a picture viewer storage unit. The one I absolutely swear by is the Epson P-5000, which holds 80 GB or images, good for up to two week trips for me (with editing in the evenings), and the Epson P-7000 which holds up to 160 GB for month-long journeys. The benefit I most appreciate from having one or the other Epson unit on a trip is that I can edit in the evenings and classify the shots into keepers and ones I can let go.

Bring plenty of memory. Copyright Aloha Lavina.

Extras that are also essential

Before packing, I always make a list based on the three criteria mentioned above. The list is detailed, and a different one made fresh for every trip. That way, I make sure I don’t forget anything, and I also have an inventory for packing to return home. A blower brush, cleaning cloth, a memory card wallet are some small items that are definitely on the list. Here are some other essential extras for the itinerant camera bag:

1. Adaptor for charging batteries – research the power outlet configuration so that you can bring the appropriate adaptor. I bought all-purpose adaptors and always have a couple packed so I can charge the camera batteries and the laptop or external storage batteries at the same time.

2. Waterproofing solution—this sounds complicated, but it can be as simple as bringing some large Ziploc bags with rubber bands to pack your electronics in should you be caught in a rain while you are in a sampan in the middle of a lake. These are easy to tuck into your camera bag.

3. Scarf—this is one of the musts for my camera bag. A scarf, usually a cotton or linen one, is great for several purposes. One, if my camera strap is starting to chaff my neck, I can wear it under the strap. (The cool thing is not to wear the neck strap, but have you ever had your camera snatched from your hands by a motorbike gang? Wear it around your neck.)

Two, if the sun gets too hot I can use the scarf to cover my head and face to avoid scalp burn. Three, if I need a low angle on a shot, I can always lie down on the scarf on the street without worrying too much about the dirt.

I always bring my scarf. Photo by Manny Librodo.

Whether packing for a weekend away with your camera or a long vacation somewhere over the ocean, it pays to prepare and pack with some guidelines in mind. With these simple tips, you can choose the right equipment to bring without having to second guess its usefulness, and start thinking about the awesome photos you can bring back home.

Aloha Lavina is an Asia based photographer whose photographs have appeared in CNNGo (USA), UTATA Tribal Photography Magazine (USA), Seventeen magazine (USA), Estamos! (Ecuador), The Korea Times (South Korea), and several books. You can see her work at her website, read her articles on her blog or follow her on Twitter.

Photography Tutorials, Case Studies and Discounts - LightStalking Photography Newsletter.