Hot on the heels of a "what lens should I buy" post, I listened to this particularly relevant podcast dealing with a subject I believe strongly about.



This podcast really hit home when Brooks spoke about how there will never be the perfect equipment, how photo gear will always a compromise and to be careful not to fault your equipment for a lack of creativity.

"It is undoubtedly fun to talk about equipment, study specifications, and fantasize about a new purchase. It's fun and even useful — as long as we don't cross the line and start blaming our current equipment for our lack of creativity."

To me this applies as much to motorcycling as it does photography: If only I had that suspension upgrade... If only I could afford those aluminium panniers...
Don't blame your gear, get out there and use what you have! :)

Have a listen to the four-minute podcast below, then check out the huge archive of free podcasts on the LensWork website or subscribe free via iTunes or RSS

LensWork Podcast #681 - Blaming the Equipment

Brad AKA "Orangecicle" on ADVrider wrote to me a while back:

"Anthony, I've read your "Way out West" ride-report with great interest. I'm a former newspaper photographer from way back -- in the days of Nikon FM2s and manual focus. I later went to law school and left journalism behind. Some years ago I picked up a camera again -- a D100. That recently died, and I bought a Canon 60D with the 18-135 kit lens. 


I want to add to my lenses, but things are so expensive these days. My photojournalism buddy wants me to buy a 70-200mm f2.8, but that's too expensive. I'm considering a straight Canon 200mm f2.8 L, but I'm also interested in the superwides (Tokina 11-16mm, Tokina 12-24mm, Canon 10-22mm).

Many of  the best views on a motorcycle trip are seen while you are actually riding your motorcycle: The images you see while cresting a hill to a scenic vista, leaning into the twisties, lane-splitting in a foreign city, or being confronted by a three-on-three Mexican passing contest are priceless.

Once you've pruned your luggage down to the bare minimum and chucked the hatchet, cast-iron pan and Kermit chairs, I find that a packing list for a 300km motorcycle trip is not much different than one for a 30,000km trip.

My packing style is minimal - but comfortable - and it's certainly not the only way to do it! Beyond the standard camping and motorcycle gear I carry, I bring a few odds and ends that make my life on the road a bit easier:

Camera Gear

Memory Cards - heaps of them. They're cheap and a reliable form of backup. I try not to erase them during the trip if possible.
Compact camera - I never go anywhere without some sort of camera
Prime lenses - Small, lightweight, reliable and very good in image quality and performance. Zoom with your feet!
LowePro lens case - These will let you chuck your lenses anywhere, and can clip to your belt when you walk around.

Water

The MSR MiniWorks filter was invaluable in North America, where the distance between towns is great and rough-camping is the norm. I didn't use it in Mexico and Central America though. It was easier to buy the good, cheap bottled water that was available everywhere.

The MSR Dromedary bag was ideal for carrying extra water through desert areas. The MSR water filter threads directly to the wide opening and the bag rolls-up to nothing when it's empty.

Motojournalism Book One - The Foundation

Our motorcycles give us a unique ability to experience real adventure and authentic explorations. These agile vehicles allow us to get far out into the wild, cross borders and break the ice with people around the world. The variety of photo opportunities we encounter every day is incredible. We’ll see the sun crest a ridge in the morning, we’ll ride hundreds of miles over challenging and varied landscapes, discover a new town, meet interesting people, then watch the sun drop into the ocean in the evening - all in a single day.

We take pictures of our adventures to remember the challenges of the terrain and the beauty of the road, to share exciting stories with our friends. But sometimes we get back home, disappointed to find that the photos just aren't as good as when we were there.
How often have we heard “Sorry for the bad photo.” “It’s steeper than it looks.” or “The photo doesn’t do the place justice.”


Motojournalism Book One is about taking better photos of your adventures with the camera you have now. Written from a motorcycle travel perspective - but applicable to all overlanders - Book One teaches the foundational photographic techniques you need to come home with great photos of your travels.


Through text and examples, each chapter describes the essential techniques for creating compelling images of your travel adventures.

Whether you are headed for Tierra del Fuego or Terre Haute Indiana,  these skills can be used right away with the camera you have now.

The book is divided into seven main sections

• Keep it Simple
• Rule of Thirds
• Get Close
• Background
• Layered Landscape
• People
• The Edit

Motojournalism Book Two - The Tools

Motojournalism book two is all about how to choose the camera equipment for your overland travel, how to pack it securely, and how it all works. Though the book is written with the small luggage capacity of motorcycles in mind, all overland travelers can apply these extended travel techniques.
Through illustrations and hands-on examples, you will learn the photo essentials of manual mode, aperture, shutter-speed, ISO, exposure compensation, the histogram, and more.There's nothing quite like this out there.

Take a minute to check out Thews' Reviews, "The place for diverse and varied reviews of dubious consistency." 

I've just done a guest post with thoughts on the venerable North Face duffel that's been hauling my gear all over the place.

Check out the review here!



Matthew's put up a lot of great reviews over the last few years, and often for things you wouldn't expect.

A few favourites:
Zeiss Ikon rangefinder

Finally threw on some new rubber today, Both Continental TKC80 tires were far beyond the land of the wear bar and definitely not safe to be riding on! The rear TKC80 lasted from Tucson to Panama, and the front TKC broke trail all the way from Prince George. I've put an additional 2000km since I've been back in Canada as well.
Grand total 
TKC80 rear: 16000km
TKC80 front: 23000km
Don't try this at home kids...

I've replaced the rear with a Michelin T-63 that looks promising. Due to a port strike I couldn't get the matching T-63 front, so I'm making-do with a Kenda K270, quite possibly the ugliest tire in the history of motorcycling. But it's black and it's round and will be OK until I can order the matching front.
I bought them from dualsportplus.com, based out of Ontario. Check em out, I'm pretty happy with their service.

On most SLRs and on good compact cameras there will be an option to display a graph alongside the photos you have taken.
Graphs? Why is there a graph on the back of my camera?
It looks freaky, but it’s actually very simple.


It’s difficult to judge the brightness of an image from the display on the back of your camera. The screen is tiny, when you are outside it's full of glare, and indoor lighting always affects how you see the image. It's just not reliable. The histogram is the guide to see if your exposure was in the ballpark.

Let’s take a closer look.              

The histogram is a chart that shows how many light parts and how many dark parts make up a particular photo. Check your manual to see how to display the histogram on your camera. Set it up so that it will appear after every photo you take.


The left side of the graph  shows the dark tones of the image, the right side shows the light tones of the image. The medium tones fall in the middle.

Shaweetz from Canada says:
This comes up a lot for me. I doubt there is a magic solution, since this is usually solved in the studio with a special box.
...Bikes have lots of shiny convex bits, which invariably means that many of these shots are self-portraits. Damn it is hard get yourself out of the photo.


So you're on the road, or maybe just in your garage, and you certainly don't have access to a seamless white background, blackout curtains and studio lighting...

Today I was walking around Montreal, looking in bookstores for a copy of the British motorcycle weekly MCN .

Jenna in ATL Says:

Hey Anthony, I've no photo experience. I've been thinking about buying an Panasonic LX3, but hear there is a 4th one in the works, is it worth waiting? Also, they do sell some lenses for this camera that go over the original lens, are they worth it? Thanks

Heya Jenna,
Good to hear from ya!

First off - if you have a camera now - I'll start by saying, don't buy either! That's the point I'm trying to drive home in the beginning of the first e-book.



If you have anything that you can take photos with, get out there and practice those techniques!
If you do that - and spend the $400 that the camera would cost on gas for your motorcycle, on motels and campgrounds - I guarantee you will come back with better photos!

Bill from Wisconsin writes:

Anthony,
I bought the .pdf from you and I was interested as to what you carry for equipment?  I currently travel with my nikon d200 and the 2.8 17-55 lens. any advice is much appeciated.  
My first reaction is always "No! No! It dosen't matter what camera you have! Go to the gas station and buy a disposable happy-snap camera!"

This is reaction is immediately followed by "Mmmmmm... 17-55mm f2.8..."