Purpose Driven Gear Packing……

For my recent trip to Maine for mine and Kirk Williamson’s Lighthouse Tour I packed a old Lowepro Commercial 300 shoulder bag that could hold a lot of gear, too much gear, and I could hardly pick it up!  I had it in the back of my SUV so I never intended to move it accept at night checking back into the hotel.  I call that a trunk bag, one you work out of at each location when you stop to shoot or explore.

I usually use a Domke photo vest to carry an extra lens, batteries and anything else I want to carry when I walk around. In the old days, as a younger man, I used a photo backpack, but those days are pretty much over!

When I returned home I did a post mortem on the trip and decided what I would re-pack back into my Think Tank Advantage rolling bag, my usual way to transport and use my gear.

This is the gear I decided I really want to have with me for the next few trips:

1  Fujifilm X-T4 body

1  Fujifim X-Pro 2 Body

XF 10-24 f 4 lens  (with polarizer)

XF 16-80 f 4 lens  (with polarizer)

XF 100-400 f 4.5-5.6 lens  (with polarizer)

XF 23mm f 2 lens (with polarizer)

XF 50mm f 2 lens (with polarizer)

XF 1.4 Tele-converter

DJI Mini II Drone  –  Controler  –  3 Batteries)  –  Apple Mini iPad

Filter pouch with various neutral density filters

A Platypod Max

10 Spare batteries for the two bodies I carried

Also carried but not in the bag:  Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max 

I will also carry, depending on the location and method of travel, either a iPad Pro 12.7 inch or a 13 inch Macbook Pro laptop.

This gear set allows a great variety of shooting options.  After the last trip I reviewed my images and determined that I shot over 90% of my images with either the X-T4 and the 16-80 lens or my iPhone.  I only used the 100-400 a few times and not sure I used the 10-24 at all!   I did fly the drone in four locations and got images that would have been impossible otherwise!

Becasue I was teaching and helping others in the field I did not use a tripod very much!  I know, shame on me, I have taught for years that the only way to get tack sharp images is a good solid tripod, but I was on this trip to teach not get great images for myself.  Only when everyone was occupied getting their own images did I go to work on any shooting for myself. The image stabilization in the X-T4 and iPhone made getting tack sharp hand held shots a lot easer and a lot more pleasaant than dragging a tripod everywhere. After all, the point is to enjoy the process and I really enjoyed this trip!

Shots like these two above, were possible because I had a drone with me.  It adds a new dimension to what you can do in the field!

These three shots were made with my iPhone, when a little walking was involved and didn’t get a camera out and then thought, I’m here, why not get at least an iPhone shot!  I was pretty pleased with the results! The three lenses, (wide, medium and slight telephoto),  on the newest iPhone are pretty dang sharp!!!

I said I didn’t think I used the 10-24, but I did,  this shot of Pemaquid Lighthouse with the glacial rock serations was with the 10-24!

A lot of the success of our tour goes to Kirk for his exceptional job of scouting the locations, much like Jack Graham who is also a master scouter, he found this great shot behind the Pemaquid Hotel, well out of public view, it turned out to be one of my favotite shots from the trip, with the X-T4 and the 16-80, handheld!

I will wind this down with a  shot of Kirk Williamson, he is a great guy, a new friend, and we had so much fun onthis tour we are doing it again next year!  Please consider joining us!

Blessings,

the pilgrim