The following is an article from Sherry Ott of OttsWorld. On September 8, 2006, Sherry Ott began a journey which would take her to 23 countries over 16 months. Having worked in business for 14 years, she decided to give it all up, and see what was outside of her 6 by 8 foot office. Sherry is one of the co-founders of Briefcase to Backpack which offers travel advice for career breaks or sabbaticals. I had the opportunity to customize Sherrys Global Photography smugmug site before she began her journey.
Prayer Flags at Sunrise
Sometimes your travel itinerary can have a big impact on your photography and bring you new, unexpected challenges. The Annapurna Circuit is a 18 to 21 day circuit trek in the mountains of Nepal. You climb to heights of 17,000 ft. carrying your pack and sleeping in rudimentary guest houses with no heat. Some might not call this a vacation, but I love hiking and the challenges that it brings. Plus, this was a chance to use my new filters and wide angle lens in the mighty Himalayas!
Photography while trekking is like running a marathon in a way; at mile 18 you see something you want to shoot and you have to get out your 5 lbs of camera equipment and put on the right lens and filters, take the photos, and then pack everything away again and resume running to mile 19. It’s exhausting!
The eyes have it
Due to the nature of the itinerary, weather conditions, and high altitude; I found the photography much more challenging than my normal trips. I don’t like to carry a lot of equipment when trekking therefore I stuck to my Cannon 40D, and 3 lenses. No tripod, no flash; I had to keep it simple.
I quickly realized one of the biggest challenges was the constant changing light situations. Bright sun and dark shadows in the mountains made exposure a nightmare. Plus, I didn’t have the luxury of shooting at the ‘best sunlight times’. When you are trekking, you don’t have the extra time to sit around and wait for the right shot with the right light. After all, we had an itinerary to get over the pass and due to weather conditions we had to try to stick to it.
Glacier Lake
Normally I would go out and research a place/people one day with a few shots, review the shots that night and then go back out the next day. However, when trekking and covering great distances, you don’t have the luxury of going back. You are always moving forward!
Not only did the light prove challenging, but the physical exertion took it’s toll. Once above 9000 feet, I was working and breathing so hard simply trekking and I couldn’t physically get the camera out fast enough to get shots; I was moving in slow motion!
I look back on all of my photography of the trip and realize that I did shoot a lot more in the beginning and at the end. However the middle of the trek which required a great deal of physical strain, I didn’t take nearly as many photos.
Rocky Landscapes
In addition on the day we crossed the pass at 17,770 ft, it was too cold and I was too worried about the trekking challenge ahead of me as well as my safety, that I didn’t even carry my own photo equipment. I packed it safely away in my guide’s bag and I simply carried my point and shoot. As we started the slow 4 hour climb up the pass, I saw a guy setting up a shot of the sun peaking over the peak and I immediately was filled with envy.
However, even though I was envious of his shots and all of the shots I was missing, I knew that I had made the right decision. My concern was first making up the pass in one piece, photography second. I knew my limits and was positive that the mental struggle I would’ve had carrying my expensive equipment in a precarious situation, outweighed the need to shoot. So I relied on my point and shoot in this situation.
Connection Point
I was still able to get hundreds of great photos, the challenge was mentally accepting that I wasn’t able to get EVERY photo I wanted! So, as you plan your next travel itinerary, consider your shooting conditions, time, and environmental factors and set your photography expectations appropriately!
Car Models
View all of Sherry’s Nepal Photography
Jason of Two Backpackers: Sherry, some amazing photos. We struggle with similar issues regarding our video and camera shots. I would love to take shots in markets and bus terminals, but they remain the most unsafe places to bring out your expensive equipment. And, yes, sometimes we leave the stuff in the hostel in order to pack as light as possible. Either way, your shots in this article are still incredible.
Ayngelina: Photography is my passion and my camera is the most important thing in my pack. That said, I have a P&S for those times that it may not be safe. What 3 lenses did you decide to take? I'm not into big zooms so I have the 10-22, 50mm 1.4 and a 17-85 for my 40D.
--> Sherry Ott: @Anygelina - I carry a cheap 75 -300, a wide 10-22 and an everyday good 17-55. I do really like the telephoto for good depth of field shots - but since it's a cheaper lens - the conditions have to be right to use it ; namely good lighting. I hear ya - half the time I'm way more worried about falling and breaking my equipment than falling and breaking my leg. As soon as I don't have my camera around my neck I feel naked, but my stress level goes down when doing this type of hiking! @jason - totally understand the issue of not wanting to flash expensive equipment - it's always a gamble. Ah - the challenges of long term travel for the photographer are many!