I attended Ron Roman‘s wonderful presentation “Photography in the Backcountry” today at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.
Ron Roman and Dirigo
Here are some of the tips Ron offered during the presentation:
1. Grey/even days are good for taking portraits (even lighting).
2. Take backpack off when shooting pictures. YOU are going to shake! Take your backpack off unless you totally can’t (dangerous). With the backpack on, you have just the slightest bit of movement just holding the weight.
3. When shooting video use a dog clicker for editing purposes (marks your start/stop points).
4. Weather will dictate what you will carry.
5. In this day and age, the time for publishing is NOW. Your pictures can be used in many different media outlets.
6. Each shot should tell a story.
7. Carry gear in a fanny pack – camera, extra cards, extra batteries, lens cleaner/cloth, light LED- SIMA light (BNH in NY sells good equipment), extra batteries for light or other accessories.
8. USE WHAT YOU HAVE. Ron shoots with a Canon 5D-full frame camera – loves wide angle & high mega pixels. He uses a 24-105 lens, and would love to shoot with a macro lens but they are very expensive ($1000+). Lots of stuff on the AT is down at foot level, flowers, mushrooms, so a multi-purpose lens would be best. One that has a macro setting, but you do lose composition with a cheaper lens.
9. There are light tripods and good tripods. Ron carries a 3-5 lb tripod if just going for a long weekend. Sometimes you can use your arms (hold them tight to your body) as a tripod, or a tree, and hold
your breath. Any movement, even breathing makes the camera shake. A walking pole with a tripod hole can work, or use a self timer if possible
10. GoPro-footage is awesome. Bring an extra battery.
11. You decide what to shoot in the backcountry: towns, social, shelters or nature!
12. The right exposure is subjective. Ron likes photos a little darker since you can lighten them up. Bracket in the backcountry.
13. In the backcountry you are using the existing light, so your depth of field gets affected. Magazine, and articles do not like white skies, so go into the shadows to take the shot.
14. The art of cropping: look at the corners and make sure nothing is taking away from the photo. Where do your eyes go?
15. Ron recommended Adobe Lightroom, Nik Software Snapseed, and the iPhone App Camera+.
16. PLAY, PLAY, PLAY & EXPERIMENT! Try to get the best picture in the field, and do little editing at home. Do not count on fixing your pictures at home.