Camera a fitness apparatus

[pnodrog]

When I have my camera with me I find I will run, walk, climb and sometimes even crawl to get in a position where I think I can get a photograph and sometimes it involves far more physical effort than seems reasonable.

e.g. In the photograph below are some stairs that I would usually avoid like the plague. A sign warns cyclist to use another route. However I had a camera with me and with no warning on the sign regarding photographers I felt compelled to climb them to take a photograph. My wife wisely decided to remain in the car and read a book. After clambering to the top I discovered trees blocked the view except looking back down the stairs. Fortunately a few miles further on I could drive into a reserve, park at the waters edge and could have taken a shot of the lake without even getting out of the car. However such as the fitness training demanded of me by my camera I had to walk around until it I found a viewpoint that almost made it happy.

I assume I am not the only one with a fitness demanding camera.....

[Shadowman]

Does look like a good vantage point for photography, perhaps isolate a scene from up top. Nice captures.

[Manfred M]

Paul - I find I think much like you when it comes to getting the shot, even though I usually start regretting it on the way up. Usually I have no choice anyways, as my crazy, asthmatic wife usually starts up and I had better follow in case she gets into breathing difficulties (which is most of the time). I have definitely gotten some excellent shots from up high and have also occasionally cursed the location of some poorly planned tree plantings.

A camera backpack really shines (the people that tell me they don't like camera backpacks obviously don't do the camera fitness apparatus route. Camera body is usually on my chest being held by a Cotton Carrier and the tripod is attached to the backpack.

I did manage to duck out of a climb last week in India. 900 steps up (and down) in the middle of the afternoon with the temperature at 38°C / 100°F. It was hazy, so I wouldn't have gotten any decent shots anyways. I didn't feel at all guilty saying no. On the other hand, had we looked at it first thing in the morning before sunrise, I probably would have gone up.. Duh.

[NorthernFocus]

I nearly choked on my wine reading this post...

...I assume I am not the only one with a fitness demanding camera...

You are not alone. Being a user of long lenses most of the time, I have to keep reasonably fit to carry a 40-50lb(20kg) pack around with me. My wife and dog keep me walking plenty so legs/breath aren't a problem. But since I'm allergic to anything resembling physical labor, the only way I can keep my upper body strength is in the gym. Though I have given a good bit of thought to moving to a country where I could afford to pay a porter to haul my kit for me

[Saorsa]

Well, I had been trying to lighten up with a Nikon 1 system and was successful in the acquisition phase and managed to retire my D300 but kept the smaller, lighter D7100. Things were grand until I borrowed a friends D750 to see what the full frame stuff was like. I really liked it and ended up with an FX body.

when I get stuff like this



and



I can't go all the way to small and light the laws of physics in regard to light just don't make it happen.

Now, the egret there is a crop from this



and these are crops from the original that ended up as 200-300 pixels wide and were resized up to 1024x768 for display.




In the absence of antigravity stuff I think I need to come up with a way to fill the waterproof cover with helium on my protactic 450 backpack.

[Wavelength]

A vantage point has difficult accesses

[pnodrog]

Does look like a good vantage point for photography, perhaps isolate a scene from up top. Nice captures.

At the very top there were the odd little peek through trees and weeds but nowhere to get a good shot. I could have made a bit more of the view from the top of the stairs but I just decided to get back to the car and get on with the trip.

Paul - I find I think much like you when it comes to getting the shot, even though I usually start regretting it on the way up. Usually I have no choice anyways, as my crazy, asthmatic wife usually starts up and I had better follow in case she gets into breathing difficulties (which is most of the time). I have definitely gotten some excellent shots from up high and have also occasionally cursed the location of some poorly planned tree plantings.

.
A camera backpack really shines (the people that tell me they don't like camera backpacks obviously don't do the camera fitness apparatus route. Camera body is usually on my chest being held by a Cotton Carrier and the tripod is attached to the backpack.

I did manage to duck out of a climb last week in India. 900 steps up (and down) in the middle of the afternoon with the temperature at 38°C / 100°F. It was hazy, so I wouldn't have gotten any decent shots anyways. I didn't feel at all guilty saying no. On the other hand, had we looked at it first thing in the morning before sunrise, I probably would have gone up.. Duh.

900 steps it must have been really hard for you to resist with the camera luring you on. Usually I find any effort rewarded but I have learnt the hard way it pays to assess the chances of success very carefully before wasting too much energy.


P.S. Manfred I have no idea why your quote refuses to be amalgamated into one despite my editing out the offending control bits - they just pop back again.

[pnodrog]

I nearly choked on my wine reading this post...

You are not alone. Being a user of long lenses most of the time, I have to keep reasonably fit to carry a 40-50lb(20kg) pack around with me. My wife and dog keep me walking plenty so legs/breath aren't a problem. But since I'm allergic to anything resembling physical labor, the only way I can keep my upper body strength is in the gym. Though I have given a good bit of thought to moving to a country where I could afford to pay a porter to haul my kit for me

Careful with the wine.. You have a bigger fitness problem than me. I never need to sprint away from bears...Don't employ any porter who can run faster than you....

[pnodrog]

Brian it is odd that the heavier the gear the greater distances we seem to be prepared to lug it.

[pnodrog]

A vantage point has difficult accesses

In theory not but in practice most times I would have to agree.

[bnnrcn]

Your last image is a beauty Paul

[pnodrog]

Your last image is a beauty Paul

Thank you Binnur. It is small(ish) lake called Atiamuri in the center of the North Island and is used for hydro electricity generation. There is a walking/cycling 23 km path that runs past it and another lake on the same river. I would like to go back there in late autumn as the colours then are stunning.

[Steaphany]

I knew I'd be getting extra exercise when I chose to go with my Mamiya RB67, I'm sure the weight is why it was so affordable.

When carrying it with me, I can feel the added exertion just walking around. I don't mind the weight or exercise and get great photos. By the way, I have no problem climbing stairs, with or without my RB67.

[pnodrog]

I knew I'd be getting extra exercise when I chose to go with my Mamiya RB67, I'm sure the weight is why it was so affordable.

When carrying it with me, I can feel the added exertion just walking around. I don't mind the weight or exercise and get great photos. By the way, I have no problem climbing stairs, with or without my RB67.

Back in the late seventies my neighbour had a RB67 and I had a Bronica S2a talk about rivalry.... I still miss it until I think about the cost of film and processing.

By the way, I have no problem with stairs they are very useful and can look pretty but I only climb them when they get in the way of where I want to be (unless there is a lift)....

[IzzieK]

Paul...I have always like to photograph a length of stairs by the beach and didn't know then how to...now that I have a UWA, wonders went away-- though I still have to take a picture...I believe I will have my chance soon...
In #2, why is that big rock there? Is this to prevent some Ids from tumbling over? Just a thought...is there another place you could have taken a shot of that almost beautiful place there at the right?
Your best here in view classifications alone is #3. Excellent composition...and colour.

[pnodrog]

Paul...I have always like to photograph a length of stairs by the beach and didn't know then how to...now that I have a UWA, wonders went away-- though I still have to take a picture...I believe I will have my chance soon...
In #2, why is that big rock there? Is this to prevent some Ids from tumbling over? Just a thought...is there another place you could have taken a shot of that almost beautiful place there at the right?
Your best here in view classifications alone is #3. Excellent composition...and colour.

The first two photographs were just illustrating that I just had to climb the stairs and having done so there was not really a good position at the top to get a satisfactory photo. The rock is just to the side of the path and only looks like it is blocking it.

Thanks for your comments and I agree that the third photo works best.

[Saorsa]

In #2, why is that big rock there? Is this to prevent some Ids from tumbling over?

I volunteer at a local park which has handicap access ramps to some of the facilities. One of them has a turn and it was recommended that we leave a soft area there in case someone didn't make the turn and fell off. That sounded good so we planted some ferns there.

Then, a local gardener decided we had too many ferns and kindly replaced them with crown-of-thorn plants. This isn't my picture but if you don't know what they look like you can see the problem.

[DanK]

The third shot is beautiful.

A camera backpack really shines (the people that tell me they don't like camera backpacks obviously don't do the camera fitness apparatus route. Camera body is usually on my chest being held by a Cotton Carrier and the tripod is attached to the backpack.

That's my drill as well, except that I only use the Cotton Carrier when I expect to need the camera frequently while hiking. As much of my hiking is in a forest preserve, I don't often need it. I just leave everything in the backpack until I come to a viewpoint, by which time I am usually so tired that I welcome the rest time added by taking off and unpacking the pack.

However, I don't do birding. My heaviest hiking load would typically be a 5DIII, a 25-104 L, a 70-200 f/4 IS L, and a 100mm macro, plus tripod. That is a fairly substantial load, but not anything remotely close to 20 kg.

My biggest problem with this strategy is that I want a separate compartment in the pack for food, etc. I don't want peanut butter or a squashed plum to get into my camera gear. Very few good bags have this, at least if you add in the other things I want, including a good tripod mount, high-quality shoulder and hip straps, a waterproof cover, and a place for a water bottle. I use an old model of LowePro that does have all of this, as well as a very clever system for holding things like windbreakers outside the bag, but its too small--worked pretty well before I went FF--and they don't make anything quite like it now.

[pnodrog]

I volunteer at a local park which has handicap access ramps to some of the facilities. One of them has a turn and it was recommended that we leave a soft area there in case someone didn't make the turn and fell off. That sounded good so we planted some ferns there.

Then, a local gardener decided we had too many ferns and kindly replaced them with crown-of-thorn plants. This isn't my picture but if you don't know what they look like you can see the problem.

Hi Brian, I hate being attacked by a plant when I am trampling down a garden to get a shot. A garner shouting at me is OK but being spiked in the leg is another matter.

The third shot is beautiful.

That's my drill as well, except that I only use the Cotton Carrier when I expect to need the camera frequently while hiking. As much of my hiking is in a forest preserve, I don't often need it. I just leave everything in the backpack until I come to a viewpoint, by which time I am usually so tired that I welcome the rest time added by taking off and unpacking the pack.

However, I don't do birding. My heaviest hiking load would typically be a 5DIII, a 25-104 L, a 70-200 f/4 IS L, and a 100mm macro, plus tripod. That is a fairly substantial load, but not anything remotely close to 20 kg.

My biggest problem with this strategy is that I want a separate compartment in the pack for food, etc. I don't want peanut butter or a squashed plum to get into my camera gear. Very few good bags have this, at least if you add in the other things I want, including a good tripod mount, high-quality shoulder and hip straps, a waterproof cover, and a place for a water bottle. I use an old model of LowePro that does have all of this, as well as a very clever system for holding things like windbreakers outside the bag, but its too small--worked pretty well before I went FF--and they don't make anything quite like it now.

Dan thanks for the comments.

I have a good back pack for my camera gear and it has an apartment for a very small lunch and a side net for a bottle.(not usually wine like others on this site...)
However my tripod is too big to carry easily on the pack so I carry it in one hand often partly extended. I sometimes use it a bit like a walking stick as extra support if I am on a slippery surface.