WHAT TO PACK FOR A PHOTO TRIP

Whether going out for a one day excursion around town, or traveling overseas for an extended photo expedition, the key is making sure you have the right gear so you can capture those great images.

Let's start with the photo equipment itself. This pertains to 35mm gear. Lens choices in larger formats would be different.


Camera
Camera manual
Wide angle zoom lens (minimum 24-70, possibly 14-35 as well)
Telephoto lens 70-200mm
Lens extender 1.4X
Polarizing filter
Graduated neutral density filter
Filter holder
Lens cleaning solutions (bulb brush, lens cleaning tissue or microfiber cloth, and fluid)
Tripod and cable release (optional)
Portable flash (some cameras have these built in)


SPECIFIC TO DIGITAL CAMERAS
Charger and an extra battery
Memory cards
Card reader
Laptop with DVD burner, back up hard drive or photo storage solution

SPECIFIC TO FILM CAMERAS
Film of various ISO ratings
Color compensation filters and filter holder
Extra batteries

GRIP EQUIPMENT AND MISCELLANEOUS
Gaffers tape
Rain protection
Chamois or soft cloth to dry off camera gear
GPS for noting locations (some cameras are coming with this built in)
Notepad or voice recorder to help with cataloging images later (some cameras have microphones built in)
Guidebooks, maps or other research material for the location
Food and water
Good shoes that can support the extra weight, and keep you comfortable

Photographing Christmas Lights

Photographing Christmas Light displays can be lots of fun. There are lots of creative variations on a theme in play here, so go out and explore your neighborhood. Or, plan ahead for your next year’s Holiday card by shooting your own display. Here’s what you need to know.

Generally, people wait to shoot until it is dark out, but that is too late. The lights may reproduce well in the photograph, but all the other detail in the image will be lost. The goal is to match the correct exposure for the lights with the ambient light at dusk so there is detail in the lights, and detail in the buildings and sky as well. That means that you want to get to your location right around sunset, do your scout, and find the spot you want to shoot from. I’d suggest bringing a tripod, since the exposures can be from 1second to 5 seconds long, depending on the situation, with an ISO of 100. If you don’t have a tripod with you, you could hand hold, but be sure to use a high ISO so you keep your shutter speeds up above 1/60 second. Maybe look for a surface to brace your camera against, like a wall or tree.

Frame the picture so you include some environment. A snow covered lawn creates a wonderful foreground that can reflect color, and the sky can give you a wonderful rich blue to compliment the reds and yellows of the bulbs.

You have a couple of choices for setting white balance. You could go with daylight balance, and let the image take on a warm glow.

Or you could set the camera to tungsten balance, which would make the sky go much bluer. This is a time tested approach to shooting at dusk, most notably practiced by the legendary photographer, Pete Turner. Take a look at his classic image called Road Song to see what I mean.

Either way, start to shoot maybe ten minutes after sunset to see what the ambient light balance is. Look at your histogram to see how you are doing.



As it gets darker, increase the pace of shooting, as the window for when the correct exposure for the lights, and the correct exposure for the ambient light will only be about ten minutes at most.







You’ll know you are done when the sky is black, and the separation between it and the buildings are lost.