Every time I travel, I have an internal debate that many now face: do I take a stand-alone camera or just use my iPhone?Last summer, however, I learned my lesson. I spent two weeks in Europe and opted to take a small travel camera rather than my DSLR rig and lenses. While a compact travel camera allowed me to be more nimble, as a result, I took less time to craft my shots. When I have a full rig with me, I take more time to find framing that interests me and to make sure I get the shot I want, even if it takes longer. I find I also feel less self-conscious about taking pictures of “touristy” stuff with a bigger rig because my big cameras allow me to see things in ways that smaller ones don’t.
With that in mind, I opted to take my full rig and some glass with me on my latest travel – a week in Hawaii. While this was my third visit to the island, this trip allowed me to truly appreciate the spectacular beauty of the nation’s youngest state and to capture some of that with my camera. It had been 8 years since my previous visit and I had made some significant upgrades to my photo gear, so I was really excited to put them to the test, especially my Canon 10-18mm EFS wide angle to capture some of the really colorful, sweeping vistas. I also brought along my Canon 75-300mm telephoto to get some of those farther-off shots (like whales!) and my Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 USM for more general use.
Aside from my DSLR glass, I also packed a GoPro Hero 3 Black and, of course, my iPhone 6. Yeah… it’s a lot of gear, but surprisingly, I was able to keep the bulk to a minimum. I use a sweet weather-resistant Timbuk2 Informant camera sling (now discontinued and replaced by the Snoop) and I was able to keep all that gear in this one small bag that I slung over my shoulder and took on boats, to the beach, up a volcano and to waterfalls.
I’m really happy with the shots I captured this trip. Making the extra effort for the gear that makes you happy and comfortable when shooting really shows in your photos (I know it does in mine).
Check out all of my shots from the trip over on my flickr account.
