nature photography | At Home with Tech

October 9, 2022

How to Keep Track of your Tech while Traveling

If you sometimes worry about losing your gear on the road, you’re not alone. Here are five ways to help lower those odds.

My family and I have happily returned to vacation travel across this past year. We started in February with a little skiing at Bousquet Mountain in Massachusetts, then visited New Orleans over spring break, relaxed in Maine in June and of course, we just got back from our great trip to the Southwest and Grand Canyon.

And while it’s not too complicated to throw some clothes in a bag and board a plane, it is important to remember that bringing your tech along requires more attention if you want it all to come back with you.

If you misplace a shirt, that’s probably not deal breaker. A missing piece of gear can really ruin your day.

What are the Odds Some of Your Tech Won’t Make It Back?
Let’s face it. Losing your gear on the road is surprisingly easy to do. There are plenty of ways to inadvertently part with your expensive gadgets and their accessories.

Chargers and Power Cables
How many times have you left behind your smartphone charger or laptop power cable plugged into the desk in your hotel room
Lens Cap
And if your DSLR’s lens cap is not tethered to your camera’s lens, it’s constantly pulling a Houdini, right?

You Won’t Lose It If You Don’t Have It
Much like over packing clothing for a trip, we also have a tendency to travel with too many gadgets. (I surely do.) So, one solution is simply to leave the tech behind that you can do without.

Don’t take that laptop if a tablet will do.
Don’t take the tablet if your smartphone can handle the job.

Sure, many hotel rooms are now equipped with mini safes. And laptops are small enough these days to jam into these tiny vaults. But then you’ve got to remember to clear out the safe before you leave.
(And no matter what, isn’t it always a rush?)

Maybe you won’t forget the laptop, but what’s hidden behind it might get missed with a hurried exit.

Five Ways to Hold onto Your Tech on the Road

But if you absolutely must bring it, here are five tips to help you increase the odds you’ll come home with all your precious tech gear and accessories.

1. Use the Right Carry-On Bag
Keep your tech with you at all times. Assume an 800-pound gorilla will be jumping on your stowed luggage.

So bring a carry-on bag with distinct compartments and keep each piece of tech in its designated position. Then take a moment to memorize where everything belongs.

That way, you’ll be able to quickly scan if all your digital tools are in their right place.

2. Have Power in a Pinch
It’s always nice to bring a little backup power in your bag while you’re going about your day. That way, you don’t have to worry about where you’ll be juicing up your smartphone next.

More importantly, that also means you don’t need to spontaneously set up a portable charging station at the nearest outlet. And you don’t need to pull out unnecessary gear while looking for your charging plugs. Exposing all of your items in public is never a good idea.

These days you can store a power stick that’s not much larger than a pack of gum.

It’s worth it.

3. Keep Your Pockets Light at Security
When going through airport security, it’s always such a fire drill to get everything back on your body before rushing to the gate.

I always feel a sense of dread as all of my pocketed gear disappears down the conveyor belt in bins to be scanned. Yes, I’ve always gotten it all back, but you never know about the next time.

Reposition as much digital paraphernalia as you can into your carry-on bag.

4. Watch Your Laptop Like a Hawk After the X-ray Machine
I’m not talking so much about someone stealing your laptop from its bin while you’re putting your shoes back on. I’m referring to simply protecting it from being harmed.

During a work trip years ago, I watched in horror as a bin holding a laptop rolled out of the X-ray machine conveyer belt. It got squeezed by a bin jam ahead of it, and then it veered off the rollers, dumping the laptop onto the cold, unforgiving cement surface below.

No, the poor laptop didn’t bust into multiple pieces,
but I’m not so sure how solid its guts were after that kind of spill.

Try to position your laptop bin so it comes out of the X-ray machine soon after you’ve walked past your own X-ray body scan experience. That way you’ll be close by to rescue your laptop if a bin jam becomes imminent.

5. ID Your Gear
Sometimes, no matter what you do, fate still intervenes.
So when you end up losing a gadget like your tablet or eBook-reader on a plane,
in your hotel room, or after a lunch at a restaurant… what do you do then?

Well, you’d better leave a trail for someone to find you.
(Like simply taping a business card inside your new iPad case)

If your gear is in lockdown mode, there’s no way for anyone to know it’s yours.
Sure they can do some sleuthing based on your reserved plane seat or hotel room record, but would you want to leave your gadget’s future in the hands of an Inspector Clouseau?

Pay Attention!
It all comes down to spending the time to pack your gear properly, keeping it with you as much as possible and having a plan when the unexpected happens.

Alternately, just don’t take it. Sometimes, less is more.

Good luck!

September 18, 2022

My Timelapse Videos from National Parks in Arizona and Utah

My goal was to capture sunrise and sunset timelapses from our Southwest vacation to three amazing national parks. Here’s what I saw.

I’m not proud to admit that I carried four cameras throughout our Southwest vacation to be prepared for whatever wonders awaited us. I packed my Panasonic Lumix GH5 II, my smaller Panasonic Lumix LX10, my tiny GoPro and my little DJI Osmo Pocket gimbal. Plus I had my iPhone. So that actually makes five cameras.

Good Things do Come in Small Packages
The good news is with the exception of my larger Micro Four Thirds GH5 II, the rest had small profiles and were easy to pack or throw in a pocket. I’m also happy to report that I did find moments to put all of my gear to good use.

That said, besides my iPhone which was always there for me in my front right pocket, my most useful camera proved to be my tiny but mighty Osmo Pocket with its magical timelapse creation abilities… perfect for sunrises and sunsets.

I popped it on top of my Manfrotto Befree Live travel tripod, set up the timelapse for 20 or 40 minutes and let it run while I took photos with my other cameras.

My Osmo Pocket captured some really satisfying timelapse videos.

This edited timelapse video contains my shots from Zion Canyon, Bryce Canyon and Grand Canyon… all amazing places. (Here’s our itinerary.)

Deconstructing my Shots
I took the first Grand Canyon sunset timelapse at the overlook near the Yavapai Geology Museum at the South Rim. This is not the most popular place to go for sunsets, which meant there were fewer people packed into the good spots and more room for me to spread out with my gear.

I positioned the second Grand Canyon sunset timelapse steps away from our room at the Bright Angel Lodge. It was already too dark to start the timelapse and really see inside the canyon, but the cloud movement was magnificent.

I think the second Bryce Canyon timelapse really works because you can see tiny, ant-like hikers moving around in the bottom left corner. It give the perspective the shot needs.

Plan your Timelapse Shoots into your Family’s Vacation Schedule
When you’re traveling with your family, plopping yourself in a space for 30 minutes to capture your next timelapse can be disruptive.

A word of advice: Don’t be spontaneous. Plan ahead and announce your intentions. And don’t do too many across a vacation.

It’s all about balancing your family’s vacation time so that everyone gets an opportunity to do what’s special to them!

September 4, 2022

3 Rules I Learned while Taking Photos at Grand Canyon

If your pictures aren’t capturing the majesty of this incredible space, you’re not alone. Here are a few tricks that will help while shooting at Grand Canyon.

Sure, my family’s bucket-list trip to Grand Canyon was a fantastic vacation I’ll never forget. But parts of our adventures in the Southwest also kicked my butt.

First off, I overpacked my camera gear and still felt underprepared to capture the photos I really wanted in the three glorious national parks we visited.

As I’ve previously mentioned, in addition to Grand Canyon, we also hiked in Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks.

Now, how hard can it be to snap a good photo among such natural beauty? As it turned out, pretty hard. Zion and Bryce Canyons were easier, but Grand Canyon was simply ridiculous. (We visited the South Rim.)

Why? These places are just too big. Too awesome.
Grand Canyon
Bryce Canyon
Zion Canyon

How the Massiveness of Grand Canyon Flattens its Depth
I must admit, when you look out over Grand Canyon and see sections of its 227-mile length… it seems almost surreal. The huge space actually feels flat… almost 2-D, like a painting. The massive rocks’ muted colors flatten the imagery even more. (If you’re into conspiracy theories, you might even feel inclined to suggest that Grand Canyon is a giant green-screen set.)

Trying to capture a ‘representative’ photo to match your ocular perception is really difficult, because it’s almost impossible to capture the scale in a 4×3 or 3×2 frame. Even wide angle or pano shots seem only to miniaturize the massiveness.

So, the enormity of this place upended so many of my sensory norms. And my camera gear felt woefully inadequate to capture the canyon’s stunning beauty. (I eventually acknowledged my gear was just fine.) I just had to step up my game and figure out how to visually adapt.

My Equipment List
Yes, I brought along all of my gear:

My beefy Panasonic LUMIX GH5II Micro Four Thirds camera (primarily for landscape videos)
My older but more compact Panasonic Lumix LX10 (especially good over the neck during our rim mule ride)
My trusty GoPro for wider angle views
My tiny DJI Osmo Pocket camera with its nifty timelapse-capture skills
And of course, my iPhone’s camera

I brought it all with me and schlepped it in my Peak Design V2 30L Everyday Backpack throughout our hours of hiking, because I knew I didn’t know what I didn’t know.

Now, that concept may seem clever, but it’s also an excuse that’s not going to win me any photography awards.

The irony is some of my family’s most successful shots were captured by my 12-year-old son using my wife’s iPhone 13 in pano mode.
Impressive. Most impressive.

Barrett’s 3 Camera Rules when Shooting Massive Canyons
Still… I did succeed in capturing a number of solid shots and some fun timelapses.

But not before I figured out these three key rules to follow while shooting at Grand Canyon.

#1
Include Context in the Imagery
I tried to capture closer objects in my photos to provide some context against the impossibly large landscape. Nearby trees or people can work nicely for this. That little trick really helped to fight the Grand Canyon’s visual flatness and create a more 3-D perspective.

#2
Use The Sun’s Shadows for Contrast
I looked to include any shadows I could find on the canyon’s walls. These darker regions instantly created more contrast in my shots. So, early and late-day sunlight provided prime-time opportunities. Lunchtime was mostly a washout.

#3
Don’t Shoot on a Cloudless Day
It quickly became clear that partly-cloudy days were the best times to take pictures. Those wonderful billowy white clouds or even incoming storm clouds were much more interesting than a bland blue sky. Total cloud cover was no good either, but partial cover added critical texture to the flatness I was fighting against.

Take in the Total Experience
By following these framing techniques, you should be able to include enough visual variety in your Grand Canyon shots to allow the scope of the canyon to really stand out.

But I must admit, there’s probably not a photo that can capture the almost incomprehensible nature of Grand Canyon. To truly experience it, you’ve got to go there and just open your eyes.

It’s simply amazing.

But don’t only focus on the destination.

Next time, I’ll share how we maximized our journey…

Category: nature photography

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