Middle Earth Ranger Forum

Apologies if it's been discussed before but I'm curious how the rest of you manage photographing your adventures?

A lot of the time we're out either solo or in small numbers and there's no denying that pulling out the camera shatters the immersion we're striving for. I feel like an absolute fool posing for photos and my Dalian comrade has learnt to dread my call of 'NOW DO SOMETHING HEROIC!'

Previously we've tried taking several good shots before we start and then forgetting about it but you miss all the amazing waterfalls and cliff faces along the way. On our most recent camp I stuck the camera up in a tree using a Joby Gorilla Pod and instead filmed large blocks of video hoping to take some stills from it and it worked but the video seemed to lose a lot of resolution in low light.

What's everyone else doing?

Here in the UK, the thing I usually have to worry about is keeping the camera dry LOL

I only take a camera about half the time (if I'm going somewhere new, or am testing a new piece of kit) the rest of the time I go without, because even on an afternoon hike in kit, getting a camera out does spoil it

For years, I just carried a smaller digital camera with a 10-second timer and would jam it into a low crotch in a tree or balance it on a rock until the shot I wanted was framed right, and then go run in front of it to insert myself into the frame. Still works, but a tiny tripod makes an enormous difference in how many angles you can get, etc. (ie. you don't have to rely on a tree growing just...exactly...there...)

On our group outings, a few times in the past we've just passed the camera around and each of us carries and uses it for an hour or so (or until they get sick of it). Not too many photos of the whole group, but it gets around and everyone ends up in something.

My current small camcorder which I carry for MERS treks has a small flexible tripod that I can use to wrap it around a tree branch or have it stand still on the ground, etc. and it does quite well. It IS supremely annoying carrying around this piece of useless(?) technology, and it does kinda pull you out of the moment when you have to whip out the camera, but it's something I've come to see as a necessity on most of our group trips because it's worth it to have memories to look back on. Add to that that the MERS trips are often publicized in our newsletter or used as teaching tools, and it's a necessary evil. On my own, I go quite often without a camera, but the times when I feel it's worth it outweigh the times when I'm trying to be hyper-authentic.

Oddly, this is something I was just thinking a bit about this morning!

I’ve normally just carried my phone with me and pulled it out whenever I found a cool photo opportunity - but I’m starting to get a bit tired of that. For one, I am starting to tire of always pulling myself out of the experience by constantly snapping pictures. For another, it encourages everyone else to do the same. So in the end, I’ve been toying with the idea of designating one specific person on every hike to be our photographer, with the express purpose of keeping the rest of us phone/camera-free. Still, I would want that person to be in garb and otherwise not to detract from the experience with modern equipment.

However, that does mean that one person is going to be kind of singled out the whole time, so maybe Greg’s method of passing the camera along might work better? I’ll have to give them both a try and see what I prefer!

I do like that idea of passing the camera around Greg. Might give that a try next time we're out and see how it goes.

It certainly eliminates "that one guy" who isn't in any of the photos!

On our last few camping trips I’ve carried an old digital camera and given it to the kids to wander around and use. It’s always fascinating what they chose to record, and the shots are definitely “candid”

Brian