It is summer time here in the Pacific Northwest, and that means the sun is out, the days are nice and long, and the mountain flowers are erupting into their full bloom. Its time to strap on those hiking boots, top off the water bottles and head out. But, because we are photographers, we are cursed blessed with the responsibility to make the absolute best image possible at these amazingly beautiful places where we are hiking.
We photographers strive to have the highest quality image that’s possible. This means we have to lug our heavy camera equipment up to the top of the mountain because we don’t want to take snapshot with our phones. Normal people can go to these places and snap a selfie with their iPhone’s and be perfectly happy, but we are photographers who demand the very best image quality possible.
When To Go Hiking
Knowing when to go hiking is just as important as where to go hiking. As the seasons change, so do the pictures that can be made there. The image of the fire lookout above is covered in feet of snow in the winter months. I would need snow shoes to get up there.
- Does the trail explode with color during the spring when the wildflowers are blooming?
- Is it better to hike the trail in the morning or the evening?
- Perhaps the mountain gets obscured by the shadow of another mountain in the evenings so it needs to be photographed in the morning.
- Are there deciduous trees that change into beautiful reds, yellows, and orange during the autumn?
- Is the trail covered in feet of snow during the winter or spring?
- Could you snow shoe the trail if it does have snow?
These are all examples of questions a good photographer will need to ask themselves if they want to come away with amazing landscape pictures instead of just snap shots that most other people take.
Because the best lighting is always during the Golden Hour (Sunrise, Sunset), it might mean you need to be at the destination of your hike to capture images of the place in the best light. This might mean you need to wake up hours and hours before sunrise in order to have enough time to get to the trail head and hike to the destination just as the sun begins to rise. Most people will just be getting out of bed around this time, but not us photographers. We wake up when its still dark to get that amazing picture with the perfect light. This is just part of the photographers curse.
Another option is to camp at or near your destination the night before so you are already there when the good light happens. This is our camp site from last summer on top of a mountain that looks directly at Mount Adams in Washington state.
When I go hiking, I want to pack as light as possible. Its heavy enough bringing water, a lunch, and maybe an adult beverage or two ? to enjoy at our destination. Now add a heavy camera, several lenses, a tripod, and whatever other photography accessories you want to bring. It can get heavy fast.
The Tripod
Check out the Recommended Tripods to see what the best backpacking tripods are.
Every landscape photographer needs a good solid tripod. It is critical to hold your camera completely still while taking any sort of exposure slower than 1/60th of a second. Especially if you want to capture those spectacular milky way photos.
Carbon Fiber Tripod – A carbon fiber tripod is the lightest, yet can be one of the most expensive. But, if you plan on doing a lot of hiking and traveling with your tripod, it is worth the extra cost to get one that’s light weight.
Aluminum Tripod – Aluminum Tripods are less expensive, but they weigh more than the carbon fiber ones. Not ideal for hauling up a steep trail, but its not the end of the world. Lots of photographers have aluminum tripods.
The Camera Bag
When you are covering many miles on a hike, a bad backpack can make your shoulders and back incredibly sore. You can just use your basic camera bag, but those are not meant to be worn for hours at a time, especially the messenger-type ones. They put all of the weight onto just one shoulder, which will leave you with a sore crooked back at the end of a long day.
What I Look For In A Hiking Camera Bag
- Waist Support and Chest Straps – When I go hiking, it can last anywhere from several hours to several days. The camera must be comfortable to wear for an extended amount of time or else my shoulders and spine will be hurting in no time. A waist strap is essential take the weight of the pack off of your shoulders and transfers it to your hips. Waist straps are extremely important when I am choosing a camera bag for hiking or traveling.
- Rain Cover – Stormy weather makes for some amazing images, but it also means you can get drenched in a downpour. You want to keep your expensive camera equipment nice and dry. A good hiking camera bag should have a rain cover included or built in that can pull out when it starts to rain, and tuck away for when the sun returns.
- Tripod Holder – A tripod is critical when I am shooting landscape photography. Having a place to strap my tripod to the outside of my bag is essential. I don’t want to have a second strap hanging around my neck to hold my tripod. Having everything strapped to one bag is much more comfortable and convenient.
- Airplane Carry-on Acceptable – Any bag I get needs to be able to fit into the overhead bin on airplanes. I am not just buying a bag for hiking, I am getting a bag for all of my travels.
- Easy Access – The backpack needs to have easy-convenient pockets and pouches to access my gear. The last thing I want to be doing is digging through my bag looking for my camera when a squirrel, elk, or Bigfoot comes cruising down the trail. I need to be able to get to my gear quickly before he slips back into the brush and forever remains a mythical creature.
- Water Bottle holder/bladder – A good camera bag will also have a place to carry a water bottle. When I don’t have enough water my head starts to hurt, I get cranky and I don’t want to be taking pictures anymore. Bring enough water so you can focus on your photography and not on how much you hurt because you are dehydrated.
- Lots of Pockets – I can never have enough pockets, it seems there is always something small to tuck away in a pocket; GPS, batteries, memory cards, maps, phone, etc.
- Lots of Clips and Loops – Sometimes I will want to carry an extra pair of shoes, or a water bottle, or a small camera accessory. Straps to clip things to are super helpful. A carabiner comes in handy for clipping things to your bag.
Recommended Bags
Mindshift Backlight 26L – This is the bag I personally use and I love it. It is large enough to carry 2 camera bodies, a 400mm lens, several other lenses, a 13″ macbook Pro, a tripod, and have plenty of room for a jacket and a lunch.
Mindshift Rotation 180 – This is another excellent Mindshift bag. It has a compartment that pulls out from the side so you can easily access your camera gear, and quickly stuff it back away inside the bag.
MindShift Rotation 180° Panorama – Another variation of the Mindshift Rotation. This one is a little smaller and less expensive than its larger brother.
F-Stop Tilopa Camera Bag – The Tilopa is a very durable hiking camera bag suitable for day hikes or multi day hikes. The F-stop bags use an internal camera modular system so you will need to buy the internal compartments. But most people I have spoken to that own F-Stop bags love them. 
Lowepro Photo Sport BP 300 AW II – A pretty nice bag from Lowepro. I have used Lowepro bags for several years and they have proved to be durrable and reliable.
The Camera
Depending on what camera gear you bring, it can make a big difference in how tired you are when you finally reach the top of the mountain. This is one of the major reasons people choose the smaller, lighter mirrorless cameras over the heavy DSLR. Mirrorless cameras are quickly becoming the system of choice for many people. They are lighter, smaller and very capable.
Lenses
Camera lenses are heavy, there is no way to deny that. Try to limit the number of lenses you bring because the weight adds up quickly. I have taken lenses many times that I never even take out of the bag. My wide angle lens and my medium telephoto lens (24-105mm) are the two lenses that seem to never leave my camera. I have longer telephoto lenses that I would love to bring with me, but they are large and heavy. Not ideal when hiking up a mountain.
Take as few lenses as possible. The fewer lenses you have, the fewer times you will be changing your lenses creating the opportunity for dust to get inside your camera and onto the sensor. It seems like when I have lots of gear with me, I never seem to have the correct lens on my camera. So leave that extra gear at home and make due with what you have. You will spend more time in the moment and come away with better images.
I Always Bring:
- Wide Angle Lens – (16-35mm, 10-22mm, etc.) To get those large landscape shots and be able to include the foreground and the sky in one shot. Keep in mind that wide angle mountains make the background look tiny and the foreground look large.
- Medium Telephoto Lens – (24-70mm, 24-105mm, etc.) To get close to that far-off landscape or make that mountain look larger in the frame.
I Might Bring:
- Super Telephoto Lens – (70-200mm, 100-400mm) If I am going someplace with lots of wildlife, I will bring a super telephoto lens to get up close to the animals.
- Fast Lens – I might bring a fast f2.8, or f1.4 lens to take night photos of the stars. When out hiking in the back country, the sky is absolutely mesmerizing, twinkling with millions of little diamonds. A fast lens allows more light into the lens so you so you can capture those milky way photos nice and sharp.
- Macro Lens – Hiking trails are lined with all sorts of neat, little plant and animal species. Anything from flowers, bugs, to mushrooms, and more can make for a great photo. A macro lens helps zoom to get these tiny subjects nice and large on your sensor.
Camera Accessories
Cleaning Cloth/Lens Wipes – Its dirty out there, you are bound to get a drop of water, a smudge, dust, or anything else on your lens. Sure you can try to remove any spots in post, but it is so much easier to just pull out a cleaning cloth and give it a wipe. It takes just a moment, but it will save you lots of time later on. A cleaning cloth also takes up almost no room in your camera bag. You might as well pack a few just in case it gets really dirty out there. You never know! For instance, when shooting waterfalls. You can get lots of water droplets on your front element. If you just have one cloth it can get soaked and leave streaks all over the glass. So bring plenty extras lens wipes.
Lens Hood – It’s easy to forget the lens hood at home, but it is extremely helpful in the right conditions. First of all, the lens hood will help keep water drops off your front element. A lens hood also helps protect the lens from being damaged in case it gets knocked into a tree or a rock. The lens hood also cuts the glare of the sun shining on your front element. When the sun shines on your lens, it can cause a lens flare and glare in your image. The glare lowers the contrast and creates a washed out look.
Filters – Lens Filters allow you to change the look of your images in a way that most people would otherwise not be able to create.
- When I go hiking I bring a 10-stop Neutral Density Filter. It allows you to take a long exposure in bright sunlight without overexposing the image. The 10-stop ND blocks 10 stops of light. It is almost impossible to see through with the naked eye.
- A 6-stop Neutral Density Filter will do the same thing as the 10-stop ND filter, but a 6-stop just blocks a little less light than the 10-stop. This is for when you want to use a longer exposure, but not as long as the 10-stop would require.
- A Graduated Neutral Density Filter is used for darkening a bright sky but not the foreground. When the sky is darkened, it equals out the exposures of the foreground and the sky so you can capture the details of both in the same shot. Otherwise the sky could easily get blown out.
- Polarizer Filter – Every landscape photographer will have a polarizer filter in their bag. A polarizer is used to remove glare from reflective surfaces like a lake or remove the glare from wet rocks and leaves to improve the contrast and saturation.
Peak Design Pro Clip – I love this thing. I used to be an R-Strap user, but I got tired of having my camera constantly swinging around on my side and brushing against trees and rocks as I walked past. And if I ever needed to use both of my hands to climb up a cliff, the camera would swing around getting in my way while rubbing against dirt and rocks.
But the Peak Design clip is a small metal plate that clips onto any type of strap or belt, and allows your camera to quickly disconnect and reconnect to your body so you can securely put your camera away when you need both hands. And unlike the R-Strap, the Peak Design Clip keeps the camera secure exactly where you placed it. No flopping around when you walk. It has really changed how I carry my camera and the way I shoot. I am much more nimble when moving around, and it’s great.
Extra Batteries – Make sure you pack extra batteries. You don’t want to run out of power and still have to lug the camera around, but not be able to take any pictures.
Extra Memory Cards – For the same reason as the batteries. You don’t want to fill up your memory card and not be able to take any more pictures. You still have to carry the weight of the camera, but won’t be able to use it. You might as well be carrying around a big rock.
Non-Photography Hiking Gadgets
Forest Pass – Many hiking trails require you have a forest pass to park your car at the trail head. Make sure you have what you need before heading out.
Headlamp/Flashlight – It gets dark out on those trails. Always bring a flashlight with you when hiking. You never know what will happen out there and you might have to spend the night in the forest. Its better to have a light and not need it rather than need a flashlight and not have one.
Water Filter – The water flowing down the side of a mountain may look clean, but you never know what dead animal might be laying in the water just upstream. The water can pickup microscopic bacteria and cause you to get sick if you drink it. That is where these water filters can save the day. You use them like a straw to suck the water up, and it filters out bacteria and parasites so the water is safe to drink. As an added tip, you can wrap duct tape or parachute cord around the filter as a convenient place to store them. Duct tape (not the whole roll), and parachord are also excellent things to bring backpacking.
Handheld GPS – Invest in a quality GPS. I will never rely on my phone to be my only GPS unit. The battery of a smart phone does not last very long and you will be up a creek without a paddle. Just make sure you get a high sensitivity GPS unit so it wont lose signal when you are under foliage or in a steep canyon. I recommend the Garmin eTrex 20X GPS.
Paper Maps – For when technology will eventually fail us, you can always find the trail the old fashion way. A paper map will never run out of power and turn blank. When it is your life on the line, I wouldn’t chance it by relying on something that will eventually run out of power.
Compass – A map is only handy if you know what way you are walking. Get a small compass that you can use to show you what way is North.
Multi-tool – It seems there is always something that needs to be tightened, loosened, cut, bent, sawed, pinched, etc. And a good multi-tool is the perfect tool for the job. They are small and extremely handy. Perfect for the hiking photographer.
Gloves – A good pair of gloves will help protect your hands when climbing down a hillside. This way you will be able to hold onto the rope, or be able to grab roots and branches without worrying about grabbing something pokey, bitey, stingy, slippery or anything else.
First Aid Kit – Anything can happen when you are wandering around a forest You can cut yourself, get bitten, get scratched on a tree branch, or just about anything else. At the very least, carry a band aid.
General Hiker Safety Tips
- Always tell somebody where you are going and when you are planning on returning! This is the single most important safety tip. Tell somebody where you are going and when you will returning in case something happens and you don’t get back on time. this way somebody knows where you are just in case you get lost and need to be rescued.
- Watch where you are stepping – Photographers have their cameras glued to their face and its easy to step into a hole or off a ledge when you’re not paying attention.
- Keep away from the edges of cliffs – It often seems that the best pictures are from just past the edge of a cliff. Don’t be tempted to get right up next to that cliff for that shot. It is not worth your life. True Fact: more people die while taking selfies than get eaten by sharks. Don’t be a statistic.
- Bring Extra Water – Stay hydrated. It is easy to get dehydrated when you are hiking and sweating.
- Bring a Snack – You burn a lot of calories when hiking. Bring a lunch or a snack so you can keep on taking pictures and not be starving the entire time.
- Dress in layers – It’s easy to shed a layer if you are getting a little warm or add a layer if you are starting to get cold. If you just bring one jacket, you only have one layer to shed. Just make are you have something warm to put on in case you get lost and need to spend the night in the woods.
- Follow all signs/warnings – Some photographers seem to think that signs along the trail don’t apply to them. Some people trek into off limit areas leaving foot prints in extremely fragile areas. Just read the signs and follow the directions. Don’t ruin it for the rest of us.
- Identify poisonous plants and animals – Lots of trails around the Pacific Northwest where I live have Poison Oak growing all over the place. Being able to identify poisonous and venomous plants and animals in your area can save you from getting seriously injured.
- Don’t leave anything of value in your car – Trail heads are notorious for car break-ins. prowlers know that you will be gone for several hours while out hiking, and people often leave wallets, purses, electronics, etc in their cars and you are just asking to have them stolen. When you park your car, give a quick look around for any shady characters who seem to be watching you. They could be waiting for you to head up the trail and BAM, they smash your window and grab your gear and they’re gone in seconds.
Hiking Resources
Facebook Hiking Groups – These groups are full of hiking enthusiasts who have hiked all over and are always willing to give you advice about a specific location. The groups are also great for finding new locations that you may have never heard of before.
Waterfalls Northwest – I often go hiking in search for different waterfalls that have not been photographed to death and Waterfalls NW is one of the most helpful websites when it comes to discovering and locating new waterfalls to visit.
National Park Maps – This site is a massive collection of all the maps to every National Park in the United States. It is an incredible resource that I use when planning a trip to any national park.
Hopefully by now you are ready to lace up your hiking boots and grab your gear to head up the trail. But, before you head out the door, if you liked this guide then Like our Facebook page to keep up to date when new photography articles get posted.
Now get out there! Go make some great photos.