Photography

General

Photographs on this site from my earliest trips (namely Pakistan 1994 and India/Pakistan 1996) were taken using a Nikon EM manual focus SLR body that I borrowed from my mother, and my father's Hoya 35-105mm lens. At this time, I was a complete beginner and before going to Pakistan had only used an SLR to take a couple of training rolls of film. They were shot on Fuji Super G+ ISO 400 print film, and the digital images used on this site were either obtained from Kodak photo cd files (all Pakistan 1994 images and some of India 1996) or scanned direct from the negatives (Pakistan '96).

By the time I went on my first rainforest trek to Venezuela in 2000, I had bought my own SLR: a Canon EOS 300, Tamron 28-105mm lens and moved over to using Fuji professional slide film (Fuji Provia 100F, Fuji Provia 400) and Fuji Sensia 200. The use of slide film enabled me to submit an article about the trek for publication (most magazines and books will only accept slide film for submissions) in the UK's Adventure Travel Magazine (see Issue 34, July/August 2001). Because most of my journeys involve trekking, when selecting equipment I have gone for lightweight lenses and accessories as well as carrying systems that provide the best protection with the minimum of fuss. This tends to rule out the use of heavy, fast, professional lenses (as do the airline hand luggage restrictions!).

When I returned to India in 2001, I used almost the same kit as for Venezuela, except that the Tamron lens was left at home, in favour of a Canon EF 50mm prime lens (for the sharpest images of the Himalayas) and my Canon EF 75-300 USM MkIII lens (which I used to get close up images of the Tigers of Ranthambore National Park).

The diving/snorkeling outing to the Red Sea meant the chance to try out some underwater photography. I used a Sea & Sea MX5 underwater camera, with Fuji NPH print film. On my final swim of the trip, I put a roll of Fuji Provia 100F into the camera as a trial (suspecting that the light meter in the MX5 wouldn't be able to expose it well enough), and surprisingly this produced the best results of all.

Having got to grips with my EOS 300, I wanted an improved range of features and custom functions, whilst still keeping the weight down. I opted to buy an EOS 30 camera, retaining the 300 body as a spare (or for situations where the EOS 30 may be a bit too heavy and bulky, such as mountaineering). The EOS 30 had its first outing in Iceland, where I found the eye control and depth of field control functions extremely useful.

My most recent trek (to climb Pico da Neblina, Brazil's highest mountain) involved the most photographic gear I have taken abroad to date. This was mainly because the trek in Venezuela had taught me that overcoming the dim lighting conditions in the rainforest was the number one priority. Additions to my kit list included a Gitzo carbon fibre tripod and a Canon 420EX Speedlite. Once again, the EF 75-300 USM MkIII lens was very useful for wildlife shots; and the combination of this lens, the tripod and the eye control focus on the EOS 30 made it a lot easier to get the shots of the hummingbirds feeding on flowers.

For a complete listing of the camera equipment I took on each trek/trip, with links to manufacturers information, Click here.

Copyright(c) 2002 Rowan Castle. All rights reserved.