Travelling With My Gear
I get asked all the time about what I take when I travel. It's kind of a difficult question because each situation is truly different. I actually consider the scenarios that I see myself in and specifically pack for them. And, truthfully, I am not really a 'gearhound'...by that I mean that I don't see the benefits of carrying a lot of gear and tend towards being someone who works more with what she has on her--the old 'the best camera is the one you have on you' theory. All of that said, this is what I basically take with me--limited by the size of my bag. hahahaha. Speaking of bags--I have been using two: one rollie suitcase thing that is a million years old and one Kelly Moore purse type camera bag so that I could carry both on a plane with me. Both bags are finished and I am shopping for a new one. Preferably one that can carry everything--including my housing which is huge and clunky and takes up way too much room. Suggestions?
So, I always carry with me two bodies. One is a Canon 5d Mark III and the second is the Canon 5d Mark II. My underwater housing is specific to the Mark II, so I'll be using that camera for a couple more years for sure since I don't want to have to invest in another housing just yet. My housing is by AquaTech Imaging solutions and I love it so very much. It has been around the world with me and allowed me to feel unrestricted in the documenting of my children. I carry an arsenal of lenses depending on the situations I will find myself in. For underwater, I use the 35mm, a 15mm Fisheye(not in this picture as I use it so rarely now), and a 16-35mm f2.8. I always carry the 24-70mm f2.8. It is my go to lens and I have the latest version from Canon which is sharp and lovely. I occasionally bring the 50mm f1.2 as I love me a little bit of bokeh from time to time, but it is an easy one not to include if I am feeling like there is a lack of space. The last two things I consider bringing are the 70-200mm and my tripod. The 70-200mm is a great lens, but it is super heavy and sometimes I feel like I only use it at weddings and when I am being lazy, so it's easy for me to leave it out. Especially thanks to the space it saves. I will bring the tripod if I think there will be an opportunity for night sky images. It is the one thing I will risk putting in my suitcase as I feel like if it isn't in my suitcase when I get to my destination, I'll survive. A note about checking your gear--I have heard so very many stories of people losing gear after checking their bag...meaning, airport staff steal it. Truly. Some airports are known to be bad for this(LAX I'm looking at you). So, I never check my gear for that reason PLUS the risk of it being completely broken on the other end. I check the suitcase with my clothes and carry on a suitcase for my gear and a purse that carries another body.
Two little accessories that I always bring along are my favourite card holder which was a gift when I participated in a Momenta Workshop in India and my camera's rain poncho--also from AquaTech. If they are reading this and feel like sending me free stuff, I am their biggest fan--hahahahaha.
I typically bring a laptop and multiple portable hard drives. Even though I carry many cards, I like to have multiple backups, so I typically recharge my batteries and back up my images while I sleep.
Carrying this much gear is not fun. Whenever I fly, I always have to check my luggage and carry on my gear. We are planning a 3 week backpacking excursion to Thailand as a family this summer. The biggest discussion we are having is exactly how much gear I will be bringing. The housing is incredibly clunky and I am torn about carrying it for 3 weeks. I am considering getting a flat port instead of a domed port, so I could carry a much smaller bag(the domed port is a beautiful thing but it takes up so much room). I think I could actually pare things down to one body/one or two lenses if I would be willing to forgo the housing while we are on the beach. Decisions, decisions...what do you travel with?
Any other photography related questions? I'd love to answer them for you in another blog post.
~ Dana
Toronto Neighbourhood Adventure | Calgary Family Photographer
Urban Adventure
I often photograph other photographer's families. It is a special honour. Truly. It also makes me nervous as heck. True story. So, when Kerry Grogan asked me to photograph her family while I was in Toronto last year, my palms got all sweaty but I quickly said yes. Yes because--photographers will totally let you do whatever you want no questions asked. So, we had a leisurely session where we hung out at home first, played a little street hockey in their driveway and then headed to a favourite park. This is my favourite kind of session because it allows me to capture such a variety of images. Plus, the relaxed feeling of the session allows everyone to be themselves a lot quicker.
It's funny because some photographers limit their time with you making the session feel rushed and more like a traditional portrait session. I don't like to restrict myself. I like to give us all the time and space we need to create incredible imagery. Some families that naturally happens quicker than other families, but...these slow sessions...the sessions where I truly see who you are...they are my favourite type of session.
Add to that the bonus of being able to nerd out with photography talk while Kerry drove me back to my hotel and I was in nerd photographer heaven ;)
Still blogging!!! I have lots of sessions to share, but I also want to share some tips and techniques so if there is anything you want to know, just ask! Maybe I'll be inspired to do an entire blog post about it!!
~ Dana
Our Trip to Maui
We are a family that loves the ocean, but we don't much enjoy sitting on the beach. I mean, don't get me wrong, when our kids were little we enjoyed building sandcastles and jumping sand dunes, but now that they are older, we are more of the get off your butt and explore variety of family. Because of that, we had always kind of written off Hawaii. We thought it would be super touristy with full beaches and lots of drinking and sunbathing. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it just didn't line up with our idea of perfect ocean vacation. I had a few friends that really changed my mind, so we took the leap, booked a cool VRBO for a week and found cheap flights online. So, what would I recommend to other families like ours?
#1: Book an apartment on VRBO or Airbnb
We love hotels--mostly for the pools, but when we go somewhere for an extended stay, we always book an apartment through VRBO or Airbnb. This time we stayed here. I didn't take any photographs in the apartment so I'm sharing one from the pool ;) Honestly, it was perfect for what we needed. There was a pool(although they don't heat there pools there, so in the winter months it was cold--even for this Canadian). There was an air mattress that my son used as my kids are too old to share a bed. The master bedroom even had a second tv so the kids could watch their shows and we could watch ours. Mostly, we love getting apartments to save money on food and in Maui, that was huge. The couple of times we did eat out, we were surprised how expensive it was. And, our kids don't eat off the kid's menus anymore so--4 adults gets pricey quick. Plus, with a kitchen, we could just make our own snacks and pack a cooler every day. We bought groceries at Target by the airport and the farmer's market down the road.
#2: We found a super cheap car rental
We used Kihei Car Rental. This was not a luxury car rental service. In fact, there were times when we asked ourselves 'should the car be making that noise?'. hahahaha. But, we had no issues and they picked us up from the airport. Having a car on Maui meant we were free to go where ever we wanted and that kind of freedom is important to us.
#3: Hawaiian Shave Ice
So--true story--I googled about buying one of these machines and learning to make them myself. I had dreams of bringing a 'shave ice' food truck to the Calgary area. It should be said that not all shave ice are equal....and, from our experience, the very best is available at Ululani's. I love how the tables are made to hold the cups and the wild chickens running around with their babies. It is a must do thing after a long day of being in the sun(or in the middle of the day to break it up or when you are just driving by-ha...don't miss it).
#4: The Maui Ocean Centre
We LOVE museums and science centres, so we knew we would be going to the ocean centre and we were not disappointed. We caught the awesome Turtle presentation and the Deep Ocean Presentation which alone is worth the price of admission. If you go, plan your trip around that presentation. You do NOT want to miss it.
#4: Snorkelling
So, for us, any trip to the ocean is mostly about finding good snorkelling spots. We were warned that Maui had been having lots of rain and that visibility wasn't what it could be, but we were still AMAZED at how many INCREDIBLE spots there were. Many of which were NOT very busy. Some were, in fact, on a weekday pretty empty. Something I found unbelievable was the information at the snorkelling shops. We only had to rent one pair of flippers(which was SUPER economical for the week and had me wishing we hadn't lugged all of our equipment with us but rented it instead) and the shop we rented from gave us so much FREE information that our minds were blown. We visited a Snorkel Bob's and they told us that the trade winds mean that great snorkelling kind of moves around the island depending on how the winds were blowing. They sent us to some great spots that we never would have tried if not for them. I'll list them separately, but--if I wanted to snorkel alot, I'd check in with one of these shops and ask for recommendations.
#5: Honolua Bay
This is a super rocky beach but lead to some great snorkelling. It was fairly busy, but we went early in the day to avoid the crowds. It can get super windy here, so someone told me that if there is a snorkelling tour boat parked there, take that as a sign that the snorkelling is good. When we got there(before 9:00am), there was only a handful of people out snorkelling so we just took the chance and were pleased. We left in the early afternoon when it was starting to get super busy.
A quick note to say that my friend, Ross Dance, suggested this location thanks to the amazing forest you must walk through to get there. Do not just walk by this forest. Explore it. Go early in the morning so the light is amazing.
#6: Napili Bay
The folks at Snorkel Bob's told us to go here. It was quite close to our accommodation so we went there. We loved that there was a large amount of public parking so finding a parking spot was not an issue. It was one of the busier beaches we went to, but we saw so many turtles that we had to mention it. I think we saw a total of 11 turtles--including one that was 5 feet or so long and a turtle cleaning station. And, there were LOTS of people on the beach, but not as many in the water so it didn't feel super busy to us. When you get to the beach, go to the far right(when you are looking out at the ocean) to see the most turtles(at least that was our experience). It was a little bit rough, but we all managed it. Children under 10 might have struggled--in my opinion.
Kanapali Beach is also close by, but it wasn't for us. All of the resorts line that beach so it was beyond crowded. The snorkelling wasn't too bad for how busy it was and we were there for the lighting of the torches at the Black Rock, but we wouldn't go back next time. (I'm not one for crowds)
#7: The Road to Hana
Okay...so truth time here. I only included this because I wanted to share my point of view. I know it's a popular destination in Maui, but we thought it was a bit overrated. It may have been because the weather was absolute CRAP the day we drove it, but...well, we had problems with it. First, we encountered a rather large mudslide which held us up for some time. Apparently, these are quite common so be prepared. Our main issue was--we like to stop and smell the roses but there were so many suggested stops on this road that it was hard to know which ones to hit and which ones to miss. Some of them that were promised to be hits were definite misses for us. And, well...the pay off is huge in some spots--I mean we LOVED some of the spots, but the drive is even bigger. We feel like we spent a day in the car when we could have spent a day in the ocean. And, thanks to the mudslide, we didn't get to do the big hike at the end to the bamboo forest because it was getting dark when we arrived. Every time we stopped, we felt rushed to get back in the car so we could get to the next thing. So, for us...we wouldn't recommend it necessarily. If we did it again, we would book a night in Hana and take two days to do the trip. Just wanted to make that suggestion.
#8: Nightsky Tour at Haleakala
This was one of our favourite days. Our day at Haleakala. We only wish we went on a day time tour or hike, but we split this day in two instead of spending the whole day there(ah such are the decisions one has to make when there is only 7 days). We watched the sunset and then spent two hours looking through a telescope at some awesome stuff. The tour guide provided us with winter gear(very needed as it was super cold in the dark) and hot chocolate. There were so many stars it was shocking(and we have some pretty amazing skies here in Alberta). We highly recommend the tour company: Maui Stargazing
#9: Mile Marker 14
So, we were told to check out Mile Marker 14 for some great snorkelling and it was so worth it. Some of the best snorkelling of the trip. A couple of downsides--the highway is right there, so if I had unpredictable small children, I might skip it. The plus side is Leodie's pie shop is also right there and DUDE those pies are out of sight.
I might mention that we also paid a large amount to go on a guided snorkel tour...but, truthfully, even though it was a great tour, it wasn't really worth it. Our best snorkelling happened just off shore. So, if budget is a concern--skip the expensive snorkel tours and just rent a car and ask the guys at Snorkel Bob's where to go.
#10: Paia Town
We thought this was the cutest little surf town and would maybe even stay in this area next time. The kids tried to master the boogie board at the public beach there. It took a few epic wipeouts(and lots of sand in Georgia's hair), but eventually, she managed :)
#11: Kahekili Highway and the Nakalele Blowhole
We decided one day to drive along the Kahekili Highway. Honestly, we enjoyed it more than the Road to Hana. Partly because the weather was incredible, but it was maybe more our speed. We saw the Nakalele Blowhole. We stopped for the most incredible smoothies at some random trailer on a hill. We stood there for a second and then the owner came up the hill on his ATV to help us. Best smoothies ever. As we drove through the little town below, a girl stopped to sell us her banana bread. Of course, we bought it--just buy the banana bread from the roadside stands, you won't be disappointed. This one was pretty special because of the girl. We called her Lilo(as in Lilo and Stitch). She literally jumped in front of our car to ask us if we wanted to support her church by buying banana bread. As we were struggling to find change, a line of cars was forming behind us so we said we were going to pull over to let people pass. Lilo was like 'uh no way man...I need to sell to them, too'. As we drove away, we were laughing about how we had been hustled by Lilo. Oh well, I like a kid who knows how to hustle ;)
#12 Makena Beach
We parked and walked to this beach. We laid out our towels beside this older couple and then we went snorkelling and didn't come back for almost 3 hours. The older couple was starting to get worried about us....but, you see, we had went around the corner and found a beach that was LITERALLY EMPTY. It was a little bit of a rough go, but we stayed away from the rocks and rested on the empty beach before we made our way back. Anytime you can find yourself alone on a beach, it's a good day ;) There were some people learning to scuba dive there and Georgia had fun playing in the bubbles.
So, those are all of the things we enjoyed on our trip. We have also been converted and our now huge fans of Hawaii :) Who knew that it wouldn't be crowded and touristy? The only question on the table is next year do we go to Maui or do we explore Kauai? I guess we'll see :)
~ Dana
Nightshooting
These images were taken back when we were in Flathead Lake, Montana. I hate feeling restricted when I shoot. I will often hear other photographers talk about the rules they have for photography...specifically regarding ISO. Boo to that I say. Rules were made to be broken. Embrace using your camera to it's fullest. Night shooting is definitely one way to do that. Even though both of these images were taken at night, the results were created two very different ways.
The first image was taken using a tripod because I knew that it would be impossible to hand hold. I removed myself as much as I could from any lightsources--the green light you see at the bottom is the result of a street light fixture at the boat launch. Obviously, I put the camera on the tripod and pointed it at the sky. I played around with the settings until I got exactly what I was hoping for. I've done this enough to be able to guess a good starting point and then keep trying until I get what I want. In the end, the settings were ISO 2000, F2.8, SS 20seconds.
The second image was taken while Jack was building a campfire. The only two lightsources were the fire and the lamp that Bob is holding. I know from experience that I can hand hold nice and steady to a shutter speed 1/30...any slower than that and I will most likely get camera shake. I opened the aperture to f2.8(as wide as this lens allows) and I played with the ISO until I got the desired results. In this case, the ISO is 10,000. It is hard to believe how clean the image is but today's cameras are truly meant to be pushed. At least, that is my belief ;)
I love taking risks in my photography. Thought I'd share one easy way for you to try and take some risks as well.
~ Dana