Joseph Roybal, South America and the Photo Sport Sling 100 AW

Joseph Roybal shooting in South America. © Dan Ballard

Joseph Roybal shooting in South America. © Dan Ballard

Editor’s note: Explore. Learn. Share. Three key words (and actions) that inspire and motivate travel and landscape portrait photographer Joseph Roybal to excel at his craft.

Based in Denver, Colorado, Joseph travels the world in search of interesting places and people. His work has been featured in AFAR Travel Magazine, Denver Magazine and the Denver Post – and he is part of the Zenfolio Pro Team. He has location scouted for National Geographic Workshops and leads his own workshops on landscape photography – including an amazing, 8-day experience in Paris and the French Alps coming in the spring of 2014 with colleague Dan Ballard (check here for all the details!).

This past spring, he traveled to South America with the Photo Sport Sling 100 AW and has this report of the adventure and bag to share. Enjoy.

 

A double rainbow appears over Machu Picchu, Peru. © Joseph Roybal

A double rainbow appears over Machu Picchu, Peru. © Joseph Roybal

“This April I set out on a photographic journey of a lifetime to South America for several weeks with another great friend and photographer. My goal was to capture unique perspectives of the rugged and harsh landscapes of Patagonia and Peru in the most beautiful and dramatic light possible. We were both also working with new gear provided to us from several partners, one for me being Lowepro and specifically, the Photo Sport Sling 100 AW. I added this bag to the inventory list accompanying my larger Lowepro bag for excursions that required a lot of moving; climbing over rocks, jumping, running, etc. I also wanted to test this bag in these harsh environments to see how it would faire up against a more robust field bag.”

Fall color blankets Patagonia's rugged landscape; Patagonia, Argentina. © Joseph Roybal

Fall color blankets Patagonia’s rugged landscape; Patagonia, Argentina. © Joseph Roybal

“The inspiration for this journey came from my desire as a travel landscape and portrait photographer to add to my library of imagery from around the globe. When working in the field my mission is to shoot in the early hours of the day in gorgeous locations looking for incredibly dramatic light. When you awake at 3 am and look out of your tent and see it’s raining or snowing and you have a several hour hike ahead of you, it is not easy to exit that cozy space. This is when you must push harder than ever to get up and out. It’s when you think there is no chance for a photograph, these will be the photographic opportunities of a lifetime – it’s that 90% / 10% ratio that will yield the results we want: 90% that nothing will happen. However, when that 10% happens, be ready to be blown away with the level your photography will achieve.”

Silky water and fall colors; Patagonia, Argentina. © Joseph Roybal

Silky water and fall colors; Patagonia, Argentina. © Joseph Roybal

“For many day excursions I utilized the new Photo Sport Sling to carry my Nikon body, 17-35mm f/2.8 lens, 70-300mm telephoto, 50mm f/1.8 prime and GoPro with attachments along with light snacks, water, extra layers. I was also able to securely attach my trekking poles to the dedicated loops built into the bag itself. Slick. I also had along with me my GPS and several filters all within this small, yet very capable bag. It was extremely comfortable and easy to carry even with all of this weight, as it is a single strap design that is held secure by an added chest strap. It was also so easy to access my gear in a pinch simply by swinging it down and around and getting into the main side-entry compartment.”

Joseph Roybal shooting in South America. © Dan Ballard

Joseph Roybal shooting in South America. © Dan Ballard

“What I love about Lowepro is they build their bags with the photographer in mind and their gear just works. This bag was no exception: it worked incredibly well and I found it very capable of taking on the larger tasks when needed and nimble when looking for something light and fast.”

Katrina Neill

About Katrina Neill

Katrina was the Senior Editor & Communications Manager for Lowepro.

One Comment

  • Joseph, I always enjoy seeing your posts and your latest adventures. Happy to see your photography business is thriving so well. It was especially fun seeing in this post several photos of you in action shooting on your photography excursions! Oh, and Lowepro Bags RULE!!! Best, Janine

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