As a tour videographer the average work week can find me in any corner of the country. I create web content for music acts as they tour and perform. They release this content through their social media outlets as a vital way of connecting with their fans. Every day is another flight, another city and another show. Fitting as much gear into as small a space as possible is essential to making sure I have everything I need to do the job, haul everything on my own, and have it accessible at a moment’s notice.

Although my road rig consists of two Lowepro bags, the DSLR Video Fastpack 350 AW has become my go-to backpack. It is indispensable in providing the portability, comfort and versatility that I desire from a good backpack. Not to mention, it was one of the only suitable camera bags with enough space to accommodate my behemoth 17″ MacBook.

For me, filming does not just take place at the shows where my artists perform – it takes place everywhere: at the airport, in the car, at the hotel, during dinner, backstage, the after-party…you name it. Wherever the artists go, I go…ready and able to capture the moment. That’s why the DSLR Video Fastpack is perfect. The layout is specifically designed to house the essentials of the DSLR filmmaker while making them very easily accessible. I can easily swing the bag around on my shoulder to change lenses, swap memory cards or grab a fresh battery without even setting it down. It is literally swing, zip, swap, zip, swing and you are back filming again.

Inside my DSLR Video Fastpack I carry a Canon 5D MKiii, Canon 24mm f/1.4, Canon 50mm f/1.4, Canon 85mm f/1.8 and a Canon 24-105 f/4. I also carry: a MacBook Pro, MacBook Pro charger, external hard drive with cords, Rode Videomic Pro, large over-ear headphone, card reader, lens cleaning kit including solution, rag and blower, 10 camera batteries, camera battery charger, a four slot memory card case,  LED panel charger, lavaliere mic, ear buds, ear plugs, Go Pro cord, extra 9 volt and AAA batteries, business cards, extra lens caps, two intervalometers, and of course, my Konova slider strapped to the side.

I also keep a couple of Lowepro S&F Lens Exchange Case 200 AW bags strapped on either side of the DSLR Video Fastpack. Once I am at a show, I usually find a safe place to set my bags down at the back of the stage, at which point I strap the Lens Exchanges on to my belt to have more mobility while still keeping my glass or mic close at hand. They are also handy for squeezing in just a little extra stuff that won’t quite fit comfortably inside the pack.

My most recent video is a great example of what the tour life is like. Working with Krewella (an EDM/pop act based out of Chicago), one of my main clients, we kicked off their tour with a grueling weekend of three different shows in two days. It began in San Diego with a 6pm performance at the San Diego Music Festival; then an all-night flight to New York for a 2pm performance at the Electric Zoo Festival the next day; and then another flight – just two hours after they got off stage – down to Miami for a 1:30am performance at Grand Central. No sleep, no shower and no time to charge a single battery. We even flew back to New York just a few hours later at 4am. Weekends like these are what make having the right bags absolutely critical. Thankfully, Lowepro and the DSLR Video Fastpack make it easy.

Editor’s note: You could say that Northern California-based videographer Miles Evert truly represents ‘going the distance’ for his clients. His documentaries and music videos are all about capturing the moment. From pre-production to camera work to editing, Miles takes it all on and delivers amazing content. Check out his work on his web site and take a few minutes to watch his latest tour video here.

© Elizabeth Carmel

As we get deeper into the fall season and closer to winter (at least here in the Northern Hemisphere), some of us tend to venture out less and keep our cameras tucked in their bags. But cold weather is no reason to retreat from taking pictures. For lots of pros and enthusiasts, now is the perfect time to capture snowy landscapes with no footprints, view wildlife with fewer crowds and compose beautiful shots of ice-covered branches.

We asked three of our pro photographer friends to share their cold-weather photography tips. One makes the High Sierras her home. One lives under the coastal fog of Sonoma County, California. And one lives in the subarctic climate of Anchorage, Alaska.

Tip 1
Award-winning landscape photographer Elizabeth Carmel shares a simple and practical tip to help prevent battery drain. “Cold weather can quickly drain batteries, so I always keep extra batteries in a pocket underneath an overcoat so body heat keeps them warm and at the best temperature. Sometimes a dead battery will come back to life after it has warmed up a bit.”

Tip 2
Lowepro evangelist and founder of The Digital Story, Derrick Story trusts a Ziploc® bag to keep his gear protected and dry. “During cold weather, make sure you have at least one Ziploc bag in your camera case. Not only are they useful for protecting your equipment in the rain, but they help with condensation too.

Bringing a camera in from the cold weather to a warm house promotes condensation forming on the outside of its body, possibly migrating to the inside of the camera where it can confound electrical components. To prevent this mishap, place your camera in a Ziploc bag before coming inside. Leave the camera in the sealed bag until it reaches room temperature. The condensation will collect on the bag, not your camera, thereby protecting your investment.”

© Dan Bailey

Tip 3
Adventure, travel and location photographer Dan Bailey gives good advice on keeping extremities covered and planning ahead – with a very fun self-portrait to make his point! “Cold weather makes everything more difficult. You just feel more clumsy in your bulky jackets, hats, mittens and gloves, and even the smallest tasks, like manipulating camera controls, become frustrating awkward. Your choices are often either bulky gloves and mittens or bare frozen fingers that have gone numb. Having spent many occasions painfully warming up my hands, I usually go with thin to medium thickness gloves and hand warmer packs. To get around the awkwardness, try to preset the camera controls and exposure so that you’ll spend minimal time trying to fiddle with buttons and menus.

Also, watch bare noses and cheeks on ice cold metal and plastic camera bodies when it’s really cold. We’re talking around zero and below. Believe me, it’s possible to nip the end of your nose when you press your face up to the back of the camera. Wear a face mask if you can, or hold your face slightly away from the back of the camerawhen you shoot photos, and you might even save some skin!”

Fearless adventurers, photographers and videographers Rachid Dahnoun and Trevor Clark took an assignment up in the Yukon – the territory in westernmost Canada known for its remote and pristine beauty. Now, this was not just any assignment. Rachid and Trevor were hired to shoot a short film for a mountain bike/travel adventure outfitter.

So we’re talking 800km of trails, boreal forests, glacial rivers, stunning mountain ranges – plus luxury yurts for nighttime lodging. For equipment support, they chose Rover Pro AW packs to carry large loads of video production gear up and down thousands of feet of rugged terrain. And did we mention that Rachid and Trevor rode mountain bikes while shooting? “To be honest, I don’t think there is a bag out there that would have performed better in that scenario,” Rachid said. “They were an essential part of the project,” he added.

Check out diaries of the trip, the production and what fit in their packs on Rachid’s blog and Trevor’s blog.

You can read more about H&I Adventures and the trips they lead in the Yukon, Scotland, Mexico, Ecuador, Nepal and Spain. And enjoy the video we’ve posted below. Maybe you’ll get inspired to take a mountain-style adventure of your own!

Highlands & Islands Yukon Territory MTB from Rachid Dahnoun on Vimeo.

During late summer, a large number of brown bears congregate on the shores of Lake Clark National Park to catch salmon, eat sedges and nap in the sunshine. It’s one of the prime bear viewing spots in south-central Alaska, but like much of the state, it’s only accessible by plane. This past August, I took advantage of some rare sunshine and headed down there for a day trip to photograph bears and try out the new Photo Hatchback AW.

I’m finding the Photo Hatchback AW to be perfect for excursions like this. It’s got enough room for a moderate selection of camera gear, as well as a top compartment that fits lunch, some warm clothing and a spare telephoto lens. Two side pockets fit a water bottle on one side and a can of bear spray on the other. It’s streamlined enough that it doesn’t get bulky on your back, it’s compact enough to stash easily in bush planes or as carry-on luggage, rugged enough for the outdoors, and comfortable to wear all afternoon. In addition, the zipper flap camera compartment gives you quick access to your gear when you need it.

For this particular bear-watching trip, I packed a Nikon D300, a couple of lenses, my compact Fujifilm X10 and a couple of spare batteries. In the top lid went sandwiches, cookies, the big 80-200mm f/2.8 lens, fleece jacket and windbreaker.

Flying down the west side of the Cook Inlet in my little yellow Cessna, we could see bears as soon as we turned the corner at Tuxedni Bay. Looking down at all the brown bumps grazing in the grasslands just back from the shore, my wife Amy joked that they looked like cows. We dropped down for our beach landing, and just before my bush wheels touched down on the sand, a curious young brown poked his head up out of the grass, about 30 feet to the right, and watched us whiz by.

Once down, we unloaded our gear, walked over to the mouth of the creek and watched a female bear splash around in the water as she tried to catch silver salmon as they swam upstream from the ocean. She put on quite a sight for the cameras, while further down the beach, a larger male sat napping after snacking on the two big silvers that he’d caught earlier. Eventually, a bald eagle showed up, hoping to snare some scraps. Talk about postcard view!

Since the bears in this area are relatively used to human visitors, you can actually get pretty close to them. Sometimes they’ll walk right by you, usually paying little or no attention; after all, you’re not fish. Being a national park, there are a couple of rangers onsite who make sure that everyone is following the safety guidelines.

After a few hours of tromping around on the sand and grass, we loaded up the little Cessna and headed home. A few weeks later, when the buckle on Amy’s work pack broke, I removed the camera divider pouch from my Photo Hatchback AW, undid the hook/loop flap, which turns it into a full-sized daypack, and let her borrow it for a week of bike commuting. She found it so comfortable, that I had a hard time getting it back!

When I remarked that I was still missing a couple of my extra X10 batteries, she and her detail-oriented mind took one look at the pack and immediately found them. They were still stuffed into the small elastic memory card/battery pocket that sits just inside the camera compartment flap. Don’t even ask what I owe her for that one.
– Dan Bailey

Editor’s note: Adventure, travel and location photographer Dan Bailey is passionate about his craft. So much so, he never hesitates to hunker down in the snow, ski down a steep slope or trail run with a full pack of gear to capture imagery for his clients. And his home base of Anchorage, Alaska provides him with plentiful opportunities to create his particular style of dynamic and stunning photography. You can read more about Dan and see his galleries on his web site and check out the latest adventures on his blog. Dan also teaches online courses through The Compelling Image.

Editor’s note: A short while ago, we were introduced to the remarkable work of London-based fashion, celebrity and editorial photographer Rebecca Litchfield. It’s fair to say we were immediately drawn into her moody imagery. Rebecca’s been a working pro for just over six years, but her list of clients and accolades gives her the credentials of a seasoned, visual storyteller. She was chosen as Professional Photographer of the Year 2009 by Professional Photography Magazine and as a semi-finalist for the 2010 Hasselblad Masters Awards.

 Her current editorial project will take her to a variety of countries in search of abandoned places and cultural memory, and will culminate in a book at the end of 2013. You can see her work, read her blog and experience her Day of the Dead Abandoned Photography site. Recently, Rebecca returned from Chernobyl in Central Ukraine – the first stop of her project’s journey – and tells us a bit about that experience and her work.

 
Your images of abandoned places are so haunting and intriguing. What is it about the past that entices you to document the current state of these places?
I have always found considerable aesthetic beauty in things decayed, the objects that remain, but may soon disappear forever. They tell a story of a long and interesting past like artifacts in a museum. Some people travel to the ruins of Rome, the crumbling Colosseum, others to Peru to see the enchanting ruins of the Machu Picchu. These majestic and culturally important places are slowly crumbling with time and one day will disappear from humanity in their entirety. But I see no difference between these iconic world sites, which attract tourism, and the abandoned places known to so few, we must not let these hidden histories disappear.

Hidden from the master narrative of history, these places are imbued with a wealth of meaning and wonder, a history of their own, which I strongly believe deserves to be recorded for posterity too. I believe it is absolutely vital to sensitively preserve this of a once-rich time before it is gone forever.

Whilst some may look at the decay in these places as simply reflecting the destruction, I perceive them as museums; the buildings and extant objects as beautiful exhibits of what once existed. Moreover, they are hauntingly beautiful memorials to the ordinary people who once lived and worked there, but whose existence, whose stories are ephemeral risk of being extinguished forever if they are not somehow recorded. It is reality that these places will cease to exist very soon, and as their memories begin to fade, these places will be forgotten. It is essential to record these pasts so that the narratives of history will furnish, as full and true a record as possible, chronicling history from above and below, no matter which ideologies shaped them.

My fashion photography has always been very conceptual with a dark nature running throughout and now I feel my exploration of such abandonment full of ideas and cultural memory compliments my style of photography greatly.

The aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster has been photographed often in the last 25 years. What do you hope your images convey about it now?
I have been struck by the extent of urban abandonment in the former Soviet Union and its satellite states in the former Eastern Bloc. I have had a deep fascination for the former USSR and its history for a long time, but I have recently become particularly drawn to the many ghost towns that used to be thriving communities behind the Iron Curtain but now lay derelict, uninhabited, broken shells of what they once were. My aim with this book is to attempt to capture something of their essence in my photography, to preserve and tend to the memories they still hold before they too are lost as time rolls inexorably on. We must not let these hidden histories disappear.

Chernobyl has been photographed a lot, but each year the power plant changes, now with the new sarcophagus being built and the nearby town of Pripyat evolves as nature claims it back. The most poignant thing is that nature is slowly taking back what it once had and the landscape is slowly changing. The buildings deteriorating more and more each year and vegetation slowly covering it. Maybe in another 25 years the buildings will be just crumbing ruins.

It’s very hard to put into words such an overwhelming experience as the one I had in my three days of being in the zone, I’ve never had such a huge mixture of emotions, it has opened my mind to the fragility of humanity and how the things humans create can cause so much damage to the world and the life that lives in it and I hope that people viewing the photos will get a feeling of this while seeing the details that touched me on my journey.

I guess the most amazing thing I have learnt is that nature will return and claim it all back, that humans may only last a small fraction of the time the Earth will exist as a disaster caused by man or nature could easily wipe us out and yet nature will still claim back the Earth. It has also taught me to cherish life, when you feel bad things are happening, you only have to think of those that have given their lives in such tragedies or live with the pain caused by them. It has made me see how lucky I am, there is great tragedy all over the world unseen by many and I hope that through the pictures I have taken and will share that other may realise that life is fragile and we must cherish what we have and never take it for granted.

I have captured Chernobyl and Pripyat in what I feel is a slightly more artistic representation then a lot of the documentary shots that exist already, I aimed to capture the atmosphere and tragedy of the decaying town, to produce a series of beautiful images that would grab the attention of people to look more closely, then when realising what they are of, make them think more about the tragedy that had happened in Chernobyl.

How do you use High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging to create a mood or a particular point of view?
I use HDR as part of the processing of my images; I take a series of 7 exposures while the camera is mounted on a tripod to capture the whole range of lights and darks of the image. This is impossible to do in a single exposure. I then combine all of these exposures into one image using software called Photomatix.

You can adjust the gamma, strength, luminosity, white, blacks, detail, saturation, temperature etc. to create a tone mapped image. I find that the image produced is very untrue to what the original scene is, it almost looks unreal and un natural so what I will then do is us this on a layer over the most correctly exposed photo of the seven taken and use it on an opacity just enough to bring out the lights and darks, I will select areas where I will remove the HDR completely where it looks un natural and only use it where the image was too dark or too light to begin with.

The resulting image means no area will be too dark and no areas blown out with highlights. I think HDR is wonderful to use in this way if you use it subtly, when photographing in Chernobyl, I felt the need to document it more in a documentary way, I wanted the final images to look beautiful, but not unreal, I wanted to capture it in a sensitive way that was true to how I viewed it so using HDR subtly was the key.

Does your fashion photography inform the work you’re doing for this project?
Over the last year, primarily to complement my fashion work, I have begun photographing abandoned buildings. What had originated as a hobby and a chance to location scout for future fashion shoots has become much more serious and important to me. Indeed, my deepening passion for this kind of photography, which is categorized as ‘urban exploration’, has inspired me to start exploring the medium further in order to develop my range as a photographer. I believe my photographs sensitively capture something of societies and cultural that have been abandoned or lost to the modern day

With so much academic and intellectual discussion of the concept of cultural memory prevalent at the moment, I believe that my exploration of this theme in my work is both timely and important.

I would have to say that my exploring began as a way of location scouting for my fashion work and I have now got a large library of amazing locations for me to shoot fashion editorials, but more importantly it has also helped me look more widely at how I produce a fashion image. Moving forward I will be shooting more on location then in the studio as I did previously, I hope that with fashion shoots in the future I will  convey the atmosphere I find in these places within my images. Over the next few years I am excited to be combining the two to create a series of beautifully atmospheric conceptual fashion shoots within abandoned buildings. Working on the book will aid my development as a fashion photographer, as capturing a mood and atmosphere as well as the surrounding location is very important and something I want to establish in my fashion photography.

Are you heading to Photo Plus this week? If you are, make sure you come by the Lowepro booth (#736) to see our wonderful photographer friends and enjoy product demonstrations. It’s a great time to get a firsthand look at the new products like Rover Pro AW, Passport Sling II and Photo Hatchback AW.

We’re giving away some great gear throughout the week, so if you don’t already follow us on Twitter or Facebook, make sure you do – you’ll wan to get every update.

Thursday

10:30 Stephen Johnson: A Photographers Pack. Being prepared means having what you need. Steve will spend a few minutes detailing what is in his pack, why, and the things he always has to carry when the camera pack cannot come along.

11:00 Tony Gale: Night Photography. Tony will be discussing Night photography and some unusual lights that Tony keeps in his Lowepro bag

Noon Aaron Nace of Phlearn: Photoshop Demonstration. Aaron will conduct a Photoshop tutorial including step-by-step creations of some of his more popular images.

12:30 Todd Williams: Performance, protection and style.  Find out how Lowepro bags allow Todd to carry multiple camera systems into the back country and handle the weather – if it’s 100 degrees or 20.

1:15 Blair Bunting: The Deadliest Catch Almost Didn’t Happen. Blair will discuss how Lowepro saved “The Deadliest Catch” shoot in Alaska

1:45 Tim Grey: Photography on the Go. In this session Tim Grey will share some of his favorite tips for making the most of your photography on-the-go. Whether you’re traveling halfway around the world or just across town, these tips will help you work more efficiently.

2:30 Brian Smith: Secrets of Great Portrait Photography. Celebrity portrait photographer Brian Smith is a Pulitzer Prize winner known for his bold, iconic portraits of celebrities and athletes. His new book ‘Secrets of Great Portrait Photography: Photographs of the Famous and Infamous‘ blends the lavish celebrity portraits of a coffee table book with technical how-to insights – plus offers up a side of behind-the-scenes celebrity stories. In this sexy, bold, beautiful book, Brian tells the stories behind the photos and lessons learned in 30 years of photographing celebrities and people in all walks of life.

3:45 Seth Resnick: Shooting In Extreme Conditions. Seth Resnick’s work is about color but his muse is ice. Seth will show recent work from both the Arctic and the Antarctic. The worlds that people assume are white are anything but white. Come enjoy pictures that truly look like they came from a different planet.

Friday

10:00 Vincent Versace: Burma. Vincent will discuss his most recent photography adventure in Burma.

11:15 Corey Rich:It Starts with Passion. Corey will share how his path to making powerful and compelling photographs starts with finding your passion. Like anything in life, the willingness to put the effort and sacrifice into those things which mean the most is essential. Recognizing individual passions and talents is fundamental to leading a fulfilling life. While it might seem counter-intuitive, it’s import to step away from photography from time to time in search of your personal expertise. What is it that you truly know and love? In what areas are you an expert? The next step is to apply your photographic skills and passion to share this expertise through images.

11:30 Nevada Wier: Going Light! Sometimes one just needs to carry a camera with one or two lenses. Nevada will demonstrate using the new Passport Sling II, S&F Series, Outback and Inverse. She will talk about when she uses these bags and why.

12:15 John Paul Caponigro: The Art of Traveling. John Paul will discuss how he prepares for making the most of a photography adventure, both physically and mentally.

12:30 John Isaac: The Art of Seeing. John will discuss photographing the wild tigers in his native India.

1:15 Robert Beck: Sport Photography. Robert will discuss his years shooting for sports publications like Sports Illustrated.

1:45 Tim Grey: Photos on the Map. In this session Tim Grey will demonstrate a wide variety of possibilities for adding location information to your photos automatically or manually, so you’ll always know where your favorite photos were captured.

2:00 Ed Heaton: The Lowepro Advantage. Ed will discuss the advantages of his Lowepro bag as a landscape photographer.

3:00 Dan Bailey Which outdoor pack is right for you? How and why he uses 4 different packs.

Saturday

10:15 Lou Jones: Designing Your Life. Lou shares his thoughts on the sustainability of commercial photography and how to survive in the perplexing new age of photography.

11:30 Mark Alberhasky: Packing to Travel. There’s a popular expression, “less is more”, used in many situations to illustrate the value of simplicity. But as you’ll discover from hearing professional photographer/traveler Mark Alberhasky speak, the best answer to keeping things simple may not be exactly what you think.

12:45 Andy Katz: Travel Photography. Andy will be discussing his recent photography adventure in India

1:00 Ian Spanier: Five Different Shoots, Five different bags. From the studio to the field, learn how Ian uses 5 different Lowepro bags to make sure he has everything he needs.

2:00 Chris Rainier: Cultures on the Edge. Chris Rainier will share his insights on his new photography monograph, Cultures on the Edge.  The book is a visual exploration, documenting the rituals, daily lives and spiritual landscape of ancient cultures struggling to maintain their traditions in a modern world.

Editor’s note: Tim Sadler, our category manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa shares some really cool news with us: the Flipside 500 AW received a coveted Gear of the Year Award (GOTY) from a panel of judges that included industry experts and editorial staff from Bauer Media. The largest, privately owned publishing group in Europe, Bauer offers more than 300 titles in 15 countries, including Digital Photo and Practical Photography magazines. This year, UK marketing manager Natalie Littlehales boarded a boat in London, cruised on the Thames and accepted the GOTY award with a champagne toast. Not a bad way to receive kudos!

“Last week saw the annual UK Gear of the Year awards hosted by Bauer Media take place in London. Suppliers and retailers from around the UK boarded the William B boat and were treated to champagne and fine dining whilst the cream of the industry crop received their awards for the best product releases of the last 12 months.

The sought-after ‘GOTY’s’ are chosen by editorial teams from both Digital Photo and Practical Photography magazines and our UK team were very excited when the Flipside 500 AW won the award for Best Camera Bag of 2012.

Since launching the Flipside 500 AW earlier this year, it has become a firm favourite amongst the media and the action sports crowd – which includes the likes of professional photographers Geoff Waugh and Roo Fowler. Visit the product page to find out more or watch the video!”

– Tim