Spirited photographer, fearless adventurer and incredibly nice guy Ian Spanier has a new book out – one that tells a story of people who don’t always get recognition for their service to communities across the United States. Local Heroes: Portraits of America’s Volunteer Firefighters is a tribute to the everyday citizens who help protect homes and lives.

Ian and collaborators Marek Fuchs, Florian Bachleda and Grace Martinez compiled moving portraits along with the timely issues that face many volunteer fire houses, such as underfunding and lack of appreciation for the time firefighters put in and sacrifices they make.

Parade Magazine calls the book “riveting”. Newsday notes that it’s “especially relevant”. And from NetGalley, “amazing…particularly moving…a must have”.

For more details and reviews of this publication and to see Ian’s unique take on intimate portraiture, visit the tumblr page for the book. You can read an interview about the project with writer Marek Fuchs. And order the book here – it would make a very meaningful holiday gift for a volunteer firefighter or photography fan on your list.

Ian Spanier is an award-winning photographer based in New York. His work has appeared in Conde’ Nast Traveler, Men’s Journal, Marie Claire, Muscle and Fitness,  Field & Stream, Time Out NY, Psychology Today, Los Angeles Magazine and Private Air. His first book, Playboy, A Guide to Cigars documents his travels to nearly every country that manufactures cigars. His newest book, Local Heroes: Portraits of America’s Volunteer Firefighters is published by Schiffer Books.

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.

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: Our colleagues Rick and Kendra from the product design team are in Jackson Hole, Wyoming right now taking part in the Summit Series Adventure Photography Workshop. They just sent us these cool images from a day on the Snake River and we want to share them with you, too. Here’s a note from Rick.

We’re really excited to be in Wyoming at the Summit Series Adventure Photography Workshop and we’re having an amazing experience.

There’s a great group of faculty here to give helpful instruction and put us through our paces, including: pro photographers Chris Burkard, Lucas Gilman, Keith Ladzinski, and Corey Rich; as well as Sadie Quarrier of National Geographic magazine and Scott Willson of The North Face.

Kendra and I are learning a ton about shooting adventure photos as well as the business of working with editors, operating a photography business and much, much more. If you’re looking to advance your shooting skills, this series of workshops is terrific. Check out the workshop web site for more info.

– Rick

Lots of us remember how it feels to break into a new career or pursue a passion (or both!). Photographer Cassady Kissam shares his experience in this full profile. The trials. The challenges. The surprises. The “happy accidents”. They’re all highlighted here in a candid piece we hope you enjoy reading.

Hey, if you have a similar experience, please share it on our Facebook page or leave a comment here.

As always, we love to hear from you.

Editor’s note: Trevor Clark is a professional photographer, adventure sports athlete and passionate observer of life. Jessie Stone is a doctor-turned-whitewater-kayaker, member of the USA Freestyle Kayak Team and passionate agent of positive change. Trevor was inspired to tell Jessie’s story of building and running a clinic that treats patients for malaria and provides outreach programs. So he took a chance on getting funding, packed a minimal camera/video kit and headed to Uganda. He shares the experience here.

What about Jessie inspired you to create not only a still and motion story, but start a fundraising effort?
Well, I think her story kind of just speaks for itself. I had known about Jessie and what she was doing for a while, but it was really when I met her at a wedding in Mexico (mutual kayaker friends) and had a chance to let her tell me about it that I knew I was going to tell her story. She was so passionate and determined that I instantly locked in on the idea of getting myself over there. Nearly two years went by with this idea in the back of my head, pulling on me, before I tried pitching it to editors. Unfortunately, that didn’t work very well as there just aren’t too many magazines with a budget to send someone to Uganda for a few weeks. I was really frustrated with the whole process and decided to just go and figure it out later. It wasn’t an easy decision. I didn’t have any jobs lined up. I didn’t have the money to float the expenses and the cost of a multimedia edit. But I didn’t want to give up on it either. I had heard about Kickstarter, but didn’t know all that much about it, so as a last ditch effort I put up a campaign and hoped for the best.

Tell us a bit about the Kickstarter idea.
Like I said, the Kickstarter campaign was a complete afterthought. This all came together right at the beginning of the crowd-sourcing/micro-funding movement and I really didn’t know all that much about it – except that it was worth a try. I was already committed to going and had purchased the flights, malaria prescription, vaccinations, etc… when I had this idea. Unfortunately, I only had two weeks until my departure so I had to set the funding goal end date for a few weeks after my return from Uganda. That meant that I would have no idea if I would get any funding or not until weeks after it was all over. With Kickstarter you have to reach your funding goal in time or you don’t receive any funding. I put it all together, then begged and pleaded with everyone I knew to help me spread the word. Here is the link to the project.

How did you imagine you would shoot this and which gear did you gather to make the job possible?
Luckily this type of water-related story fell right into the type of adventure imagery I am used to shooting, so I pretty much had all the gear and river skill set I needed to make it happen. It was pretty nutty though to pack my kayak full of gear – water-related and camera-related, and check that all the way to Entebbe, Uganda. Doing it all on my own, I knew that I would just be working out of my kayak on the river and out of my backpack on shore. With everything I was already taking, and the fact that I was the only one on the project, I just had to forego some of the fancier video techniques with cranes, sliders and all of that. It really was just me, a tripod and some bags.

Which Lowepro bags did you take along and why?
I always take the DryZone 200 on trips like this because there are always some crazy logistics on the other end. I had no idea if I was going to be getting off the plane and jumping into the back of a pickup during a rainstorm or if the place would be one huge dust cloud. It actually turned out to be both, somehow. That bag just allows me to have no concern about the safety of my main camera gear. And I can carry it on any airplane. It’s also a little less noticeable and you can move quickly with it, as I found I needed to do through some of the more populated areas. On the river I used some drybags that I have padded out with old foam and bits and pieces of other bags.

What was it like shooting in Uganda? How did you get your gear there and to the various locations? What made it easier?
Shooting in Uganda was pretty wild; it was definitely a new experience for me. When you’re in a place like that you really don’t want to have a ton of camera gear hanging off of you in front of a lot of people. It’s not that I really ever felt unsafe; it’s just that people there are in such a different position than any of us here in North America. You just don’t want to be waving it all in front of them all of the time. I really tried to be as inconspicuous as I could while still doing what I was there for. So I always just tried to carry the minimum amount of gear possible. And like I said, this wasn’t a project where I had an assistant or anything; so I couldn’t just put gear down here and there or have someone else hold it for me. I think the only way to make it manageable was to use what little amount of gear I could move freely with and make the best of it.

Are you planning other projects like this one? What’s next?
I am actually. This project has sparked a whole new direction on my work with Jessie and right now we are planning to get me back to Uganda later this year. This time, the project will be for Soft Power Health and I won’t have to do any more of my own fundraising. It’s really wild, but everything you do leads to something else.

View Trevor’s Uganda gallery, follow his blog, check out his Facebook page, and see the CNN story.