Hiking with a Camera

The following is only if you’re interested in cameras and photography and want to know some of the technical details about taking photographs whilst on the trail.

I took two cameras on this trip. A Mamiya 7 II and a Nikon D700. With the Mamiya I take the 50mm lens (which is 24mm in 35mm terms) and with the Nikon I take a 24mm and two macros; a 60mm and a 105mm (mine not the AF-S one though). I use the 60mm as a portrait lens when necessary. These lenses are all Nikon.

When I’m I’m hiking I usually have the D700 with an elastic strap over my shoulder with a tripod attached and hooked into the waist-belt of my rucksack. The stretchiness of the strap means it doesn’t bounce around so much and hooking into my belt takes the weight off my neck and keeps it steady beside me. The tripod is a Gitzo Basalt G1098 (which I think has been discontinued) with a Manfrotto 484RC2 small ball head. The quick-release plates on this head means I can release the camera for a hand-held shot and leave the tripod hooked in my belt.

If the camera has the 24mm attached then the 105mm is in a side pocket of my rucksack for easy access. In the side pocket on the other side is my lens cleaning kit, a polarising filter and the water-proof bags for the camera and lenses. Spare batteries and memory cards are in the pack as is the 60mm lens and the Mamiya.



Usually I use the Mamiya in the mornings and evenings (when not hiking) and use the D700 in the day. If I want to use the Mamiya in the day then I have to unload it from the pack, I know this is slow but then again slowing down to use a film camera is kind of the point. If I think the shot warrants it then I’m stopping and looking anyway so taking the pack off and retrieving the camera is not a problem.

On the trail I’m using a regular rucksack. I have a camera backpack with me, a small Lowepro Mini-Trekker, but this is inside my main bag during the day and being carried by a porter or a mule. Inside are all the things I don’t need during the day. Extra space batteries, chargers, sensor cleaning stuff, space lens caps and body caps and an Epson P5000 drive for backing up my shots. All my camera gear can fit in this bag and this is what I carry, on my back, as hand-luggage when travelling. When hiking my pack is also carrying my rain gear, my warm gear, my lunch and water and guide book and map (when required). I;m also carrying a first-aid kit and emergency stuff like a blanket and fire starting materials. Where necessary stuff is packed into water proof bags. The pack itself has a rain-cover.



Invariably the highlight of my photographic day is the early morning. For me this is the best time. The air is clear and the light is warm and the wind is usually still. the evening can be a good time too but in the mountains the clouds often roll in during the afternoon and the evening light is a disappointment.

Getting up first thing is not really a chore when you are camping out. The fact is you probably went to bed early anyway. Who wants to lie on the hard ground for more than eight hours anyway. It may be cold and dark outside but at least you are right there and don’t have to travel anywhere to get the shot. It is tempting sometimes to just tuck yourself back down into the sleeping bag. But I usually don’t. When we are staying over in a small village and sleeping in a Rest House or Hostel then I can enjoy the comfort of a sleep-in. After the shoot I very rarely go back to bed. On this trip I did it twice. On both occasions it was absolutely freezing outside and I couldn’t stand t stay out for more than a few minutes before retiring. Usually however by the time I’ve finished with cameras I’ve been awake an hour or so and the sun has risen over the mountain and perhaps reached the campsite. I’m already warm and still invigorated by the sights that the morning has brought.



During the day  I’m obviously on the look-out for the huge landscape shots but if we are at a low enough level and the weather is fine then I’m taking macro shots too. Butterflies and Dragonflies (and damsels) attract me the most but I also shoot other insects and even flowers when the mood takes me and I see something unusual.



from time to time we see other things too. Like monkeys but I don’t carry a tele lens to get that close to them.n The same applies to birds. I do spend some time bird-watching, particularly if I’m walking with James or Keith, but I just concentrate on enjoying what I’m looking at and borrowing the binoculars. I don’t have a large tele, like a 400mm, at home anyway and I’ve never liked the kind of shots you get with a cheaper zoom that gets out that far. I think photographing birds requires a different type of mindset and doesn’t really suit the kind of hiking we do. You’d need to sit down and wait a lot more. that’s a little bit of the case when shooting butterflies and dragonflies anyway. Many the time I’ve abandoned trying to get a shot like this because I think I’d better get on. It’s easier when I’m hiking alone and not with a group as on these treks. When walking in France I can afford to while away the best part of an afternoon without worrying where I need to be by sundown.



These kinds of frustrations can be annoying but you just have to skip on and hope something else will turn up just around the corner. It usually does.

Further frustrations can be had by reaching sublime places at the wrong time. I’ve often thought in the middle of the day that I’d like to stay here until the evening and be here in the morning. It’s just not possible. At other times you reach these spectacular vistas and it;s raining, or overcast or the cloud has rolled in and obscured the peaks. What can you do? Nothing. You realise that this is the only time you will be here. The cliched ‘once in a lifetime’. You just have to shrug it off. I might take a shot anyway. Just another dull shot to clog up my hard-drive.



Even more frustrating is the marvellous location you find about five or ten minutes after starting the hike in the morning. If only you knew, you think, I could have walked here before breakfast. But the light and the opportunity have long since passed. Put it down to experience and promise yourself to look harder in the evenings even when you’re dog tired from the day’s hike.

But don’t get the idea that it’s all doom and gloom missed chances. Far from it. I have no trouble maintaining my enthusiasm for finding and taking shots whilst on the trail. It;s a joy to out there and seeing and feeling these sights. Who wants to remember the bad bits anyway? What bad bits?

Even so, whilst I’m here, I may as well confess to not taking enough shots of people. I don’t know why but I’ve always been shy of sticking a camera in someones face. Even my friends. Even my brother! Every time I return home it’s something I’m acutely aware of. Where are the shots of the people I was travelling with never my the characters I met on the road? I need to be constantly reminded of this.

At one time I used to be adamant that my landscapes had to be people free but recently I’ve discovered (or rather had it pointed out to me) that the figure in the landscape can be important and meaningful in several ways. It can give an idea of scale and an idea of intimacy with nature and perhaps an idea of action. It’s something I’m going to pay more attention too in future. Jim will be pleased as I’ve often moaned when he’s stepped into my frame and he’s often moaned back as I’m taking too long mucking about with the tripod and such.

On the Rituals of Trekking 3

Evening

When the hike is done it’s often a relief to finally reach the intended campsite and throw yourself on the grass to rest. It seems that on most days the sun was still shining and we didn’t have to worry about getting our tents up in a hurry and diving for cover.

We usually started out on the trail before our porters and mules but they would often pass us along the way. It was usually a case of leapfrogging along the trail; they would pass us when we were resting and vice-versa.

This means that it was a bit of a lottery as to whether or not our gear was already at the campsite when we arrived. It generally didn’t matter but once or twice it was a bit frustrating to sit out in the cold and rain waiting. Mostly however the first thing to notice when arriving was the sight of all the others spreadeagled on the grass using their packs as a pillow. If the porters were there then they too would be lying out amongst the piles of gear. Everyone is usually finishing off their packed lunch.

The first thing to do after the initial recovery is to find a suitable pitch for your tent. Somewhere flat, without rocks and preferably with cow pats! It’s not often that we fight over this as it’s usually first come first served. Unless we are tight on space campsite etiquette requires that we do not pitch too close to one another. This might be due to trying to avoid being disturbed by snoring or other night time noises! We always pitch our tents a little distance from the three large tents reserved for the crew. Obviously that many people need a lot of space but it seems important to them and to us that this distance is respected. I don’t we need to read too much into this. I think it’s important that they can relax and enjoy themselves without feeling that they are permanently on duty. Apart from Surosh (Cook), Ajay (Guide) and Maneesh (Liaison) who will be preparing the evening meal for us they are done for the day as far as we are concerned.

Once the porters and muleteers have rolled in we amble over and retrieve our bags. Hopefully we have had time this morning to leave our tent and stuff in the sun to dry so that when we get our tents out now we can just pitch them and get all our gear sorted. On most occasions we can do this at our leisure but from time to time it has to be done quickly; either because it’s raining, snowing, bloody freezing or dark!

I like to pitch my tent so that the door is facing the rising sun. A quick look at where the sun is setting and my compass and I have a rough idea. This means I can stick my head out in the morning to see what the prospects are for photography. If the ground is not perfectly flat it’s usually best for your feet to be at the lower point. Generally you don’t want a slope from side to side but this can be difficult to assess when you’re in a hurry. Inside the tent I unpack my gear so it’s always in the same place. This means I can easily put my hand on anything I need and the things I need most are close at hand. My stuff is in a long line down one side of the tent and my sleeping mat and bag is on the other side. If I do have a slope from side to side then I arrange it so that I’m rolling into my rucksack and bag. In this way I don’t roll out the side of the tent! I had one or two nights when I didn’t get this quite right and had a disturbed nights rest.

Round about this time, when the tent is up and your gear is safely stowed, Maneesh will come round with the afternoon tea. How completely civilised! We usually had a plate of biscuits too but on some days the cook would have have cooked up something hot for us; chips or pakoras. Fantastic. We even had ketchup!

So what to do now? Now is the time to relax, read a book, go for a walk and generally laze about. As mentioned in a previous post it’s a good time now to think about a fire for this evening. Time to collect some firewood and build a fireplace.

One thing I like to do now, whilst at the same time looking for firewood, is to scout out places for tomorrow morning photography excursion. It’s usually quite obvious but from time to time I’ve been lazy and rued the fact that I didn’t spend some time doing this and only discover a perfectly good place when it’s too late and the sun is gone. This trip was noticeable for the fact that though the weather was generally very warm and sunny during the day almost every afternoon the clouds would begin to roll up from the valleys and begin to obscure the mountains around us. We didn’t have a single decent sunset on the whole trip. I can’t complain though because almost every morning was clear and bright. At least for a short time!

From time to time when we stay at Hostels or Rest Houses we can take a cold shower or perhaps have a bucket bath with swarm water. Usually we can only keep clean by using wipes. However when we are camped next to a stream we can take the opportunity for a bathe and a wash. This only happened twice on this trek. On our second night out at Nilara we swam and bathed in the river though the experience was marred by Keith picking up a leech! The second time was only two days later at Bhudar Kedar which was also marred as it was very close to a village and the ghat was obviously used as a toilet by the villagers. We just hoped that the river was fast flowing enough to be clean! On each occasion it was a great pleasure to take our hot and sweaty and dirty bodies into the icy water. The glacial streams were breath-catchingly cold and it was only with some effort that you could slowly submerge yourself. After some effort it was great to great your shoulders under the force of the stream and get a free massage whilst frantically preventing yourself from being swept away. At these places we also took the opportunity to wash some clothes in the river. We would borrow a plastic washing-up bowl from the Kitchen tent and swish out some shorts socks and t-shirts. Of xourse you’d have to carry around the damp clothes for a couple of days before they got dry!

At the Pawali Kanta campsite, where we spent two nights, we discovered a spring near by. Keith and I used this to o some clothes washing and Keith stripped off to take a shower beneath a small fall. I decided that I wasn’t quite dirty enough to warrant this! One of the secret pleasures of camping is wallowing in your own dirt and sweat and stench. Who’s to know or care if you smell worse than a mule on heat? Does a mule go on heat?

As the sun goes down and the thermals come on our thoughts turn to dinner. At least they do unless you’ve been suffering from a stomach complaint. Several of the party were bugged (!) by this at the beginning of the trek and we had to impress on the our guide and cook the need for cleanliness. On our last trip to the Himalayas our guide Heera was a stickler for this. All our drinking water was freshly boiled. Every meal was heralded by a bowl of warm water with Dettol,. the washed their hands with Dettol too. On this trip we had to re-iterate these requirements to Ajay after a few people went down with stomach upsets at the beginning. Fortunately we did have our own hand-wipes and soap-less hand-cleaners with us but it’s not very clear how effective these are.

Anyway eventually the call would come for dinner and we would make our way to where the tables were set up. On most nights it was warm enough to eat outside. We had two plastic tables with removable legs and a set of foldaway stools to sit on. If it was cold or raining then we would eat inside the large Mess Tent, which was used by half the crew for sleeping. On two occasions when it was very cold we were brought our dinner to our personal tents. This was uncomfortable and unsociable; I didn’t like it at all.

Every night our dinner would consist of three courses. The hot warming soup would come first. Keith and I spent one evening when camped on the snow inside the Kitchen Tent as dinner was prepared.  Surosh (the cook) would always slip some fresh vegetables into the four or five packets of dried soup mixture. Invariably this would consist of a good dose of garlic. So a couple of bowls of this would warm everyone up and perhaps get the conversation beyond the usual grumps and moans. After that would come the main course. Usually this would be in three parts; firstly the base of rice or pasta, secondly vegetable curry and thirdly a bread of some kind - perhaps chapatis or parata. We had no meat whilst on the trek but we were surprised on two occasions when we detected that a can of tuna had been mixed into one of the dishes. It was all good hearty stuff and plenty of it. It wasn’t particularly spicy though we did have various condiments available if we wished. Maneesh was responsible for bringing the food and taking it away and we hardly ever saw the cook at meal times! Unbelievably we always had a dessert too. Sometimes this would just be some sickly sweet Indian cake but from time to time we would get baked apple and custard. One evening at Kedernath we we served a jelly! But we could never get enough custard. To finish off Maneesh would bring a pot of tea and hot water for those that wanted hot chocolate of coffee.

Five years ago our first trip together James revealed his obsession and addiction to chocolate by bringing out a bar to share almost ever evening. This has now become an accepted tradition and on this trip would fight over who’s turn it was to produce the chocolate each night. We had no shortage on his trip! Also on that trip Adriana produced a bottle of cognac on the occasion of Jim’s birthday. This has also become a ritual and this time around we’d all picked up something from duty-free on the way over. My whiskey had only lasted a couple of nights and Keith’s hadn’t lasted much longer but James and Jim had conspired to buy a bottle of Cointreau each. This is a disgustingly sweet and girly thing to bring but at least it lasted longer! Amazingly Adriana did produce a bottle of Cognac again and it was brought out towards the end of the trip and finished on the last night. As you can see it’s not all doom and gloom on the mountains.

After dinner, if the night was not too cold or wet, we would usually retire to the fire that we had built earlier and spend an hour or so staring at the flames and embers. This is a fine way to whittle away an evening as I described earlier.

Eventually people would drift off to bed and the fire would burn low and it would be time to retire. It’s really hard to stay up beyond 9pm!

On the Rituals of Trekking 2

Hiking Rituals

How do you get through a five hour hike? Or for that matter a seven hour one and even once a nine hour marathon hike. I’ve noticed that I use rituals. The first of which is how your pack is packed. I mentioned this in a previous post on the rituals of trekking. The trick is to always pack the same way and to have everything you need most close to hand most of the time. It usually works and it usually avoids the frustration of rifling through your pack trying to find something. On this trip it spectacularly didn’t work for one object. A small knife. I’d put it somewhere safe before leaving home and on my six weeks away I couldn’t find it. Six weeks late at New Delhi airport as I was leaving it turned up in a scan in my hand luggage and was promptly confiscated. Great!

But after the pack comes the track.

I find myself counting the hours. It really helps if you have a rough idea of how long the day’s hike will be but it also helps if you don’t. My first milestone is to get through the first hour without taking a break. It’s dumb I know because you should take a break when you need one. When you need a drink of water or some nuts and raisins for a boost of energy it makes sense to stop. However a dumb obstinacy stops me stopping. As it were. I think the fear is that I may not make it through the day and getting past the first hour will get me into my stride. I’m often tired at first and weary too. I might have aches and pains from the previous day's exertions or the accumulated fatigue of a long trek.



I also use other ways to break up the day. If the hike is a long ascent (or descent) then I sometimes use the altimeter on my watch to dictate the breaks. I wont stop until I reach 3500m or 400m or whatever. It sounds foolish written down and it sounds like I’m not paying attention to what’s around me. That can be true however if the weather is against you or if the terrain demands that you are watching every step for fear of slipping or tripping. Sometime it’s easier just to use geographical features to measure your progress. The next pass, the next ridge or the next hairpin in a long zigzagged climb. How much time have I spent thinking about the next comfortable place that I might sit down and take a break? A lot.



When you are carrying a camera though you have a ready-made excuse to take a break. Every time I notice a butterfly or a dragonfly or an unusual flower it’s easy to slip you bag off and spend a few minutes chasing a shot. Every time the trail breaks out and reveals an amazing vista is another chance to take a break. Of course it is and this is one of the main reasons I’m here in the first place.

The best time for taking a break though is when you catch up to someone who is already taking a break. No excuse is need then for sitting down and sharing a few moments together. One of the pleasures of hiking in a small group is the way you seemed to be joined by a piece of elastic which stretches as you spread out on the trail alone and relaxes when you come together at various point and at various times along the way. That is the time for sharing the pleasures of the trails and for indulging in the necessary whinging about the trivial tribulations of the day.



From time to time it is actually pain and tiredness that forces the pace. On high-altitude sections I’ve often been reduced to walking ten minute sections between gasps of breath. Once on a long 40km walk along the Brittany Coastal Path (GR3)4 I was reduced to alternate walking 15 minutes with resting 15 minutes as my feet were so painful.

It sounds like an ordeal but of course most of the time I’m skipping along as happy as a sandboy, with my head in the clouds and my mind as clear as a mountain stream. I think I am anyway and in retrospect I always am.



I think I’ve lost my way here in trying to describe the mechanics of hiking. It takes some discipline to learn how to enjoy yourself and not treat the hike like an ordeal. It takes time to learn to slow down and enjoy the travelling as well as looking forward to the arrival. It can be a disappointment to arrive and then realise you could have dawdled more and enjoyed the things and places you’ve seen. The pressure to ‘keep up’ should be ignored as much as possible. Fortunately this is usually the way it pans out and everyone seems to meander along at their own pace. This is notwithstanding the fact that it can also be invigorating to step out and walk at a high pace and get your heart going that way. Not always though. Unless you’re James!