The Lightweight Photographer Begins

It might just be my advancing years but I have become a huge fan of Lightweight Photography. By Lightweight, I mean trying to minimise the size, weight and amount of equipment I carry when going out on photo shoots. Call it a minimalist approach to photography if you like, but I think it goes beyond being minimalist.

With a minimalist approach I would likely place constraints on myself around the type of images I capture, for example I might only carry one lens with a limited zoom. No, what I am talking about is being able to still make the same images as I would with my full SLR kit, without compromising my work. This is about minimising the weight and bulk of my equipment without constraining myself.

So this blog begins. It’s about my experience, findings and frustrations in trying to make this lightweight approach work for me.

If you are wondering why someone might follow such an approach when they already own a top quality SLR with a full set of pro spec lenses, there are a lot of advantages. I won’t list the advantages now, that’s for a future posting. What I will do however is share my key reason for choosing this approach which is convenience.

I like to do a lot of my photography in the outdoors, often up mountains or when I am out on long treks. Whilst I could and have in the past taken my SLR and lenses with me, I find the extra weight limits me in a number of ways:

• I don’t want to spend 4 hours walking to arrive on location so tired that I can’t be bothered to make any photographs.
• The weight does slow me down and can limit the time I have available for photograph.
• Exhaustion and photography are not a good mix and it shows in my work.
• I am limited on how much additional non photography equipment I can carry e.g. Winter Gear, which places other restrictions on where I can go with the camera.

If I could find a way to deal with this problem and remove these limits I should find that my photography will improve as will my enjoyment of the experience.

Visit again to read how I fair and also share your own thoughts and experience with me.