Whilst I love photography, one of my other passions is hill walking. I can’t think of anything better than being out in the mountains with the exception of being out in the mountains with a camera. And that’s where I was at weekend, up in the mountains of the Lake District. Unfortunately I didn’t get too many pictures as for most of my walk the visibility was less than 10m – thank goodness for my map, compass and GPS.
At the moment I am trying to put in some serious miles as I have an Alpine trek coming up where I am trekking from Monte Blanc to the Matterhorn at altitude. The other Saturday was therefore spent completing a 20Km walk around the Newlands Horseshoe taking in Maiden Moor, High Spy, Dale Head and Hindscarth and extended by including Catbells. Despite only being 20Km it was quite demanding with a good amount of ascent and decent so the day stretched out to 8 hours (not helped by the thick fog reducing visibility to less than 10m).
As I said above I can think of nothing better than taking pictures on these treks so I took my lightweight kit with me which consists of a Panasonic GX1, 9-18mm Olympus lens, 14-45mm Panasonic lens and 45-200mm Panasonic lens. Reducing my equipment down to this level makes my backpack much lighter and the walking much more enjoyable. There is also a further benefit of this lightweight equipment that I wanted to highlight and that is the carrying of the camera itself.
I tend to like my camera hung around my neck as I walk or sometimes slung around my neck. Over the years this has actually caused me a lot of neck problems and I know of a lot of others who also suffer because of this. The lightweight camera gear I now use is much more acceptable to carry in this “always ready” way and I now notice how much better my neck and back feel the day after a walk.
So my plea is to those of you who are reading this and are young enough to think this problem will not affect you. I want to tell you that it will, it’s just a matter of time. I therefore want to save you time, pain and money spent on Physiotherapy bills and say don’t carry your camera around your neck unless it’s lightweight. Even then, invest in a longer strap and carry the camera around the neck, with one arm through the strap so the strap comes across your body. I would hate to think you read this in 20 years time and think ah yes, he was right.
The Lightweight Photographer 
I’m all for the benefits of a light camera but I have to say – what a lovely landscape photo. The B&W tones are beautiful – not too contrasty, the dramatic clouds, all well executed.
Thanks for the positive feedback. I have to admit that I almost didn’t post the image. I liked the scene and I liked the light but I just felt as if I had rushed the image. I’m pleased I posted it now. Thanks.
Great shot. I’ve just started getting into photography and now own the GX-1 with two lenses, 14-45 pz and the 50-175 pz. Also do a lot of hill walking in the lakes, just got back from wasdale, my favourite lakes area.
Hi Ian,
You definitely have a great outfit there to pair up with your hill walking. I have to agree with you also that Wasdale is the best location in the Lakes but lets try not to publicise it too much. Just got back from Haweswater so watch out for some more Lake District pics. All the best.
Robin