Another option is the Ribz front pack. It looks more outdoorsy, less SWAT team.
https://ribzwear.com/
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The SWAT team aspect did take some time to get used to. Thank you for the link, the Ribz front pack would be nice for photography to keep filters and other gear ready at hand instead of on your back.
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Iāve stopped using the neck straps entirely.
Itās well worth the money to get a shoulder sling, it carries like a messenger bag (over one shoulder and across the body). Makes an immense amount of difference and balances the load without straining your neck. The strap is easily adjustable in length and the camera is on a slider on the strap, so you can lock it into position for walking, or loosen it for quick movement. They screw into the tripod mount.
I prefer the Hama Quick Shoot Strap because the attachment point also has a tripod mount screw, so you can keep your mounting plate of choice with the camera and the attachment plate/strap is flat rather than at an angle, but there are a lot of types out there. Some folks prefer ones that have the option of attaching a torso strap in addition to really lock the camera down when walking.
Instead of that I have a quick-release waist-holster arrangement that clips around the lens with a magnetic catch. This way the camera is always secure on my body, but when Iām not actively using the camera the majority of the weight is on my waist with a little bit on my shoulder (not neck) and the camera is totally secure.
I can comfortably carry my 200-600mm lens and camera that way all day through brush and such without any problems.
Iād never rely solely on a waist holster though.
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Those front-pack things can be useful, but I find them to be way too hot (you sweat a lot more wearing them) and ones as large and oriented the way they are in that rig makes it nearly impossible to bend over to look at things.
For smaller items I prefer something along the lines of a large fanny-pack that you can slide front, rear, or side as needed.
If youāre wearing a backpack you can get decent small bags that clip into the D-ring over the shoulder and to the lower pack strap to avoid flopping around.
Those are good, and there are others that fit across the front of the chest that are good because you retain hip mobility, but I find them a bit confining as you have to release a couple of straps if you want to take the pack off.
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Thatās the one issue I have with Ribz; it partially blocks downward vision. It becomes a real concern hiking down steep terrain. For photography, tho, itāll easily hold a couple lenses and accessories.
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Another hack here possibly of use to those getting details of flora needing a third hand to get a definitive shot. Iāve repurposed single use chopsticks, Iām sure sticks from the nearby area would also work.
Just over turning leaves to get the underside. For the fern, the sticks are going into the ground at opposing angles, say 90 to each other or whatever it takes to holdit firm in the ground. A single chopstick aided by surrounding leaves was used to pin an overturned leaf in the second collage below.
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Ha! I do this at home with chopsticks and houseplants that need to be repositioned (so as not to fall over, smother other plants, etc.)
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Any good life hacks for not stopping to take a whole lot of pictures at once? Especially while hiking, lol. Itās been driving my parents nutsā¦
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i got really good at taking photos quickly as I walk, heh
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I suppose you could video everything while moving along then extract the still frames later. No, Iām not really recommending that.
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Just start Road iNatting instead (taking photos from a vehicle ā not while driving!)
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I guess the best advise is to talk to your parents and decide your priorities, nothing wil work as best as stopping. Personally I just stay at the back, but I thing my relatives just get used to me taking photos all the time, so why the hell not, the purpose of hiking is not just passing kms.
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even before I started using iNat i got really annoyed by people who wouldnāt let me poke around on hikes. If you canāt do that whatās the point? Might as well stay at home on the treadmill, less bugs
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King Phillip Couldnāt Order Fresh Green Spinach is how I learned it :)
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Assuming the trail is āsafeā, you could suggest that instead of choosing the long trail, they could choose two smaller trails, you take your time around one while they do both. Or they could do a shorter trail twice to your once. Or thrice to your once if you are like me! Or they could setup a picnic near the start while you get going on the trail, and then after their picnic and packup, they catchup with you. Or they go ahead and setup the picnic and you catchup with them. If they are āthere and backā trails, ie you return along the same path, then you could just do your thing while the go ahead, and then when they return and meet up with you again, itās time to put the camera into ājust catch the stuff that makes them stop tooā mode the rest of the way back.
Solo walking a trail is probably not a good practise to get into, you could fall down a bank or any number of woeful situations could develop. We donāt have dangerous animals to contend with here in NZ (apart from humans and their domesticated stockā¦ seriously there are more deaths involving domesticated animals in NZ than any wild animals!). Perhaps if splitting up from others it would be good to have an extra party member, so try and recruit a like-minded participant that would benefit from your āslower paceā.
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I could never remember those acronyms, so I made up my own. At the time I was under the impression that Katy Perry was a vegetarian (I donāt know why! turns out she wasnāt, but later sort of was, but then not againā¦ anywayā¦) and the old joke of āIām vegetarian, but Iād kill for a good steakā became:
Katy Perry Came Over For Good Steak
and I have never had trouble remembering it since!
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If Iām a passenger, I do that sometimes.
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I agree, the thing is that my parents just get fed up with it and kind of donāt want to hike with me a whole lotā¦
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Walk with people who are slower than you. Them stopping to take photos is fine as you can easily catch up. (This probably isnāt helpful though).
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I just refuse to hike with anyone who wonāt stop every 30 seconds to look at bugs and weird snails. Fortunately my mom is a huge botany nerd, so it takes her 3 hours to get 30 feet down the trail anyway, and my boyfriend has gotten into just hunting out the next oddity to show me while Iām busy photographing something.
I suggest forcing your parents to become botanists. Or just finding other nerds like us to hike with instead ;)
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