Pictures help us reconnect with memories and no one knows that better than a photographer. As professional photographers heading into the field, we stuff as much photographic equipment as we can fit into our kit, without the additional weight sinking the canoe or kayak we’re using, and then we stuff a little more in for good measure. We even bring equipment we don’t expect to use. It’s only along for the ride as insurance in the event our regular gear breaks down, gets lost, or ends up at the bottom of a lake. This is also why we carry a large amount of liability and equipment insurance.
Our regular kit for a canoeing trip includes two Canon SLR digital bodies; 5D Mark IIs, and four or five lenses; a 70-200 mm telephoto, 50mm normal, 24-70mm telephoto, 16-35mm wide angle, and a 24mm macro lens. We also carry a mirrorless camera enclosed in an underwater housing, and two mirrorless cameras that we can pull out when we don’t need to worry about them getting wet. I also keep a waterproof camera in one of the pockets on my PDF. We both bring our phones that second as cameras, and they’re stored in waterproof cases either attached to our vests or to the deck of our boat. Our newest piece of photo gear is a drone with a Hasselblad camera, a great addition to our kit. There are places we just can’t go to get the picture we want, and the drone sometimes makes that possible. Additionally, we pack; extra batteries, memory card wallets with extra cards, a tripod, camera raincoats, and cleaning equipment. Along with the camera gear, we need to pack gear bags; a backpack to carry most of the camera gear when in the woods, and waterproof hard and soft cases for everything else. We also sometimes bring a laptop to download picture files; We aren’t comfortable until we have two copies of our files in two different locations.