Photography In Remote Locations and The Journey Involved

Have you ever dreamed of capturing breathtaking photos of your favorite landmarks but didn’t know where to start? Sunrise and sunset are the sweet spots for landscape photography, occurring right before bedtime or just after dark. As a professional photographer, being in the right place at the right time can be a challenge. Today, I’m excited to share one of my favorite solo photography trips into the wilderness and the journey it entailed.

Photographer: Samuel Vickrey

Picking a Location for Spectacular Landscape Photography

Planning that perfect shot is only half the battle in landscape photography. Preparation is key. When choosing your location, it's essential to find a route in and out and build a schedule around your shooting times.

I journeyed into Yosemite for two days to capture my favorite landmark, Half Dome. North Dome, an opposing rock face, offers a great vantage point for this shot. The national park’s website provided information on surrounding trails, and I identified Porcupine Creek Trailhead as an excellent starting point, leading directly to North Dome and Yosemite Falls. Along this trail, several other landmarks are worth photographing.

After selecting your location, checking the area’s guidelines and rules is crucial. For my trip, I learned that overnight camping requires a permit and bear box for safety. Yosemite now requires reservations during peak seasons, which I obtained easily at the Big Oak Flat Information/Ranger Station.

Your starting time significantly affects your trip. The most important consideration is how much time you have to set up for your shot. Other factors to keep in mind are hiking during daylight, the amount of food and water needed, and how much time you’ll need to pitch your camp if you’re staying overnight.

I typically start early in the morning to avoid unexpected delays. On this trip, after reaching North Dome, I continued hiking, as the wind was too strong for my camera, let alone a tent or hammock. Fortunately, I had enough time to make adjustments and achieve a better outcome.

In summary, know the area and its rules, plan your route carefully (some locations require this for safety), and create a loose schedule for reaching each checkpoint on your journey.

My Gear List for Extreme and Lightweight Hiking

As a photographer, you'll have two distinct gear lists: camera gear and hiking gear. Both are equally important. Here’s a quick list from my Yosemite trip:

Camera Gear:

• Canon 6D

• 24-105mm lens

• 100-400mm lens

• 2-5 stop ND filter

• Basic tripod

• Extra batteries

• Camera strap

• SD card

• Air pumper

Backpacking Gear:

• Hiking socks and shoes

• Underlayers and extra outer layers

• Backpacking pack

• Meals + snacks (trail mix & dehydrated backpacking food)

• At least 2 quarts of water per day (consider a water purifier)

• Bear box

• Rope

• Hammock + straps (instead of a tent)

• Sleeping bag and mat

• Rain gear and backpack rain cover

• First aid kit

• Water purifier and tablets

• Stove for cooking

• Eating utensils

• Cooking and bathroom essentials

• Headlamp (and an extra)

• Pocket knife/multi-tool

• Phone

When it comes to gear, safety is paramount. Essentials like water, food, dry clothes, and shelter must come first. Once you’ve covered these basics, you can optimize your pack's weight. Lightweight backpacking gear, although often pricier than car camping gear, makes a significant difference. Lightweight stoves, dehydrated food, and camera gear help lighten your load.

After ensuring hydration, food, shelter, and visibility at night, focus on your camera gear. Decide on the exact shots you want rather than packing for versatility. For my trip, I planned to capture distant shots and long exposures, allowing me to bring only two lenses, a camera body, a tripod, batteries, one SD card, and a camera strap. This left me extra space for essentials like a dust cleaner and ND filter, ensuring I could hike comfortably.

How I Keep My Camera Gear Safe While Hiking

The less gear you manage to bring, the better. Remember, your backpack can store gear inside and outside with straps. After packing your essential items, ensure you have space left for your camera gear. I like to pack my camera in a snug case at the top of my pack for easy access. This arrangement minimizes rattling and vibrations. The ND filter and SD card stay with my camera, and I strap my tripod securely to maintain even weight distribution.

While it’s crucial to keep your equipment intact, one of the thrills of these journeys is using expensive gear in remote locations. So far, I’ve never broken a piece of my equipment, aside from normal wear and tear from use.

Landscape Photography Tips and Tricks

Assuming you're familiar with ISO, aperture, and shutter speed, let’s explore their application in landscape photography. Your shutter speed needs to be fast enough to capture swaying trees in crisp focus, while your aperture should be tight enough to keep most elements sharp. ISO will help refine your exposure after you set the other two parameters.

Photographer: Samuel Vickrey

Composition is vital in landscape photography. Use techniques like the rule of thirds, parallelism, leading lines, and framing to create focus on your subject, depth, and the image’s story. Ask yourself where the viewer's eyes will go and what elements emphasize the subject’s size, shape, and color.

Staying Safe When Your Camera is Your Only Buddy

During my time in the Boy Scouts, they instilled the buddy system in me—never go alone for safety. However, many people prefer spontaneous solo trips.

So, here’s my advice: always bring your phone and preserve its battery. Inform a few people about your plans, know emergency procedures, keep trips under three days, and exercise caution during tricky parts of your journey, like stream crossings or steep trails. Be mindful of aggressive wildlife and pack the necessary safety gear.

In the Yosemite wilderness, you’ll often encounter other hikers during the day, which can provide some reassurance.

What We Learn When We Take Adventures

After passing North Dome, I almost reached the Yosemite overlook before finding a campsite that would serve as a home base for my sunset and sunrise shoots. It was here that I captured one of my favorite images to date, marking my first night alone after a significant personal loss.

I used a hammock, which usually works fine, but the wind turned it into a swaying cradle. I found myself swinging atop a cliff until I finally fell asleep. This experience made me feel alive, fueling my confidence to tackle bigger battles in my life. When I woke up to calm winds, a perfect sky, and Half Dome inviting me to photograph it, I felt ready for hours of shooting.

Complex planning, the beauty of the outdoors, and creative journeys carry a spiritual element. They evoke feelings of accomplishment, peace, and awakenings absent in our busy, artificial world. My adventures have often led to profound realizations after spending days alone in nature. Sometimes, the pictures we take become lasting souvenirs of life chapters, milestones, and the challenges we've overcome.

Photographer: Samuel Vickrey