Capturing Sites of a City...without breaking your back!
My experience traveling with minimal equipment
When I made the switch to a full frame camera, I knew that meant that I was moving to not only a heavier camera body, but that I would also have to switch from my trusty "All in one" Sigma 18-250mm lens. This, I knew, would be a challenge for travel photography, as I can often be indecisive AND I'm a heavy packer, no matter where I go, or how long the trip.
What I've decided to do for some of my trips is purposely limit myself to one or two lenses for travel photography. Ok, let's be honest, it's always two lenses. I take into account where I'm traveling to, how likely it will be that I would return, and what activities are on the agenda.
Recently, we went on a little weekend roadtrip to Asheville, NC - a place I've been before, many times, and a place I plan to return to. In Asheville and the surrounding areas, there are a variety of activities and opportunities for photography, including: Biltmore Estate and Gardens, the North Carolina Arboretum, hiking in the woods, walking around downtown Asheville and the River Arts District, visits to local breweries, etc. What this means? We would be walking, a lot, and visiting shops and other places where it would be inconvenient for me to haul around a heavy camera with a large lens. And, normally, we would also visit gardens which would mean I would want my macro lens with me.
But...it was going to be raining...all. weekend. Which means: no hiking. No visit to the arboretum. And, we opted out of visiting the Biltmore Estate this time around. So, street photography was going to be my artistic focus (no pun intended) for this trip!
As disappointing as it was that it would be raining during most, if not all, of our trip, this gave me the opportunity to think more clearly about my lens selection. So what did I pack? My Lensbaby Burnside 35mm and my Canon 40mm pancake lens. The Lensbaby would give me artistic freedom without being too heavy or large. And the 40mm pancake lens would give me freedom of movement. In addition to packing only these two lenses, each time we left the hotel room, I had only one lens with me.
These selections were freeing. And - bonus - I didn't complain about the weight and size of my camera bag with our weekend of walking!
I typically compose with my end result in mind, in-camera - meaning, it's rare that I crop in post-processing. Because of this, I had to be mindful when using the Lensbaby Burnside, particularly if I was purposely capturing with swirly bokeh since making crops in post could make the result look a little "off".
With the Canon 40mm pancake lens, I had the option to also try some macro photography...if the situation presented itself. But mostly, I had the freedom to carry my camera without worrying about bumping into things. It also left extra space in my camera bag for things like my umbrella! This lens is small, but it is mighty. It's sharp and captures excellent color. I've had this lens for a few years now but have only recently grown to appreciate it's versatility!
Bottom line: ZERO regrets with the equipment I chose for this trip. The lenses were perfect and I did not feel I was missing out on "the shot" because of the limits I set. In fact, I would almost say that I felt limitless!