Throughout these pages, I refer to several products. I own or have used all of these and found them useful in photographing my vacation travels and recommend any of them. Links take you to where you can but them for yourself.

Books:

Bryan Peterson’s books. I have been on two of Bryan’s workshops and they were both highly informative and a ton of fun. His books are the same. Written in a casual style but loaded with information. I’d recommend any of Bryan’s books, but start with these. I own all three plus a few others. (My copy of Understanding Exposure is held together with tape now.) And if you ever get a chance to go on one of Bryan’s workshops, you should consider it!

Click on each of these for more information from Amazon.

Scott Kelby is one of the best known professional photographers around today. Although aimed at iPhone users, it contains a wealth of information for anyone wanting to improve their smartphone photography. I use a Samsung but still learned lots. Small enough to take with you.

Click on the book for more information from Amazon.

Another great book from Scott Kelby. Over 250 pages of tips and information covering the entire subject of travel photography. This is really a must-have for anyone wanting to improve their vacation and travel photos.

Tripods, straps, etc

Blackrapid Breathe Curve Shoulder Strap. I own both this and the Classic model. Perfect for walks, sight-seeing and hikes - wherever you want your camera to be handy at any time. Replaces the strap that came with your camera which I find only gets in the way and is a bit of a beacon for thieves . Consider the Breathe Curve instead of the Classic. The underarm stabilizer is worth it!

Cotton Carrier Skout. This is a shoulder harness system that carries your camera on your chest. When you need your camera, you just twist it of the clip. The shoulder harness and straps are padded for comfort. These are great for situations where you want your hands to be free but you want your camera ready in an instant. Also, people with issues like tendinitis or shoulder issues would want to try this or one of the other Cotton Carrier products

I own the UBeesize 12 and the Monfrotto Travel Tripod and they are both excellent products, very suitable for travel where light weight and compactness are important. I also own a larger carbon fiber tripod made by Giottas that is no longer available for purchase but it still works well for me. If I were to replace it, I would choose the Peak Design Travel Tripod shown below. It is pricey but perfect for hiking and where strength matters.

Ubeesize 12 Inch Flexible Tripod Excellent for cellphone cameras and small digitals. Love the remote shutter button!

Monfrotto Travel Tripod and Ballhead. Built for travel. Small, light but fully functional!

Peak Design at Camera Canada

Camera bags

Here are three bags that I own and use myself

OSOCE Crossbody Sling I have travelled with this bag several times and found it to be perfect for holding my phone, Ereader, car keys, boarding passes and all the other little things I want at hand. Having RFID protection is icing on the cake!

Mindshift is the sister company to thinkTank. Same great designs and materials.

Mindshift PhotoCross 13 at Camera Canada

I’m a fan of sling-style camera bags. Your gear is right in front of you when you need it, but sling the bag and it is out of the way. Perfect for carry-on, hikes or every day use. Among other features, the strap is wider and o more comfortable to wear all day long. I own this one and love it.

This is the bag I mentioned here. Able to carry lots of gear and still make it as carry-on baggage (as of June, 2024 at least!)

Cameras

Sony RX-10 Mk. 4. My wife and I each own one of these and would recommend the current version to anyone wanting a go-anywhere, do-anything camera! The lens extends from 22mm for wide angles, all the way to 600mm for huge distances.

Lighting

This is the Godox R1 RGB Round Mini Light. This allows you to control the light in your scene, both in terms of exposure and of temperature. In situations where a flash would not be the right tool (too harsh, not welcome) It can replace the itty-bitty flash on a smart phone. This hockey-puck sized unit allows you to adjust light to just the right level and degree of warmth. Easy to use, compact and with 14 special effects, this is perfect for the travelling photographer. They even made the body magnetic and included the ability to mount it on your tripod. Perfect!

Take a look.

Click here to see the Godox R1 at Camara Canada.

Click here to see the Godox R1 on Amazon

Memory Equipment

External Hard Drive

I use a Lacie 2 Tb External to back up photos when on the road. Tough and reliable and very fast. USB 2 or USB 3.

Memory Cards

Memory cards are one of those things that are hard to recommend as everyone has different needs: format, size and budget. I use SanDisk and Delkin myself. My one recommendation though is this is not a good place to save money. Quality counts. Either way, I order mine from Camera Canada

Card Readers

Card readers are used to download a camera memory card onto a computer or laptop that doesn’t have the right size port for that card.

I’ve owned three of these. The first lasted a month. The second - I always had trouble getting my computers to read it.

Three times lucky. This one by XQD has been working faithfully for over two years! My Nikon uses both SD and XQD format cards and this reader takes them both.

Camera Cleaning Gear

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