Behind the Scenes: Outdoor Photography

This isn’t a ‘how to’ post, more of a why. Anyone who reads The Helpful Hiker knows that I often rely on my partner Luke to take the photos that appear in my blog. I am working on my own skills, but I’m still a novice. It has been fun learning as we go along and, as people often comment on the photographs in my posts, I thought I would give a little behind the scenes look at the cameras we use and why.

To begin with Luke just used his iPhone to take pictures, but with his burgeoning interest in photography and wanting my blog to look a little more professional, we had to upgrade. So which camera to choose?

The options are overwhelming, especially for someone just starting out in photography. All we knew was that we didn’t want to spend a ridiculous amount of money (easily done) and we didn’t want to cart around big, heavy cameras when out walking. This led us to mirrorless cameras. In a nutshell, these cameras tend to be more compact than their DSLR counterparts and better suited to beginners. However, these days the top mirrorless cameras have features and accessories to rival even the best DSLRs. Here is a good synopsis of the main differences between the two.

After some lengthy research, Luke opted for a Canon EOS M. This is an ideal choice for a first ‘proper’ camera. Canon don’t have the biggest range of lenses for their mirrorless cameras, however, what they do have is enough for our needs and as I mentioned before, we don’t want to be weighed down with equipment when we head outdoors. This camera has been perfect for teaching us about photography. I think the results so far have been pretty good.

 

But like any hobby, once you get interested in photography, it gets addictive! Last year Luke decided to upgrade his camera, opting for a Canon EOS M3. One reason was that he can still use all his lenses, but we also want to have a go at doing a few videos on the blog. The M3 has a few features that will help with this, for example it can be controlled remotely, plus it has the added bonus of wi-fi, which we really missed on it’s predecessor.

But by far the best thing about Luke getting a new camera is that I get his old one! I’ve really enjoyed taking my own photos and learning new skills.  I’m hoping that I will be able to pass on some tips and advice as my photographic abilities improve.