“Light and Fast” is an important philosophy to understand if you are interested in accessing beautiful and picture-worthy outdoor destinations. Packing well, moving efficiently, relying on a bare minimum of equipment and a maximum of creativity are the core tenets of the light-and-fast philosophy.
For most climbers, trekkers and other mountain travelers, the concept of light and fast is nothing new. But photographers and filmmakers are only just being introduced to this school of thought thanks to the myriad technological advances in camera equipment achieved in recent years. Today’s photographers and filmmakers have never found themselves in a better position to apply the light-and-fast approach to their own crafts, and come away with stunning visuals that were formerly only attainable to those with Hollywood-sized budgets and enough production equipment to rival a traveling circus.
Check out my latest video for the Nikon Behind The Scenes video series: “Packing For an Outdoor Shoot.” In this quick tutorial, I go over what equipment I brought with me on a recent back-country climbing shoot in the high-altitude Sierra Mountains, including:
Nikon D800
Nikon 1 J3
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 16-35 f/4G ED VR
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-200 f/4G ED VR
Nikon ME-1 Stereo Microphone
Manfrotto Tripod with a fluid head
Kessler CineSlider
ABC Products Traveller Crane / JIB
While those last three items aren’t mandatory if you’re just getting started with learning how to use your HD-SLR camera to capture motion, they do represent what is possible for today’s light-and-fast filmmaker.
Hope you enjoy today’s tutorial and be sure to follow Nikon on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter for upcoming Nikon Behind The Scenes tutorials that feature such great shooters, teachers and people as Joe McNally and Tamara Lackey. And use #NikonBTS to be part of the conversation on social media.
3 comments
Awesome short video, always good to see a mix of techniques for different budgets. For the jib arm, How does the ABC rig compare to the Lite Pro Gear?
Hi Cory. As a fellow rock climber (though nowhere near as accomplished) I have also brought the ‘light and fast’ philosophy to my photography. But while I used to shoot more outdoor sports, now I concentrate on travel images. You’d think that would allow for carrying a little bit more gear, but I’ve gone even more extreme in terms of carrying less weight. It makes such a big difference, not only in terms of enjoyment, but also in terms of how far you get, what you can see and do, and of course, in results. I don’t shoot much video, really, so there’s a big weight savings right there–no slider, no heavy tripod with fluid head, not even an external microphone (hey, sure it’s only a few ounces, but as you well know, they add up!). Anyway, just want to say thanks for your post, it was great. And the video part of it was, of course, very professional. I wrote a post about this very thing not too long ago, hope you don’t mind if I leave a link for those that may be interested. http://bit.ly/TTGF58 Thanks again. Mike
Excellent job packing in a ton of info – and beautifully shot!
Comments are closed.