I have been traveling quite a bit since the last couple of years but I never saw a point in investing money into expensive photography gear until maybe a day comes when I feel that I have spent enough time learning the craft. I have posted quite a few of my recent travel photos on social media and I have been asked these questions time and again by friends, friends of friends, and random people on Instagram and Facebook – What camera do you use? What lenses? Where do you edit your photos?
If you are also curious about what gear I use, keep reading. I will keep updating this post as I upgrade my gear.
Camera
I bought myself an advanced entry-level Nikon D5300 to get started with my camera journey. I spent a year or two shooting solely on auto mode, not knowing how to frame a picture, slapping a Snapseed filter, on and calling it a day. I am still not a pro but have started to shoot in manual. What I mostly love about this camera is that it has almost all the bells and whistles necessary for most photography needs. The built-in wifi is very useful. It has almost all the advanced adjustments as Nikon’s more advanced cameras just that there is a menu for it that you would have to navigate rather than having a dedicated button like in fancier cameras. I think for easier photos, and for most individuals starting their photographic journey, this camera is perfect.
Phone
I use an iPhone 11 Pro and without a doubt, it has one of the best phone cameras around, at least at the time of writing this post. Previously, I was using an iPhone XS and before that an iPhone 6S with moment lenses(telephoto and portrait). I love the ultra-wide-angle iPhone offers apart from its portrait mode. I do own a Google Pixel 4a as my secondary phone which I prefer for taking low-light photos except for portraits where the iPhone scores better in terms of sharpness.
Lenses
I currently have three lenses with me which I carry for longer trips. When I know I’ll not be shooting anything at a distance, I leave my telephoto home to save weight and space. For short trips, I trust my nifty fifty to take care of my photography needs.
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G Lens
This prime lens is my go-to lens on most occasions because of its lighter weight and versatility. It’s perfect for low-light conditions due to its wide aperture, and I think it’s a better option to the kit lenses.
Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR Lens
Great for sprawling landscapes, cityscapes, architecture, and interiors, this unbelievably compact ultra-wide-angle lens lets me play with my compositions and create photos with dramatic leading lines.
Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3G ED VR Lens
This exceptional super-telephoto zoom lens has very worthy image stabilization and creates beautiful soft bokeh, even in not-so-ideal conditions. I mainly carry it to capture sports, concerts, wildlife, events, and landmarks – basically any faraway subject – and gives rich, vibrant colors and deep contrast.
Tripods
DIGITEK® DPTR 880 PRO (65 Inch)
The Digitek DPTR 880 PRO is a good entry-level tripod that should serve most amateur photographers and can act as a secondary casual reserve for professionals as well. It boasts of features like – a three-way pan head for smooth motion, gear-driven center column with friction control, auto-lock, quick-release mounting, separate pan and tilt locks, bubble level for accurate setup, locking mid-level spreader for stability on uneven surfaces and a full 360° pan range. It’s sturdy yet lightweight and has been a good upgrade to my Amazon Basics lightweight tripod.
Editing software
Affinity Photo
I love the Affinity suite and I have Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo both on my iPad and MacBook. Affinity Photo does almost everything Photoshop does except maybe a few features which I don’t care about. The interface of Affinity Photo is modern and logical and best of all, it has no subscription fees and is a one-time payment. It forms a great combination with Affinity Designer for doing vector and raster edits side by side but as a standalone photographic editing tool also, it’s a gem.
Snapseed
I have been using Snapseed for almost 10 years now. It’s just the best free photo editing phone app in Appstore. The amount of photo manipulation control it gives you is super impressive and is very easy to use.
Others
Tenba Messenger 16in Portable Protective Wrap for Lenses – Platinum
These are basically multipurpose, “portable padding” for lenses, flashes, camera bodies with velcro tabs on all four corners. I generally carry one of these to wrap my lenses on a day trip so that I would not be needing to carry a full-fledged camera bag with me.
Manfrotto Advanced Camera and Laptop Backpack Active II
This ultimate backpack has an innovative protection system that can house a DSLR and 5 lenses, a 15” laptop and an iPad, comes with a rain cover, has provisions for attaching a tripod and ample space for other accessories and belongings. It has smart padded compartments that can be interchanged to make custom divisions for accomodating bulky lenses but can also be easily removed altogether to convert it into a daypack. The quality is top-notch as it’s made with resilient ballistic nylon material. Easily one of my better buys.