Today begins the
experiment that will completely change my view of hiking for the next
year. There is one goal that is standard
to all hikers; pack as minimally as possible. As a photographer, this goal goes
against all I stand for. When I prepare for a hike, aside from my camera, I also
must pack at least a wide angle prime lens, a fast standard prime lens, a
telephoto zoom lens (the compact one if I don’t anticipate wildlife and the
large, heavy fast lens if there will be critters), a tripod, extra batteries
and any other photography gadget I feel the hike might “require”. By this
point my backpack is quite full and I haven’t even given myself any water!
Today all of that changes. For the next year, I will be going on a hike a week
and the only piece of photo equipment that will be weighing me down will be a
camera with a fisheye lens attached to it. I have never tried the “Only one
lens” experiment and I have never used a fisheye lens. So this blog will
definitely be a hiking journal, fully describing the trails and points of
interest on my hikes. But it will also chronicle my battle of being a hiking
photographer with only a minimal pack and a super wide view of the world.
