Since I have been asked this question in various forms by people I have met on the trails and by colleagues in the organizations I have worked in, let me start by explaining that hiking for photography is different from hiking photography.
Hiking for photography, in my humble opinion, means an enthusiast or a professional photographer who hikes to a certain place for shooting landscape, wildlife, night sky (astrophotography), etc. You will find many youtube videos made by professional photographers who hike to beautiful destinations for this purpose.
On the other hand, a hiker does hiking photography to document his/her hiking/backpacking adventures. It is as simple as that.
This article is about this latter group of people.
Hiking photography genre
A hiker who wants to do photography to document his/her adventure is most likely, and unknowingly, a jack of many photography genres and master of none.
For example, I have to take shots as I have to complete my hike in a set duration of time and cannot afford to spend time perfecting, say, wildlife shots.
During my hikes, I try to take shots ‘on’ or ‘about’ the following, which involve various photography genres, to describe an adventure in a photo essay:
1. Landscapes, rock formations, soil, etc.;
2. Wildlife;
3. Wildflowers and trees;
4. Fellow hiker(s) on trail to show scale, candid shots to show their emotions, to fill up empty space, or preparing for hike, putting up a tent, etc.;
5. Close-ups / Micros of insects, fungi, etc.;
6. Vagaries/oddities of nature; and
7. Night sky if camping out.
The set of pictures (JPEGs, SOOC) below from a hike in the South Downs National Park of UK covers several of the above areas. It was a 20 km hike from the town of Eastbourne to the village of Seaford over the chalk sea cliffs on the English Channel Coast of Sussex county in South Downs National Park, UK. It was all about ascending and descending steep slopes of 11 hills, including the famous group of hills known as Seven Sisters, watching paragliders, observing pastoral life, wild horses, and waterfowl in its culminating marsh section. First 5 shots were taken through KP/55-300 mm PLM and the last one, late in the evening, was by K-5 iis/15 mm.
Why do I suggest the Pentax system for hiking photography to starters?
The first reason is well known to all. Weather sealed Pentax cameras and lenses come in handy during backpacking and hiking trips under adverse or suddenly changing weather conditions. This is especially helpful in Canadian weather conditions. On numerous occasions, I continued shooting under inclement weather conditions when other photographers had tucked in their cameras for protection. Needless to mention, they were looking at me in amazement. Furthermore, my cameras and lenses came out unscathed after I slipped over rocks on a few occasions during winter hiking and after I flipped my canoe once.
However, for me, it is the hyper-program feature that shines. I can, keeping the ISO at auto; limited to a certain range; or even constant, simply change aperture and/or shutter speed depending upon what is on the plate to shoot and revert to the original default settings by using green button. Thus, the settings can be changed quickly if I have to change them from, say, landscape to wildlife opportunity and back. Now Canon offers something equivalents and calls it FV. However, my wife demonstrated how cumbersome the process is in her RP.
Another major reason is the availability of most needed features on tactile buttons or wheels if you will. For example, using the 4 - way Controller on my KP, I can easily access bracketing feature. In order to do the same on her Canon RP, my wife has to make changes on four different screens. Ditto for white balance, changing dynamic range, camera stabilization, etc. Needless to mention, she was more comfortable using my, now retired, Pentax K-r.
Then there is another feature, the much scoffed at A-HDR, that I enjoy. I have successfully taken A-HDR images on hand-held KP on several occasions. Unlike using it for the original purpose it is designed for, I use it to make my shots look artistic. Although professional and enthusiast photographers find flaws in A-HDR images, we must remember that we are doing hiking photography to show our pictures not to them, but to the general public.
Finally, I like the ergonomics and balance of Pentax cameras. For example, since I usually hike with my dog(s) and have their leash in my left hand, I am able to shoot with my right hand alone. Ditto during canoeing trips.
Gear in use during hikes:
Just to let the readers know, I am currently using Pentax KP and K-5 iis with Pentax 55-300 mm PLM and Pentax HD DA 15 mm lens, replacing the latter with either Pentax 18-135 mm or HD DA 21 mm, depending on the conditions. If I am driving to a destination within a national park to start a hike, I keep a Pentax 1.4 TC x 300 mm lens on a camera in an easily accessible position to take quick shots, say from my car, of any wildlife that crosses my path. For this arrangement, I use TAv function though.
