Becoming an Adventure Photographer
A pathway to becoming an adventure photographer, and a discussion over what that really means…
Let’s Start Here: Finding a Niche
I would hate to try to speak for everyone when I say this, but I believe that when most people start taking photos, they have a slight identity crisis. Push aside any negative connotation that statement may have, though, because I believe it is this identity crisis that often pushes us towards a niche. We take pictures of flowers, light fixtures, and fireworks until one day we find what inspires in us the greatest amount of passion. At first it may be the cameras we hold, but it eventually becomes the subjects we fixate over. There is an endless world behind every niche, and finding what makes your brain buzz is like undoing the clasp on Pandora’s Box. Whether it’s water droplets or Patagonian pumas, the creative niche that keeps your brain awake at night is most likely where you’ll find your best work.
I have a problem with over association that I’d like to explain. I believe the moment we say what we are, we are removing some potential from what else we can be. It’s not to say that what we aren’t is what we should be, but the merit of each and every avenue should never be diminished. If I am a landscape photographer, I shouldn’t avoid portraiture. If I am a climbing photographer, I don’t want to “not” be a wildlife photographer if it so comes to suit me. This is perhaps why, ironically, I have come to call myself an adventure photographer, but I’ll come back to that shortly.
All of this is to say, lust for the love of shooting, whether it comes from one avenue or a hundred. In the end, you will find your niche, but that is nowhere near the end of your photographic story. Your niche is your fascination, but not your identity. It can, will, and should change as your interests and direction do. Chase where love points your camera.
What Makes an Adventure Photographer?
Perhaps ironically, I have come to identify myself as an adventure photographer, and I find this liberating. I feel as at home stalking foxes in Washington as I do photographing a mountaineer during blue hour, and that is because, perhaps surprisingly, there are a lot of similarities. These moments are adventures in which I feel the need to be nimble, as well as the sense that I am small and vulnerable. I therefore believe that agility is a constant theme in adventure photography. I love motion. I love fleeting moments. I love shots that come and go as quickly as a single shutter actuation, expressions that pass in fractions of a second, and weather that threatens my reality, nipping at my heels as I race down the mountain. It’s the exhilaration in these fleeting moments that I believe encapsulates adventure photography best. I believe an adventure photographer is someone who flows with the comings and goings of opportunities as they race by, perhaps with the elevated possibility of error. In addition to seeking out adventures, the staple of an adventure photographer is to remain agile, regardless of the pace of a moment, and to always pull what’s possible from fleeting moments.
So to completely answer the question of what makes an adventure photographer, I believe the answer doesn’t boil down to any kind of specific photographic subject. Instead, it is the immediacy of shots, the urgency of moments, and the desire to put oneself into fleeting, vulnerable environments that leave you little time and comfort to create. It feels natural to be on a big climb with apparent perils creating images, and I certainly feel like they epitomize my belief in adventure photography. There are countless shots, though, by a long line of incredible photographers in every environment, telling all types of stories, that could all fall into this realm of adventure photography. So please, do your best to become unconcerned with the label, and instead focus on the stories.
The Adventure Photographer’s Kit
When talking about gear, there is 100% no correct answer, and it’s typically an obsession that gets in the way of shooting… Yet, I am a total gear addict. I’ll list my favorite adventure photography kit below, but I want to explain what I think really matters in an adventure photography kit. First, the right backpack. No, it’s not a flashy camera or a shiny lens (those come later), but it may be the item that makes or breaks a lot of your effort. I am a devout believer in using a bag that empowers you, stays out of the way, and if in high stakes environments, serves to help your safety. I wear a Hyperlite Mountain Gear Prism pack for most of my adventures, and that is because I mostly shoot in the mountains. This bag empowers me, and therefore I can get to the places that my best images are made. After the bag, the most important thing about an adventure photographer’s kit is simplicity. Now if I said I was employing this point as well as possible, I’d be lying. Still, I maintain that a simple kit is a kit you will use, whereas a kit with a mountain of prime lenses, super bright zooms, and a space-grade tripod may do no more than slow you down. Find two lenses that you feel like you can see the whole world through, and fill the gaps with creativity rather than more lenses. My personal kit is as follows:
Canon EOS R5
Canon RF 70-200mm F/4
Tamron 17-35mm F/2.8-4 DI OSD
Leica Q2 Monochrome
Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD (For specific outings, this lens will replace the 70-200mm. I never carry both)
DJI Mavic Air 2 (Only enters the bag for specific planned outings)
Which Focal Length Is Best?
I’ll first defer to what I wrote above and state that the ideal focal length is the one you feel the most comfortable telling stories with. Many great adventure photographer’s shoot with a bright prime or two, while some feel a 24-200mm zoom lens provides the kind of versatility that they need to tell a complete story while keeping their kit as small as possible. As you practice and build your niche, you will naturally develop a proclivity for a certain field of view. However, if I had to pick which focal lengths are the purest adventure photography choices, I would start with two suggestions. First, utilize some iteration of the classic 16-35mm f2.8 or f4. On the 35mm end of the spectrum, you can capture atmospheric portraits that tell the story of the setting more than a tight prime. On the wide end, at 16-24mm, you have the space to build a fully visualized environment. This can be liberating or overwhelming depending on how “busy” the environment is. By opting for the f2.8, you do increase your kit’s weight, but when the night sky is working in your favor, having f2.8 to work with the stars and moonlight can help create some really compelling shots.
Next up, I would suggest a 70-200mm f4. This has become my favorite lens for countless reasons, and I plan to write a full post about it in the near future. Choosing the f4 rather than the brighter f2.8 version allows me to keep my kit smaller, and the very minimal loss of light is more than made up for by the lower weight and overall versatility. I will very rarely look to this lens when I want stars to be a part of my shot, so f2.8 would do me very little good. There are many photographers that say a 24-70mm f2.8 is a must, and they aren’t necessarily wrong. With that in mind, I’ve never felt lacking for it. They tend to be rather large, and with an f2.8 minimum aperture at a set of very “normal” focal lengths, I find it to be one of the less compelling (hear interesting) pieces of glass you can buy. It doesn’t gather light like a prime, doesn’t have the bokeh of f1.4-f2 lenses, and struggles to compress or expand a scene to the extent of the 70-200mm or 16-35mm. If I absolutely had to fill that space between 35mm and 70mm, I would toss a nifty fifty (50mm f1.8) into the bag. They weight next to nothing, cost a little more than a nice lunch, and have nearly 100 years of iterations that have refined them to their current quality.
Love your Camera?
I hear over and over that your camera is a tool and should be considered nothing more. While it’s true, it is a tool, I do not abide by this way of thinking, and I don’t think you should either. I shoot with my camera because it inspires me every time I hold it. It fits my hand, and I’ve punished it horribly. I therefore know exactly how far I can push it, and how it will respond in every type of environment, from sub zero mountain tops to the salty air of unforgiving Icelandic beaches. I have an intimate understanding of my camera, and it makes those fleeting moments feel slower and easier to process and capture. Find a camera you love, and build a strong relationship with it.
Let’s Finish Here: How to Become an Adventure Photographer.
Now to the grand culmination of it all; how exactly do you become an adventure photographer? Go on adventures! That’s the easy answer at least. If your goal is to produce high quality adventure photography, the adventures will ultimately be what consumes you, and the more you invest in putting yourself in compelling environments, the faster your portfolio and experience will grow. Second to planning high quality adventures is the need to become a master of your camera. That doesn’t mean you will be a master photographer - I would argue there are no “masters” of photography - but it does mean that those high stress situations will leave you with memory cards full of high potential images rather than blurry, over exposed, or blatantly non existent files.
Shoot until you find your passion. Practice as often as possible. Invest in opportunities to practice your craft and produce portfolio images. Leave behind the fomo, the GAS (gear acquisition syndrome), and all other mental barriers getting in your way, because the only thing that matters is shooting, and most likely the only thing in between your photography dreams and where you are now is you.
About Me
I have shot photos for around five years, with a consistent focus on capturing moments of action and environment while I am outside. I’ve dabbled in quite a few different genres of photography, and I’ve found that my favorite moment to take a photo is when the wind is whipping, the air is freezing, and I’m hanging onto a steep slope or wall by crampons or an ice axe. I’m far from a professional, and everything I’ve written above is little more than musings about the type of photography I am the most passionate about. With that in mind, I’d love to chat! You can email me using my email, swbugas@gmail.com, or reach out to me on Instagram, @swbugas (click the button below). I’m only just getting started with this blog, and I have a very open mind to criticism and critique.
Lastly, if you are a climber, backpacker, photographer, scuba diver or whatever else in the broader Washington area, let’s get after it! I’d love to start some group journeys!