It’s in the bag
For all urban photography and for most nature and outdoor photography I use the Lowepro Mini Trekker AW backpack. For extended photo trips I generally bring the Lowepro Photo Trekker AW II, because it provides ample space for all my gear and complies fully with airline carry-on regulations.
When fully loaded, the Photo Trekker weighs quite a bit so I plan to work close to my car. If I need to be away from the car for an extended period, then I generally bring the empty Mini Trekker. I use it to carry only the gear I need on a particular day and stow the rest of my gear in the Photo Trekker.
My Lowepro Mini Trekker carries:
- Nikon D300 and the attached quick release L bracket from Really Right Stuff
- Nikkor AF 12-24mm f/4G ED-IF AF-S DX lens, with Kirk quick release plate. I often rely upon this lens to give added depth and dimension to broad cityscapes and naturescapes.
- Nikkor AF-S 28-70mm f2.8 ED lens, with Kirk quick release plate. This is my Old Faithful lens … handy for all my nature, outdoor and urban photography needs.
- Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm f2.8 ED-IF VR lens, with Kirk lens collar & quick release plate. I use this versatile lens to capture detail and to better fill the viewfinder with my subject.
- Lens hoods for each lens to control flare & to keep the lens dry during inclement weather
- SanDisk Extreme III CF cards. I carry up to six 2GB and three 4GB cards.
- Singh-Ray soft-edge neutral density filter set … 1-stop and 2-stop
- Singh-Ray hard-edge neutral density filter set … 1-stop and 2-stop
- Nikon circular polarizer
- spare EN-EL3e battery
- D300 owner’s manual
- Small Flexfill white & gold reflector and medium-sized Flexfill diffuser
- Plastic shower caps to protect the camera & tripod head in light rain
- Clif Crunchy Peanut Butter food bar or Odwalla Berries GoMega bar
- Water bottle
- Gitzo carbon fiber tripod, model G1348 MK2
- Kirk ballhead
My Lowepro Photo Trekker AW II backpack can carry all of the equipment listed above, plus these two additional items:
- Nikkor AF-S 300mm f4 ED-IF lens, with Kirk lens collar & quick release plate
- Nikkor TC-14E teleconverter
For macro photography I use the AF Micro Nikkor 200mm f/4.0D ED-IF lens and lens hood.
For bird and wildlife photography I use:
- Nikkor AF-S 300mm f4 ED-IF lens, with Kirk lens collar & quick release plate
- Nikkor TC-14E teleconverter
- Nikkor 200-400mm f4 G-AFS ED-IF VR lens, with Kirk quick release replacement foot
