Level Up Your Outdoor Photography

It's been said that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” We all love to take photos of our outdoor adventures.

Our theme for the month of August was outdoor photography, and we held an livestream with Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge founder Jeff Hester and ambassador Lucie Sinsabaugh where we shared our tips to help you level up your outdoor photography.

We share some of the “behind the scenes” for our photos, with Lucie focusing on DSLR camera work and me on my handy iPhone.

You can find Lucie online at her website, ClimbHikeTravel.com and on Instagram @lucyan_travels.

Mentioned in this video:

• The Rule of Thirds
• Golden Hour

Lucy's gear:

• Nikon D5300 DSLR (and she is upgrading to the D7500)
• Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G – Good lens for all-around use
• Nikkor 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G – Her newest all-around lens with a bit more range
• Nikkor 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G – Telephoto lens; great for wildlife photography
• Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G – Fixed length, wide angle lens – good for night photography

Jeff's gear:

• iPhone (I'm currently using an iPhone 11 Pro), paired with my Apple Watch to “remote control” the camera.
• Olloclip (for macro photography)
• Quadlock iPhone case and mounts (I misidentified this in the video as an Olloclip case). I primarily use the Quadlock tripod mount and the bike mounts.
• Tripods: I use an Amazon Basics tripod for camping as well as a small, portable tripod for hiking and backpacking
• Canon M50 Mirrorless Digital Camera which I use with the Arsenal 2 device/app and I attach it to my pack straps with a Peak Design Capture Clip.
• DJI Mini 3 Pro drone
• GoPro Hero 10 action camera
• Spherical Cameras – I've had three iterations of these over the years, and the tech continues to improve (and make my old cameras obsolete). I'm currently eyeing the GoPro MAX (maybe for Christmas?)

Do you have questions (or tips) about outdoor photography? Let us know in the comments below.

Now get out there and take lots of photos!

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