In my previous article I talked about my training run out on the Hyner View Trail Challenge course. In that article I also shared some of the photographs I took during that run. This is a direct followup to that article. As a photographer and creator who combines that work with my running and just being out in nature in general there is a fraught relationship between getting out into nature the way I want and getting my gear there so I can shre it all with you. I have worked hard to find the best gear I can that can go with me the places I want to go in the ways I want to get there. Then finding the best strategies and additional gear to use in transportation of the photography gear is another factor. This year I think I have made a significant upgrade in my gear for transporting my camera equipment out into nature with the addition of new Ultimate Direction packs. So far so good. But there haven’t been many tests so far to date. This adventure out to Hyner was the first test of one of the backs I recently acquired. The pack itself worked fine. Sometimes the problem is not in the gear.

Sometimes the problem is operator error. I mentioned in the last article that I dropped one of my cameras. I have dropped cameras and gear in the past and most of the time you can get away with it because they are relatively durable. The camera I dropped is a small mirror less camera from Nikon. The camera itself appears to still work. The lens however appears to be broken. This is the second time I have had this lens break. I already replaced this lens once. This camera and lens set up is my go to for taking higher quality photographs out on running adventures. The fact that it is delicate is also one of the reasons I have started using GoPro cameras more. They are simply more durable. It is really a compromise I do not like. I want the features of the Nikon in the durability of the GoPro but it seems that is not meant to be. Having this setback with my camera gear is a huge bummer and quite a headache, but I was proud of myself for in the moment putting it out of my mind and enjoying the run even though I knew it would become an issue moving forward. 

Drops happen like any other type of mistake in any other type of venture we pursue. You just have to try to roll with it. I am currently looking for solutions to the damaged lens issue with the Nikon. Perhaps replacing it with a different type of lens will be a better solution. In the mean time I will rely on more GoPro footage and photography from my Samsung Galaxy S8+ which is amazing coming from a phone. Trying to find the right balance of equipment and other gear and then not making mistakes to compound any issues is a continuous struggle. I am hoping that eventually a camera gear solution that fits my niche work here in this form will come along soon in a way I can take advantage of it. But until that happens I am stuck trying to make the best use of the options that exist in my reality. 

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