Walking through the streets of an African city with a DSLR....

0utpost31

Has anyone done this?

I'm off to east africa next year, independently, and would really like to bring my camera. It's a serious photo opportunity. I would risk getting my camera robbed/broken/full of dust for some great photos of this trip.

And this also applies to south america, where I'll be heading straight after that...

I'll only be bringing a 40d, one lens and plenty of batteries and CF cards.

Is it practical on such a trip? Has anyone gone backpacking with an Slr before? Any advice? Do's and dont's?

Cheers

CabanSail

I have not been to either Africa or South America but I think that the same rules of discretion would apply anywhere. Whenever you take a Camera out you are taking a risk of it being stolen or damaged. There are places in Ireland & Australia I would be very cautious about having my gear out too. It depends on where in those two continents you are & the situation at the time.

If you are too precious about your gear then you will not get any decent shots, if you are too careless then you will end up broke & not get any good shots. I would take the camera & be careful.

bovril

0utpost31 wrote: »

Is it practical on such a trip? Has anyone gone backpacking with an Slr before? Any advice? Do's and dont's?

Part of my holiday this year was backpacking around oz and nz. During the day I had the camera with me all the time. When I was out at night and not bringing the camera I had it locked in safes at the hostels.

The hardest thing for me was deciding on what gear to bring. It is a good idea to bring as little as possible when backpacking. I had three lenses with me (17-85, 50 and 10-20). You'd be surprised how heavy the camera can bag can feel if you have to lug it around all day every day.

As for advice on stuff to bring, lens cloths, possibly a rocket blower (I could have done with one of those),a plastic bag or two is handy to put things in if there is fear of rain. If you don't know your camera inside out the manual is good to have to hand. I brought it with me. I didn't bring the manual out every day but I did use it now and again. A bean bag/small tripod might be handy too if you're going to be taking long exposure shots. You've already mentioned spare batteries and CF cards.

sturgo

I travelled through Iran, Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Indonesia to mention but a few. I'd say your biggest enemy is probably dust. I was the only one in my group who brought a DSLR and most people I was with wished they had brought theirs.

Having said that I was always extremely careful with my camera (a modest 400D). Mostly for security reasons, I kept it close eye on it. I backed up my images regularly to HD, Flickr, and also to my iPod. So I usually had 3 copies of all my images. I purchased a UV filter to protect the lens. There's no doubt that it'll get knocked about a bit.

My only advice is, try not to worry too much and understand that with a good insurance policy it can always be replaced.

0utpost31

If you were to choose one lens to bring, what would you suggest? I'm leaning towards my sigma 17-70 2.8-4.5 it has a good range and can do decent enough macro. And it's fairly discrete.

Also, I'd really like to know some info from people who have been on the ground in Africa, and not safaris or anything, I mean just walking around towns and villages taking shots of markets & people etc. Bovril and Sturgo your replies were really informative, but Oz, NZ and the Asian countries differ very much from Africa. Africa is wild and has a kind of randomness that cannot be controlled. I've heard mad stories from African friends which would never happen in the aforementioned countries.

National Geographic photographers seem to get away with taking photos all over the shop: markets, churches, tribal funerals, warzones, weapons markets in Afghanistan... how do you think they go about doing that? Is it as simple as having massive balls? Or is there more to it.

Hearvee

It's a bit of a tricky one, because it really depends where you're going in Africa!

For example, I brought a film SLR to Nigeria a few years ago, and had no worries with using it in Abuja and around the country, but never took it out of the bag in Lagos (in fact I took off my watch and put it in my pocket one day there as it was drawing attention!).
In Benin the local kids actually run up to you looking for a 'small fee' or 'dash' then are perfectly happy to let you photograph them.
In Maputo (Mozambique) I was wandering around on my own so just had a point and click with me, but if I'd had someone else with me I probably would've taken out the DSLR, as it generally felt safe.

Each African country I've been to has felt totally different, even both sides of the Nigeria/Benin border were worlds apart!!!

IMHO, it'd be silly not to bring it with you, as you're bound to do some organised trips while you're out there (e.g. Gorilla trekking in Uganda) and you'll be kicking yourself if you don't have a decent camera. But there's a lot of times when a p&s won't attract attention and you'll be glad of it!

But be careful. The "National Geographic Photographers" do this full time, know exactly what they can/can't photo, have someone local with them, etc.

sturgo

Hearvee wrote: »

But be careful. The "National Geographic Photographers" do this full time, know exactly what they can/can't photo, have someone local with them, etc.

That's a very good point. Having a local or a guide is invaluable. Also having some street sense won't do any harm either. I remember some locals in India reacting badly to tourists who were taking pictures of the burning bodies along the banks of the Ganges. Yet the locals themselves were more than happy to let be photographed. There was a town in Pakistan I visited called Quetta. Halfway between the Iranian / Afgahni border which was pretty wild and random. I left the DSLR in the hotel and used a small Canon compact when out on the streets.

Quint

If you're going to Ghana you'll be fine. Even walking around Accra at night on your own is safe. But as Hearvee said, I wouldn't walk around Lagos with one! Use common sense, carry it in a plain bag, and if the city you're in has a bad vibe don't take it out. I think any villages in west africa will be ok, but Accra is the only City i was in, and can assure you it's safer than Dublin and the people are seriously friendly.
Make sure you ask locals before you take the pic, the beauty of digital cameras is people love to see the shot on the screen after you took it. The only people that mind are the ones you don't ask! Don't think you'll have any problems getting pics of kids! Getting one without kids is the problem, as soon as you take out the camera they go mental to get in the shot!

Victor

In some places, the kids will also want a print!

0utpost31

Haha yeah I've heard about the kids! Can't believe Accra is safer than dublin...

I'll be mainly in east africa, uganda, malawi, possibly ethiopia (if I can pas through sudan or kenya - depends). But I'll have no timetable to follow so I may decide to hit west africa too if the funds allow it (need to leave a few grand for s.america).

I'm lucky enough to have relatives in uganda, 100% ugandans, so I will definately have an easy introduction to africa.

Thanks for all the replies, I feel a small bit better now since I didn't really want to sell all my gear when the time came.

So what kind of bag did you carry it in? A crappy rag of a yoke?

And lads, what single lens would you bring? What lens do you wish you had when you were on your travels?

Merrion

I was "on the ground" extensively in Ethiopia with two SLRs and had no problems at all. And I would recommend it as perhaps the most spectauclar place I have ever been.

Tips:-
* Dust is everywhere - minimise lens changes
* Heat is also bad for cameras. A decent camera bag helps but beware of leaving the camera in direct sunlight.
* Do NOT photograph anything military or sensitive (government buildings and even major infrastructure like dams).
* As anywhere in the world - ask if you want to take someones photo and if they say (or indicate) no don't push it.

sunny2004

I have travelled throughout south africa, some places were insane to say the least..
I would suggest either wrapping cloth around the camera to take the cool look off it and using a cheap strap..

Its all down to the area your in..

johnfás

Been all around East Africa - Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda Rwanda. One of us had 2 Canon Digital SLR cameras - they were photographing for National Geographic. Rest of us all had point and shoots and DSLR of various kinds. No issues whatsoever as long as you keep your wits about you. Don't go out with a camera like that at night, but then again don't go outside where you are staying at night fullstop.

There is a general rule which is don't take anything out with you that you would sorely miss. It isn't practicable though. I would say that if you are doing like a tour of the slums of the cities be very careful unless you have a good guide with you. Central Kigali/Arusha/Nairobie/Kampala are all absolutely fine in the middle of the afternoon.

Deicida

johnfás wrote: »

but then again don't go outside where you are staying at night fullstop.

Why not? Is it like mad max or something? :-O

johnfás

Deicida wrote: »

Why not? Is it like mad max or something? :-O

The cities aren't particularly safe after dark. They are relatively safe if you have your wits about you during the daytime. Out in some rural situations you are OK after dark but you never want to stray too far from where you were staying. The safest place I have been for wandering after dark in East Africa was in the Rwandan mountains.

0utpost31

I remeber flicking through this forum a while ago and saw a photo of some African (i think) children, with a kind of white washed over exposed look, and to be really specific there was a fly on one of their faces, It looked good. Who took that? Was it taken in Africa? Was it taken by a user here?

I'll try and look for it again.

johnfás

Here is some snaps from last time I was in East Africa:

Burnt

0utpost31 wrote: »

I remeber flicking through this forum a while ago and saw a photo of some African (i think) children, with a kind of white washed over exposed look, and to be really specific there was a fly on one of their faces, It looked good. Who took that? Was it taken in Africa? Was it taken by a user here?

HughC is the man your looking for.

Hugh_C

Burnt wrote: »

HughC is the man your looking for.

Hi! Yes it was me.

Outpost - I took most of these images in rural Ethiopia, not too many around Addis Ababa which is a massive, sprawling city and I wouldn't have felt comfortable toting a camera round in full view. It's a completely different story in my limited experience of rural Africa though, people are very friendly and eager to have their photos taken. I didn't feel threatened at all.

I also brought an ancient medium format with me which caused a lot of intrigue.

My advice is just go for it ... after all you can insure it and it's just a thing ...

Hugh

PS forgot to add that dust can be a problem if you're changing lenses (you're not?) but I brought stuff called Dust Aid with me which can be used to clean sensors and doesn't involve liquids and therefore airport friendly.

paddylonglegs

Yeah interested to know what your ultimate lens is that you would take while travelling for all round good shots - lanscape,macro,streetscape

0utpost31

Hugh C I know it's just a thing, as I said in my 1st post I don't care if it's robbed/broken/whatever, I was just wondering about etiquette and personal security with these things.

I was thinking the sigma 17-70mm for it's range, it's extremely close focusing ability (like 1mm close even at the long end) for macro and f2.8 at 17mm. And it's also got a good enough build and it's quite sturdy.

But if anyone can suggest a better lens with a similar all round range and features, please tell me!

8kvscdpglqnyr4

Myself and my wife spent 4 months travelling independently around SE Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe Namibia and South Africa with my canon 20D and had no problems. There was never a question in my mind about whether to bring the camera or not. I know I'm probably never going to make it back to these places so it's the only opportunity to take photos there. Insure your camera and then there's nothing to worry about.

I also spent 4 months in South America and 3 months is SE Asia and it's much easier in both these place than Africa as there are plenty of internet cafes where you can copy the contents of you CF card onto DVDs and post home. In Africa these places were few and far between.

I had the 17-85mm canon lens with me and also a canon 70-300mm. The 17-85mm I used for 95% of the time. I only took out the 300mm for animals and birds (but it was still worth carrying it around).

The bag I used was a lowe-pro top loader for the body with the 17-85mm attached. I had a seperate lowe-pro pouch for the lens. I would always keep the top-loader bag inside my day-pack. I never felt uncomfortable or unsafe walking around with my camera.

We also had an Ixus40 (point and shoot) for the times when we need to be discrete and I have to say it was very useful. It was also handy for the time when it wasn't appropriate to take the dSLR with us.

8kvscdpglqnyr4

0utpost31 wrote: »

But if anyone can suggest a better lens with a similar all round range and features, please tell me!

Since I returned home from my tavels I purchased a Sigma 18-200 OS lens and I am blown away by the results! IMO this is the best travel lens ever. I wish I had it while I was teavelling. I would not have carried the 17-85 and the 70-300 if I owned this lens at the time. It's got the range, it's light, and the results are excellent, even at 200mm. With this lens you definitely only need to carry one lens with you and you never need to worry about changing lens in a dusty environment.

I was very skeptical when I ordered the lens - I wasn't sure how good the results would be. But I can confirm they are excellent. They're obviously nothing like the results you get with the Canon L series but for the price/range they excellent.

The build quality of the lens is excellent too.