While riding down trails by Bearclaw Poppy, I hear a familiar sound: a hub whizzing and smooth thud as my friend hits another beautiful gap. Stoked for my friend, I become quickly dismayed as my camera sits in my backpack while the moment passes.
Every time I load up my bike, I’m constantly torn between bringing a camera or just enjoying the ride. I want to capture every moment and all the scenery; however, I feel that bringing my camera changes my ride. While on a bike trip down in St. George, Utah, I finally came to the consensus that I will almost always bring my camera (when I’m not racing).
To give a little context with my struggle, I normally had biked with a camera bag. My typical loadout was a padded ski camera bag or an ultralight running bag. The former option gave me confidence in a crash that my cameras would survive. The second gave me confidence in myself to ride well.
The main disadvantage to bag option is that my cameras were always put away. I had to stop and dismount my bike in order to capture friends ripping down trails before and after me. It felt embarrassing since I hate stopping friends on a good ride just so I can get a shot. This would in turn cause my friends to say “ditch the bag, just ride”. Knowing that this St. George trip was on the horizon, I was determined to test new ways to ride with camera.
Day 1
No cameras. Only vibes. Took some shots and videos on my iPhone, which reminded me how good of a tool the phone still is to quickly capture life
Day 2
Backpack day. Carried two cameras, 3 lenses, and film. At the end of the day, I had a sweaty back and realized I never switched out lenses.
Day 3
Only had a Sony a7III on my shoulder. Slowly learning that this is probably ideal but quite scary.
So what did I learn?
Bringing a camera feels completely worth it. For my eyes, a robust digital/film camera helps to capture my vision far better than my phone can; although a phone is still a pretty good tool. Cameras are subject to a good thrashing, which means I’ll be picking up lens protectors soon. Insurance on my cameras would also be ideal.
Ideal Setup
After this last bike trip, I believe choosing one camera and one lens. Ideally a robust zoom lens, but choosing a prime lens might challenge me to shoot different kinds of photos.
It helps that I recently got a frame bag to hold some tools and water. This alleviates the justification to carry a backpack.
If I were to buy accessories, I would go with a three point camera strap because I found that sometimes my camera would swing down off my back and smack my handle bars. I am also searching for a camera bag that might also sit on the handlebars. I am open to suggestions for that.
Hopefully this helps you who are trying to capture your friends on two wheels in the raddest of places.