Click Magazine: My Ultimate Tool for Landscape Photography
A stable, sturdy tripod helps me achieve the creative images I love.
As a landscape photographer, I need a compact and light tripod to help me get those sharp images wherever I travel and hike. I often photograph long exposures to add a unique and creative effect in my landscape work. A stable and secure tripod is essential to capturing these images.
The ProMaster SP425CK Professional Tripod Kit with Head has all the qualities I need for my travel and landscape photography. At a weight of only 3 pounds and 15 ounces, it’s light and compact for travel and hiking. The flip leg locks are strong yet easy to adjust, allowing for quick set up and shot adjustment. The tripod plate is simple to slide into the ball head and tightens securely with ease. The ball head adjustment knobs are intuitive and strong. This is important not only for keeping the camera safe but also for keeping it steady during long exposures. All the knobs are red, making it easy to identify adjustment points. Altering the height of the tripod or the position of the camera on the ball head is seamless and simple. The feet of the tripod have a great design with rubber feet that twist to reveal metal spikes. This creates a stable base on various ground surfaces. One of legs is circled in a soft foam, creating a comfortable spot to hand carry the tripod. In cold weather this is especially beneficial since those metal tripod legs can be stinging in frigid temperatures.
A great backpack is essential for carrying all of my landscape photography gear.
The ProMaster SP425CK Tripod attaches perfectly on the side of the ProMaster Cityscape 70 Photo Backpack. I traveled to California with this backpack and carried my gear with ease to Yosemite, Muir Woods, and the California coast. With two cameras, multiple zoom lenses, filters, and my intervalometer, I don’t travel light. This backpack is designed perfectly for me to pack all my gear and access it easily. On the opposite side of my tripod is a side pocket to hold my water bottle which is perfect for hiking or for carrying my thermos of coffee to early sunrise shoots.
The variety of front pockets make it easy to store items such as my lens brush, microfiber cloth, and intervalometer for quick access while on location. The top outside pocket is the perfect size to hold my filter case. The accessibility of this pocket is so helpful since using a 10-stop neutral density filter requires removing the filter for focus and set up each time I change my frame. I can easily tuck it safely away as I recompose and then secure it to my lens again.
The main compartment of the bag can accommodate a significant variety of gear, allowing me to store more than one camera body plus several lenses or just my Nikon D850 plus 4-6 lenses. This includes my large Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. Additionally, the inside front flap has a compartment that will fit my iPad or 15-inch MacBook Pro. This is so valuable for me as I typically travel with my laptop so I can upload my images after each day of shooting.
The Cityscape 70 backpack also comes with a rain cover to provide extra protection in inclement weather so I can be out shooting the dramatic skies I love without worrying about my gear. Lastly, the bag has straps around the waist and chest to give support when carrying heavy gear for an extended time.
The ProMaster neutral density filter helps me capture long-exposures, even in full sunlight.
A neutral density filter is one of my favorite landscape photography tools. It allows me to block out light and shoot long exposures from one second to a few minutes depending on the lighting. This allows me to get creative with clouds and water and capture dreamy and surreal imagery. The HGX Prime IRND Filter is a great choice for landscape photographers as it blocks out 10 stops of light. This allows me to slow down my shutter speed even in broad daylight.
Each of these ProMaster tools helped me to create landscape imagery on my recent trip to California and I highly recommend them to other landscape photographers. They will be with me in my future travels, near and far.
This post was originally written by Kristen Ryan for Click Magazine.
Kristen Ryan
Kristen Ryan is a fine art photographer with a passion for landscapes, nature and genuine life moments. Armed with her Nikon D810 she loves to travel and capture the beauty of the world, especially the Tetons in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
