Photography and Outdoor Gear

My photography does not start with a camera. First, I need to get somewhere worth slowing down for. That might mean hiking for several days, paddling across a Finnish lake, or using our camper van as a base somewhere in the north. The outdoor equipment is what makes those journeys possible. It keeps me moving, sleeping, eating and working safely in all these locations.

That’s why, instead of focusing just on my photography gear, I rather give some insight in my outdoor gear and the careful considerations I made selecting them. However, if you are the type of person that thinks that a specific camera or lens will make a difference, well… Just scroll all the way down, so you can buy the exact same stuff I shoot with.

Nothing on this page is intended as a packing list or an instruction to buy these products. I am also not sponsored by any of these manufacturers. It is simply the equipment that currently works for me. Some of it is carefully chosen and relatively new; other pieces have been around for years. Together, they have enabled most of the adventures and stories you will find on this website.

On foot

For day trips I use an F-Stop Guru 4 AIR 24L backpack. It is compact enough for an ordinary walk but still holds a useful camera setup inside an ICU (F-Stop’s camera storage inserts), together with food, water and an extra layer of clothing.

Multi-day hikes require a different approach. For those I use an F-Stop Tilopa 50L, a trekking backpack specifically designed for photography. I have it coupled with a Medium ICU. The camera equipment sits securely inside the ICU, while the tent, sleeping system, clothing, food and all the small practical gear are packed around it. The contents of the bag are protected against a downpour by a rain cover. In persistently wet conditions, the camera equipment, electronics and power bank receive another layer of protection inside plastic bags.

Sleeping outside

Whenever it is just Ala and me, I usually take the NEMO Hornet Elite OSMO 2P. Weighing just under 1 KG, it is a very light, yet very capable three-season tent. It provides plenty of room for the two of us without carrying unnecessary weight. When I am hiking together with someone else, we will carry the more spacious and slightly heavier Hilleberg Anjan 3.

My main sleeping bag is the Feathered Friends Hummingbird UL 30. I want to emphasize how much I value this company. Their products are top-notch, but most importantly to me: they solely use responsibly sourced down. In warmer weather I can use it more loosely, almost like a quilt. A merino mummy liner adds comfort and extends its useful temperature range when it gets colder. My sleeping mat is a rectangular NEMO Tensor All-Season Regular. It’s light, warm and considerably more comfortable for me than a mummy-shaped mat.

One very small item deserves a disproportionate amount of praise: the NEMO Fillo Elite pillow. For years, the least uncomfortable solution was using a bundle of spare clothing as a pillow. The Fillo Elite finally solved that problem and now permanently lives in the pack.

Water, food and camp life

My usual water system combines the Sawyer Squeeze water filter with a two-liter CNOC bag. A lightweight 750 ml CamelBak bottle stays accessible while hiking. Around camp, or when traveling by canoe, I sometimes use a larger Katadyn gravity system instead.

For trekking, the Jetboil MiniMo is the centre of the kitchen. On a solo trip of up to roughly five days, a 100-gram gas canister is normally sufficient. The MiniMo boils water quickly but also gives me enough control to finish something like risotto without immediately welding it to the bottom of the pot. A Jetboil spoon with silicone edges and a small MSR scraper make cleaning considerably easier.

Most of my trail food is prepared and dehydrated at home: dinners, lunches and overnight oats. I sometimes use an insulated flask to let meals rehydrate without keeping the stove running. A few long-life meals, usually from Real Turmat, are packed as reserves. They come in handy whenever a meal fails, a day becomes unexpectedly long or the route takes an extra day. If unused, they can safely return to the cupboard after a trip.

I always pack food for at least one day beyond the plan. That also includes instant oats, a few extra snacks and enough coffee. The first day is usually less efficient on purpose: fresh bread, sausages or something else heavier makes the first camp or lunch stop feel like the proper beginning of a trip. Later days become lighter and more practical.

Everything I take with me on the trail, I also take out again. A sealable Sea to Summit trash dry bag hangs from the outside of the backpack. When starting out, it can also hold the first meal.

Navigation, safety and small essentials

Even on a marked trail, I like carrying a paper map. It gives me a better sense of the landscape than repeatedly checking a phone: the contours ahead, possible water sources and the quickest way out if a trip goes sideways. For me, it’s a very effective way to be grounded in the moment as well. In Finnish wilderness areas, a map and compass (and knowing how to use it) are a bare necessity. Besides the physical Suunto compass, I can also turn to my smartwatch and offline maps on my iPhone.

A Garmin inReach Mini 2 provides emergency satellite communication and regular check-in messages when I am beyond mobile coverage. Someone at home knows the intended route and receives progress updates. A piece of advice for anyone looking into the inReach system: do not just go for Garmin’s own subscription plans. Instead, have a look at the German provider Protegear. They offer some much more flexible and interesting plans for relatively short trips.

The rest is deliberately basic: a compact first-aid kit, emergency blanket, limited toiletry stuff, repair patches, glue, tape, cable ties, spare line, tent parts, needle and thread. A Marttiini Ranger is my main outdoor knife, while a Leatherman Signal handles smaller practical duties and repairs. Leki poles with cork grips have become standard on my multi-day hikes. Difficult terrain and a loaded backpack are noticeably easier to manage with four points of contact. For resting, a tiny folding foam pad replaces the need for a camp chair. There is nearly always a rock, log or bench available.

When it comes to electronics I use a Nitecore NB10000 Gen 4 power bank and the smallest useful selection of cables. A FLEXTAIL Zero Pump inflates the sleeping mat, a rechargeable Petzl Tikka provides working light and a Blue Mountain Mini Waterproof Lamp creates a much softer atmosphere in the tent, lean-to or cabin. Its spiral LED, tiny stand and separate flashlight make it a surprisingly fun and useful little object. It’s definitely a piece of gear I could do without, but it makes camping in the darker season so much more enjoyable.

The same goes for some other choices. For most of my gear, I am always in search of possibilities to shave off a bit of weight, as I already take a big hit weight-wise with my photography gear. There is one silly exception though. I almost always prefer to take my wooden Sami kuksa cup, instead of my much, much lighter Kupilka cup.

Clothing

My clothing follows a straightforward layering system. Merino sits closest to the skin whenever possible, usually from Devold or Fjällräven. It regulates temperature well, remains comfortable over several days and is far more forgiving than an ordinary cotton shirt.

For trousers, I move between lightweight Fjällräven Abisko trousers in warm weather, Fjällräven Keb trousers for general trekking, and Barents Pro Winter trousers in deep winter conditions. The G-1000 sections of these trousers are waxed for extra durability and water resistance. They are not waterproof, but they shed moderate rain and dry relatively quickly.

Mid-layers range from a light technical or merino hoodie to the warmer Fjällräven Övik fleece hoodie. In winter, my main mid-layer is usually one of my wool sweaters from the Norwegian brand Devold. A Fjällräven Expedition Lätt Hoodie jacket and the Fjällräven Keb Eco-Shell form the outer layers, with the occasional use of the Fjällraven Greenland Down liner vest. Deep winter brings out the Fjällräven Singi padded jacket, thermal merino layers and the Heat Company mitten system with merino liners and chemical hand or foot warmers.

Leather Lowa hiking boots are my choice for multi-day trekking. Lighter Salomon shoes work well for easy trails and canoeing because getting them wet is not a disaster. Wool socks are non-negotiable. In winter I use Sorel boots, removable microspikes or crampons, cross-country skis and, occasionally, traditional full-sized snowshoes.

Ala’s gear

Our Alaskan husky Ala has her own equipment. On multi-day hikes, she carries most of it in a Ruffwear dog backpack. At around 18 kilograms, we keep her total load comfortably below the upper limit of 15 percent of body weight. In practice, she rarely carries more than 2kg on her back.

Her pack contains a collapsible water pouch (in case the next camp has no reliable water source), a folding bowl, a small canine first-aid kit, emergency paw socks, food and a few small treats. On longer trips we feed her with freeze-dried food from Pala. It provides a lot of nutrition for relatively little weight and she absolutely loves it. Larger treats are used cautiously, as Ala seems to consider them long-term investments. There’s an impressive collection of bones and rabbit ears buried across northern Europe.

A Sea to Summit towel functions as her place inside the tent, a cue that tells her where to settle and something we can use to dry her when necessary. Plus, it can function as a spare towel for ourselves. She does not need a separate sleeping mat or vest; her own fur provides her with better insulation than all of my technical gear ever could.

While walking, she either wears the backpack or her normal harness. A Tractive tracker adds another layer of security. Around camp, the backpack comes off her collar goes on. That change has become a useful cue: it tells her that we have arrived and that it is time to rest. We carry a normal hiking leash and a long orange line from Non-stop Dogwear. The long line gives her enough room to investigate bushes, dig the traditional unnecessary holes and generally conduct her evening business without disappearing.

For canoeing she also has her own Non-stop Dogwear life vest.

By canoe

Our canoe is an inflatable Aqua Marina Tomahawk AIR-C 478. Officially it seats three; in our setup the middle seat stays at home and Ala occupies that space on a towel. The canoe, paddles and life vests remain in Oscar during much of the summer, which makes an unplanned overnight trip relatively easy.

An inflatable canoe comes with clear limitations. It floats rather high on the water and as a result is rather susceptible to the wind and it lacks the stability for crossing rapids. Wind up to three meters per second is generally pleasant; a sustained wind approaching five metres per second is the point at which the trip quickly becomes work rather than fun. Thus, we tend to look for sheltered water, a sensible forecast and realistic distances.

When canoeing, weight is less critical than when hiking, so most of our older and heavier gear get to enjoy a second life during our canoe trips. We use a twenty-year-old (Eureka!) tent, our older sleeping mats and larger gas canisters. Clothing, electronics and sleeping equipment travel in dry bags, which protect them from water and may help them float if something goes wrong. The canoe’s dedicated repair kit comes along as well.

Water is filtered through a Katadyn BeFree gravity system. A simple Jetboil handles boiling water. When cooking is part of the evening rather than merely a task, the larger Jetboil Genesis system can come too. It can be so much fun to be out on some uninhabited island and prepare a full-sized meal with this system.

By bike

My bike packing bicycle is a Wilier Jena. It is comfortable, versatile and fitted with enough mounting points to carry equipment properly. It is also my all-season gravel and training bike and fast enough to do some KOM-hunting in between the bike packing commutes. Most of the bags bolted to the bike are from Restrap: a 14-litre saddle bag, handlebar bag, fork-mounted Switch panniers and smaller top-tube or frame bags. Their harness systems allow the dry bags to be removed without dismantling everything attached to the bicycle.

When Ala joins us, she travels in a Croozer Dog Mikke. The trailer is a bit larger than she strictly needs, which creates useful storage around her. Bulky but light items like the tent, mats and sleeping equipment can reside there. The mats provide a comfortable floor in the process.

The camping equipment is largely the same as the trekking setup. The bike-specific kit includes tubeless sealant, tyre plugs, a spare inner tube, quick links, basic tools, an electric pump and a manual pump that does not depend on a battery. I am a believer and as such hot-wax my chains before the trip. I carry a little drip wax for longer or particularly dirty journeys.

In winter

My true winter expeditions have so far either been supported by our van Oscar or organized as dog sledding expeditions with Bardu Huskylodge. The lodge provides the specialist sledding and expedition equipment. My personal winter system is mainly an extension of the clothing and sleeping equipment described above.

So, I do not currently own a dedicated winter trekking shelter, but there are plans though…

Oscar, our mobile base camp

For many trips, the most important piece of outdoor equipment is our camper van. Oscar is a self-converted 2016 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter: small enough to remain mobile, but large and well insulated enough to support travel in pretty much all the conditions northern Scandinavia can throw at us. It is completely designed and built to suit our outdoor needs. It can carry our bikes inside, stores the inflatable canoe during summer and provides heat, water, solar power, cooking facilities and a warm place to recover or wait out bad weather. We increasingly use the van as a mobile basecamp, rather than a traditional camper.

The conversion involved enough decisions, experiments and very specific solutions to deserve a page of its own. You can read more about Oscar and the conversion here.

Photography gear

And now for the boring part. My photography system is built around two Canon EOS R5 bodies and Canon RF lenses. Naturally, I do not carry everything on every trip. The location, intended work, expected wildlife and the amount of equipment already on my back determine the selection.

The complete lens set currently consists of:

• Canon RF 10–20mm F4 L IS STM – This lens is WIDE and gives me exactly what I need when I want to combine a dramatic foreground with a wide background. 
• Canon RF 15–35mm F2.8 L IS USM – My wide-angle workhorse. This one accompanies me on most of the weight-conscious trips and it takes the NiSi filter system. 
• Canon RF 35mm F1.4 L VCM – My favorite lens for documentary work. I love how it can get me right into the action, even in dim lighting. 
• Canon RF 35mm F1.8 Macro IS STM – This one serves as a low-weight backup to the L-version.
• Canon RF 50mm F1.8 STM – To be honest, I don’t really know why I have this lens. I hardly ever shoot anything at this focal length, which is also the reason I do not own a 24-70mm lens. 
• Canon RF 70–200mm F2.8 L IS USM – This is a no-brainer. 
• Canon RF 85mm F1.4 L VCM – My go-to portrait lens. 
• Canon RF 100mm F2.8 L Macro IS USM – I am not a dedicated macro shooter, but whenever I do dive into the miniature world, this lens is an absolute joy to work with.
• Canon RF 100–500mm F4.5–7.1 L IS USM – Birds and wildlife, mostly. 
• Canon TS-E 17mm F4 L, used with the Canon Mount Adapter EF–EOS R – Tilt-shift has its use-cases, both in architectural work as well as some incidental landscapes. But mostly, I just love to use it as an effect lens every now and then.

What else? Ah yes, the tripod, one of the most debated pieces of photography equipment. I use the Peak Design Carbon Travel Tripod for over a decade now and it has ended my seemingly never-ending search for the best set of legs. I use the NiSi JetMag Pro 82 mm filter system. When it comes to artificial lighting, I use Canon Speedlites and an Elinchrom Quadra portable strobe system, supported by softboxes, umbrellas, reflectors and dishes. For aerial perspectives, I use a DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone, although it sees considerably less use than it once did. I just got a bit bored with drone photography, I guess.

On a typical multi-day hike I take one R5, the 15–35mm, the 70–200mm and a small selection of filters. The 35mm F1.4 may come when its speed and image quality justify the extra weight. If wildlife is likely, the 100–500mm might replace the 70–200mm. Day hikes are more flexible: the 10–20mm and 100–500mm appear much more often when weight and space are less of a culprit.

The tripod is the least convenient item I almost always carry. At around 1.3 kilograms it is heavy, bulky and awkward to attach to an already full backpack. But, it simply gets used on nearly every multi-day trip. Camps beside flowing water, quiet twilight and the simple fact that there is time to work slowly make it worth carrying. I try to save weight elsewhere and accept this hit.

Editing & Backups

Both R5 bodies record simultaneously to SD and CFexpress Type B cards. I do not format those cards until I have at least two other copies of the files on different locations. On the road, images are transferred to an iPad Pro, which I also use for some first rough edits. At home, a MacBook Pro is my primary editing machine, and a portable SSD holds the active archive so I can continue working when I’m away from home. Adobe Lightroom is my main editing software.

My archive is backed up locally to a redundant desktop drive and remotely to a redundant Synology NAS in Rotterdam. Additionally, separate hard drives stored in a safe contain a less organized last-resort archive of the original files.