My Travel Photography Gear – Dragan Tapshanov

(Updated – November 07, 2016)

For all those who are interested in the photo equipment I use for my travels, this is what I have with me at all times:

On my neck & in my pocket

1. Smartphone – iPhone 6S

Great for quick snaps, panoramic shots, videos and instant photo sharing.

Make sure you have a solid case for it, you are going on a adventure and there are big chances that your phone will fall on the ground few times.

3. DSLR

+ Canon 5D Mark III

22.3MP Full-Frame CMOS Sensor

3.2″ Clear View High Resolution LCD

DIGIC 5+ Image Processor

61-Point High Density AF

Full HD 1080/30p and 720/60p Formats

Built-In HDR and Multiple Exposure Modes

Extended ISO Range (50-102400)

Up to 6.0 FPS Continuous Mode

Dual CF and SD Memory Card Slots

Durable Magnesium-Alloy Construction

4. Lenses:

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM – I have a passion for documenting faces of the locals from the developing countries that I visit and this lens has helped me achieve what I want. Great for close ups and portraits, the photos are sharp and clean with beautiful blurry background, just perfect. I hardly ever remove this lens from the body, for other types of photos i use the GoPro.

In my Backpack

All of this equipment is stored in the LowePro 250 Fastpack. There is a slot for everything from the list above, plus there is a space for the chargers, adapters, papers, money and other smaller things that you need for the trip.

GoPro – Hero 4 Silver edition (Hooked on the top of the bag)

It is light, it has water protection case, it can do videos, time lapse, and burst shots. I am a solo traveler so it is a must that I have a pole so I can do selfies, also with extending the pole you can get closer to something you wanna take shot of, I use it to get close to wild animals. It has an intergraded display.

The POV Pole I use is by SP-Gadgets (GoPro® camera can be directly attached to it without any extra parts. The dual-diameter grip keeps the pole firmly secured in your hand link ) – Yourcamera can be directly attached to it without any extra parts. The dual-diameter grip keeps the pole firmly secured in your hand

Make sure you have spare battery and spare SD Card.

2. MacBook Pro 13in – Retina display

The battery holds 5-6 hours, the display is paradise for photographers and its light as a feather.





Use the Aperture, the Apple software for photo editing, the amazing thing is that you can add map to your photos and share them instantly wherever you want, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter … to bad you can on Instagram

2. Storage

Long time I was using and external hard drive as primary storage solution for my photos, but recently I was robed and I lost many photographs were not duplicated on some other storage device, I was devastated. Then I learned about Google Drive, and now for 10$ I have 1TB online storage, and every night when I come back to the hostel/hotel I upload the photos from the day there. If i stay more days in the wild, only then I use the hard drive, but when I connect to the internet I am instantly uploading the shots.

3. Lenses:

Sigma 24-105mm F/4 DG OS HSM Art – A new lens that I bought so I can get more wider images and to get close to some subjects when I can’t approach them by foot. The price was 900 euros (in Macedonia) which was little bit expensive, but is worth it.

The sharpness of the lens is amazing, has a fast auto focus and solid made body. The only negative thing is the weight (885g), when is attached on my Mark III and I am Trekking/Hiking for longer hours and distances (Langtang region in winter), I have big problems with my neck in the end of the day.

Photo created with the Sigma