Fitness and Photography
Travel photography demands more from your body than most other types of photography. Just the travel itself wears on you and when you add walking and hiking while carrying lots of gear to get that perfect shot you can get worn out quickly if you’re not in good shape.
There are a lot of ways to get in shape. It just depends on how much time and attention you are willing to devote to the care and feeding of your body. It’s common sense to eat sensibly and exercise but if you’re planning on a photography trip you may need a bit more than normal. You can start a daily walking regiment or visit the gym more often but do something with a goal in mind. You’re off to a good start if you can walk several miles with your camera gear without getting winded.
When I am home, my personal routine includes Bikram Yoga (www.bikramyogajax.com), a 90-minute hot yoga series that works every part of the body helping me to lose weight, detox and tone muscles while increasing stamina and flexibility. I have not found any other exercise program that does as much for my body as Bikram Yoga and I highly recommend it to anyone that can devote the time to a regular practice.
If you want a quick start to improved fitness, try a fitness boot camp or weight loss spa. I have tried several and my favorite is Mountain Trek (www.mountaintrek.com) in British Columbia, Canada. It’s a challenging but rewarding program that combines a nutritious low calorie diet with lot of hiking, yoga and other exercises to help you lose significant weight in a week or two while detoxifying your body and toning muscles. I use their program to tune up my body every few years.
If you're already in good shape but you want a more active vacation that includes photography you should check out a GTP fitness and photography tour. This tours include activities designed to improve your fitness such as hiking and yoga while still offering lots of photo opportunities. A one week tour in Costa Rica is scheduled for November 8 - 14, 2010.
Regardless of the shape you’re in, there are extra challenges to your fitness when you are traveling. Food, water, environment and people can all pose potential health risks that can weaken a normally healthy person so you need to make sure your immune system is as strong as it can be. Visit your doctor or a travel clinic before you travel to find out if you need any supplements or vitamins to improve the performance of your immune system. Find out if there are any recommended immunizations or prescriptions for disease prevention for the places you will travel to. Make sure your body is ready to deal with new contaminants that it is not exposed to every day.
Normally minor problems like sunburn, bug bites, scratches and blisters can become bigger issues when you travel if you are not prepared for them. Use sun screen when you travel (even if you don’t normally use it at home) to help prevent the discomfort of sunburn for days while you travel. Use bug spray when mosquitoes and other flying bugs are present to prevent as many bug bites as possible. Finally, take a well-stocked medical kit to treat the minor stuff before it gets infected and turns into a major problem.
Another travel challenge is dehydration. It can be caused from diarrhea due to changes in your diet but it can also occur if you simply don’t drink enough water. Either way it will drain your energy regardless of your fitness level until it is corrected. Many people drink more coffee, tea, soda and/or alcohol when they travel. All of these drinks are diuretic, however, and do nothing to hydrate the body. In fact they make maters worse. To offset the effects of these drinks, you need to drink more water than normal. The bottom line is - if you are not urinating regularly or your urine is not pale or clear, you need to drink more water. Don’t avoid drinking water to prevent the need for bathroom stops, especially when you are active.
In summary, you will have a much more enjoyable trip if your body is able to meet the challenges that travel puts on it. Get in shape. See your doctor. Take care of your body and drink plenty of water.
May your travel and your photography both be rewarding!
Roger Nelson