The Expedition Photographer: Gear, Endurance, and the Long Trail

An intermediate (200-level) expedition course built from the Dean’s guide to hiking with professional camera gear and from more than two decades of month-long Himalayan backpacking. It teaches the honest premise that the photograph is earned by the journey: you must choose your gear with expertise and train your body to carry it, or the load will take away the very joy you came for.

The eight lessons move from the spirit of adventure travel and the timing of a Himalayan season and route, through training for the long day and the real cost of going unprepared, to the three governing factors of gear — performance, durability, and weight — and the building of a full-frame camera kit; and, at last, to packing the 40+10L system, arranging the weight, and managing food, language, and logistics on the long trail.

It is intended for photographers ready to plan and carry a professional kit on multi-day expeditions, ideally after the foundational field course PHO 149 or equivalent trekking experience. The goal throughout is the Dean’s own: to make the expedition a joy, not a trial, and to bring home images worth the miles.