June was a crazy month. I’ve never traveled so much in the short span of three weeks— I went up north to the Canadian Rockies, then headed half across the world to Armenia, then back to the States for a rather indulgent trip to Las Vegas. And while I might be on vacation (sort of), the work doesn’t stop. That’s the nature of a freelancer, no matter where you go or for how long, it’s almost impossible to go completely offline, especially when your world revolves around the digital space.
At first, you might be thinking, “Well Nanette, maybe you should get offline and get out into the real world.” And I would say, “Actually, being in the digital world has brought me to do exactly that.” That may sound a bit counterintuitive, but it’s true. Having an online space like this blog and Instagram has actually led me to be more adventurous, appreciate the beauty of nature like I never did before, and has given me a strong network of creatives I never would’ve met otherwise. This online life is a little bit of a double edged sword in that way— it’s opened my world a lot, but also made it verrrrrry difficult for me to go offline. However, I like to think that I’m starting to balance the two a little bit more, and learning to enjoy the moments fully, without thinking about capturing the perfect image. Sometimes….
Which is a very round-about way to bring me to my next subject, photography and blogging on-the-go. Since I’ve already confessed that it’s hard for me to go completely offline, you can imagine I’ve compiled quite the toolkit for efficient blogging and photography on-the-go. If there’s one thing I hate, it’s inefficiency. Which is why I try my best to be really efficient when I travel, especially when it comes to what I bring, do, and the programs I use. Lord knows I hate lugging around heavy stuff all over the airports, especially when I have three flights and two layovers (hello Armenia!). Today, I’ll be sharing what essential gear and programs I use to optimize my workflow when blogging on-the-go.
1. My Spectre Laptop
Why wouldn’t I bring the world’s thinnest laptop with me during my travels? The thing is light as a feather, and feels like it’s the same weight as one of my spare camera batteries. I’m one of those people who loves editing on their laptop before posting online, so I tend to bring a laptop with me whenever I can during travel. The lightweight Spectre makes it easy for me to bring it everywhere, and I love how it instantly steps up my style game with its sleek matte exterior and copper accents. It also has a super fast Intel Core i7 processor, which means it can keep up with all the heavy duty photo editing I like to do. With the ability to travel light, it’s been so much easier to share content (with you all!) and take a look at all the photos I take at the end of the day. It’s going to be crucial for my upcoming travels to Taiwan and Hong Kong!
2. Camera & Gear
I mean this is kinda obvious, but I wanted to share exactly what camera I use and what lenses I tote with me everywhere. I shoot with a Canon 6D that I love, and mainly use a 35mm f/1.4 lens and 17-35mm f/2.8 lens. That’s pretty much all I need— the 35mm for food and portraits, and the wide angle for epic landscape pictures. Sometimes, I’ll carry around my manual helios lens for some gorgeous swirly bokeh. Of course, can’t forget the extra battery packs and an intravolometer for time-lapse shots. I carry all of them in my Vinta backpack.
3. Editing Software
As I had mentioned, I’m an avid user of Lightroom. When I finally learned how to use it, it was a life-changer! I used modified presets from VSCO and Rebecca Lily.
For my phone, I used to use literally five different apps, but now I stick with three. Sometimes, I only use one! haha. I like to use PicsArt because of its vast creative suite— it’s basically Photoshop on your phone. For free. One of my favorite features is the ability to erase part of a filter off any photo. I also love Polarr because it’s essentially Lightroom on your phone. Lastly, I love Priime for their filters. My favorite style author is Jongsun Park!
Cultural Chromatics has teamed up with HP for this post. However, all opinions are our own, (and always will be). Thanks for supporting content that keeps the lights on here at Cultural Chromatics.
When you travel, do you lug everything with you or travel light? I’d love to hear what you pack in the comments below!
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