Unplugged #8: off to the Alps, outdoor recreation vs. conservation, environmental pragmatism, and the one change that worked

I'm packing for a photo shoot in the Alps. Here's the gear I'm bringing.

Where am I off to next? Tomorrow I'm heading to Austria, specifically the Sellrain area of the Stubai Alps. It'll be my first winter trip to the Alps and I can't wait! I'm going with the Austrian Alpine Club on assignment, and the objective is a snowshoe hut tour. Expect big ascents and bigger mountains.

On this trip I'll be shooting digitally rather than using a film camera, for a few reasons:

1. Unfortunately, I have to fly. I looked into land-based and less polluting forms of travel, but they either didn't work logistically, were too expensive, or would simply gobble up time I could not afford to spend sitting on a train or bus. Flying means CT airport scanners, and CT airport scanners destroy photographic film.
2. It's a photographic assignment. I need to be able to produce a long shot list of images to a professional and consistent standard. You can do this with film, but it's more expensive and takes more time. Sometimes time and money have to be conserved and other priorities come to the fore.
3. Winter conditions can be challenging, and in winter my Nikon Zf is indestructible. Vintage film cameras from the 1950s aren't.

Although I have no qualms about shooting film professionally, and have often done so over the last couple of years, digital most certainly still has its place – and I don't lose any sleep over this. As for lenses, I'll be bringing along my Voigtländer APO-Lanthar 50mm f/2 (a manual prime dripping with character) as well as my Nikon 24-120mm f/4 S (the boring but competent do-everything mountain lens).

A wildcard experiment: I have fitted black mist filters to both lenses, which should add slight halation to highlights and – I'm hoping – help me achieve a more filmic look in post-processing. I don't particularly enjoy the way modern, highly corrected lenses render highlights, so these filters should tone the hardness down a notch. I did think about packing polarising filters (sometimes handy for winter landscapes) but honestly I'd rather not fuss around with filters too much while wearing gloves.

Other kit is being kept to a minimum. My Nikon Zf has a wooden handgrip attached, which I find essential when using the big zoom lens. I use a Peak Design Slide Lite camera strap (very comfy for carrying the camera on my shoulder for long periods). My digital camera bag is a Think Tank Digital Holster 50 2.0 with attached Lens Changer 35 for storing whichever lens isn't attached to the camera. I'm also packing four spare batteries; camera batteries often drain quickly in winter and I'll need to be diligent with my charging rotation. I'm not packing a tripod this time.

There'll be no newsletter next week or the week after. See you in March!

Recently published

The April 2025 issue of The Great Outdoors is up for pre-order. It contains my feature about hiking Ireland's Beara Way, as well as a piece by Carey Davies on our backpacking round of the Fisherfield Six. Yes, the one in which we got eaten alive by midges...

Upcoming

When I've written the blurb and marketing copy, and the rest of the team have done their own post-production bits and pieces, issue #44 of Like the Wind magazine will be popping up on this page. Keep an eye out for it...

I'm delighted that Revelry Collection, a new print magazine focused on analogue photography in adventure, has chosen me to be an ambassador! I've mentioned Revelry a couple of times on this newsletter before, because I'm 100% behind its mission. The magazine's founder is Bentley Zylstra, a young photographer and storyteller. I've had a couple of chats with him over video call, offering informal mentoring and advice, and I'm amazed at his talent, drive and ability. Issue 1 is the foundation of something good, and important, and needed – I'm sure of that. It's a great time to subscribe and support something new.

Finally, I have an article in the next issue (322) of On Landscape magazine, all about a colourful adventure in the Northern Cairngorms. It's a pleasure to return to this fantastic landscape photography magazine for the first time in five years.

From the archives

2nd of December, 2012: Mountain inns and communities: worlds apart – an early post from this version of my blog, which relaunched in March 2012. This is a look at the special worlds of mountain pubs and other communities. It's curious to read the views of a more tech-optimistic Alex Roddie, from a more tech-optimistic decade, at the end. A lot has changed since 2012, hasn't it?

What I've been reading

Books and magazines

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, Haruki Murakami.

In The Great Outdoors, March 2025 issue:

Only share your plans with those who will encourage the 'yes' and support you through the 'but what if..?' scenario planning. Only tell the doubters after your plans are solid. But equally, there is little value in 'should'. If you don't want to, or simply can't, make peace with it. For now, at least. Living in 'should' isn't fun and it erodes self-belief. There will always be people who've done more; they often appear on social media. So if someone's feed makes you feel inadequate, dump it. Limit your exposure in just the same way you would any other toxic substance.

—Mary-Ann Ochota, from 'Don't do it for Instagram, Do it for you!'

Online stuff

Outdoor Recreation Equals Conservation: Debunking The Myth – an important read on a subject I think about quite often. Is it true that more access = more conservation? Not necessarily: 'Recreation is about taking. It’s a form of hedonism. Conservation is about giving. Sometimes that means giving up the opportunity to recreate in certain places or at certain times of the year to protect wildlife. Sadly, far too many recreationists take without giving anything back.'

Outside owner lays off large percentage of magazine staff – absolutely brutal. There may be signs of recovery in some corners of outdoors media, but make no mistake, things remain extremely tough.

Running with cameras – great advice on a conundrum I've been considering lately: how to run with a film camera.

My top tips for wild camping in England – great advice from Marek Bidwell here. I'm looking forward to a wild camping trip with Marek soon after returning from Austria.

From guilt to pragmatism: A new environmental approach – Ross Brannigan reflects on his personal shift in how he approaches many things in life. He isn't abandoning his environmental principles but seeking a more nuanced path. 'For that reason, I no longer want to vilify people for flying (to a degree), nor feel horrendous when I choose to do so. I genuinely believe that seeing other parts of the world and engaging with different cultures is essential, both in tackling the rising tide of xenophobia as well as ignorance over climate breakdown. Climate change is having observable impacts on communities right across the world, but without engaging with those cultures it’s hard for people to comprehend it.'

The one change that worked: I began a quiet, satisfying rebellion against the digital age – I keep seeing evidence of analogue counterculture breaking through into the mainstream, and this is just one recent example of many. Here a young person sets aside her phone and takes pictures on film instead. '...my shift to film photography feels like a quiet rebellion against the digital age, a desire to reclaim the permanence and intimacy that comes with holding a memory in your hands.'

That's all, folks

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