Why travel with minimal gear
I used to be the guy with a huge backpack, at least one camera body (or more) and 3-5 lenses. Please don't judge me but sometimes I also brought my tilt-shift lenses when I was travelling. I felt I might need them... Sound familiar or sound mad? After a short while now I think it is mad. At least for me. I was in Paris for only 2 days with a single camera, the Leica Q3.
Walk in the rain:
Options and limitations
I know it's always tempting to have as much gear as possible. That way you have something for every scenario. Wide angle, long lens, multiple camera bodies, flash, etc. The problem is though, you'll end up switching lens, trying to figure out the perfect focal lenght for that shot, while missing other shots, and honestly, missing the best part of the trip: the enjoyment of the place, really being there and observe. With that amount of gear, the travel become a job.
Cafe du Mexique, Paris
On the other hand if you travel with only one body and one or two lenses, your choices are limited, but your comfort level is uncomparable. You can enjoy the place, not killing your back with tons of gear in your backpack, and really be there, seeing different shots and take them instead of always trying to find the right lens. Is it somewhat limiting? Yes, of course. But I think a little limitation in photography can lead to a more creative thinking, composing, maybe more creative shots. You might end up taking much more shots if you're not constantly changing cameras and lenses. At least that's what happened to me. On a recent trip I took much more good photographs and maybe some great ones. I didn't stress over gear and lenses. Just immersed myself in the place and in photography.
Cropping
I know many photographers hate to crop, even say that it's not photography anymore, but I think it is absolutely not true. With today's high resolution sensors you can bravely crop, no one can tell the difference. And honestly not every photograph should be absolutely perfect. Some shots just meant to be great memories or funny moments. As long as you enjoy taking pictures, it's great. Honestly you probably end up with many keepers if you're not stressing about perfection, different focal lengths and tons of gear. It's not a crime to correct an image a bit with cropping. Most huge photography icons cropped their images in the darkroom. Some even cropped some image heavily.
Photography is not everything
While I really love to take photographs almost every single day, when you travel, photography might not be the most important thing to do. Of course it's great to make great memories or have some amazing street photos but if you don't enjoy your travel than there's no point being there and taking photos. The other thing is, as much as we're passionate about photography, it's not a crime to leave the camera off, in your backpack and just enjoy the moment. Lastly, we might take some fun but not so great shots. So what? It's part of the journey, they might become memories one day. Or later you might find real gems you considered only average when you took the shot. For me the general rule is to take photos I like and enjoy, I can delete it later if it’s not worth keeping it.
See you soon, enjoy taking photos!
Tamas