• The limited space in a raft makes careful planning essential. A camera with a pop-up flash will fill in shadows and save you space. Take an extra-long telephoto and tripod only if you plan to shoot from shore. To photograph wildlife from the raft, ask the trip leader to move the boat to an eddy (or another calm part of the river), and use fast film with a telephoto lens in the 80 to 200mm range.

• A polarizing filter will reduce glare from reflections, darken blue skies, and increase color saturation.

• Outfitters usually provide metal ammo boxes to keep your equipment dry and safe. Discuss your needs when you make your reservation. On overnight trips, see if there’s enough space for you to have two ammo boxes—one to store your extra equipment, the other to keep close at hand with film, lenses, batteries, and a lens-cleaning kit.

• Solar caveat: To prevent a meltdown of camera and film, put your gear in an ammo box that’s painted white—or cover it with a spare shirt or towel. Dark boxes heat like ovens when exposed to the sun.

• In addition to ammo boxes, airtight plastic bags are ideal for sealing out moisture and grit. But to shoot those hair-raising rapids, you’ll need a waterproof camera or watertight protection like an Ewa bag—a heavy-duty vinyl bag with a glass porthole.

• For maximum protection and convenience, pack your camera in a plastic, foam-lined case, available at camera stores.

• Water, sun, and impacts are threats to camera gear, but more dangerous are sand and grit, which can easily scratch a lens. Be sure to protect your equipment at the campsite.

• Although water and cameras generally don’t mix, here are a few ways to shoot in the wet (from least to most expensive):
  • Waterproof disposable cameras are a great low-cost alternative. It doesn’t matter much if the camera washes overboard.
  • Waterproof point-and-shoot cameras cost more but have better lenses.
  • Ewa bags—heavy-duty vinyl bags with a glass porthole—protect single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras.
  • Nikonos underwater cameras, the aquatic siblings of Nikon cameras, are expensive but can be rented from some camera stores.
  • Professional underwater camera housings for 35mm SLRs, which have a plexiglass dome over the lens, are also expensive but can be rented from some camera stores.

• For the Selway River shoot (July/August 1996 issue of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELER), photographer Michael Melford took along this equipment:
  • two Nikon F4 cameras
  • Nikon 8008 SLR camera in Stromm waterproof housing
  • 16mm f/2.8 Nikkor lens
  • 20mm f/2.8 Nikkor lens
  • 20-35mm zoom f/2.8 Nikkor lens
  • 28-70mm zoom f/2.8 Angenieux lens
  • 80-200mm zoom f/2.8 Nikkor lens
  • polarizing filter for each lens
  • 81C filter (warming filter)
  • 80A filter (daylight to tungsten filter)
  • Nikon SB-24 flash
  • Quantum turbo (battery for flash)

• While on assignment, Melford shot 38 rolls of film in just five days. That’s more pictures than most travelers would take, but it’s not a lot for a professional photographer. For longer TRAVELER stories, photographers often shoot more than 200 rolls of film in two weeks.

Cushioned by foam, photographer Michael Melford’s gear lies tucked inside a Pelican waterproof case. Although intended for underwater use, the yellow Stromm housing can also be used to shoot above water, making it a good solution for keeping your camera dry on a raft trip.