2020 Christmas Gift Ideas for Serious Landscape Photographers
Finding it hard to buy Christmas gifts for a landscape photographer in 2020? Let me share some of my favourite photography gift ideas, with some of the best items I would recommend to gift a landscape photographer.
If you are stuck for ideas of what to get your loved one who loves getting outside and capturing wonderful landscapes, I know exactly how difficult we are to buy for… we are the type of people who get lost in YouTube reviews, blog posts and forums, researching every piece of equipment before we hit buy. So, sit back, and let me share with you some Christmas gift ideas that your fellow landscape photographer will love to receive this Christmas, and maybe, just maybe, help them on their landscape photography journey.
£ - Landscape Photography Gifts Under £50
Photography is not a cheap hobby, especially when you start to take landscape photography a little more seriously and start looking at full frame cameras, carbon tripods etc. However, this doesn’t mean that you need to spend four figure sums for a great Christmas gift. Take a look at some of these affordable, yet essential things every landscape photographer should have in their bag:
SanDisk Extreme Pro Memory Cards (64/128GB)
In today’s age of high MP sensors, yes, I’m looking at all the Sony A7RIV and Canon R5 users… you can never have enough storage. I’ve personally used these SD cards religiously for the past 4 years - they are reliable, affordable and relatively quick, plenty fast enough for landscape photography. I would much rather carry several 64GB cards than one or two 128GB cards because it means if the worst was to happen, at least you have a good amount stored on a card outside of your camera body.
Cleaning Accessories
A landscape photographer can NEVER be without at least one of these three items in their bag, especially if they spend a lot of time at the coast getting covered in sea spray. They form part of my three stage cleaning process both when in the field, and at home after a shoot. You can also pick up all three items for under £50 making it a great gift for any landscape photographer who likes to look after their gear.
3 Legged Thing QR11 - Universal L Bracket
If there was ONE item I wish I bought sooner when I got into landscape photography, it would without any hesitation, be a L Bracket. As long as they are using a standard Arca Swiss clamp and head, this bracket will allow easy changing from landscape to portrait orientation, without the need to loose the functionality of a ball-head. This universal L Bracket is perfect for anyone who has not yet been converted by this amazing workflow, just please go onto 3 Legged Thing’s website and check that their camera model is deemed as compatible.
££ - Landscape Photography Gifts Under £150
This is a tricky price range, as you start getting into items that are either practical in the field, or extremely useful at home, when processing or printing landscape photographs. For a landscape photographer, there are many gifts under this price range, but if I had to pick three, it would be the following:
Vallerret Photography Gloves
With us well into single figure Celsius mornings, winter is well on the way and no landscape photographer wants to be standing in a frozen field at 6am with freezing cold hands. After trying many different gloves, from big snow gloves to fingerless thermals, nothing beats a dedicated glove which is made by professional photographers, for professional photographers. The ability to flip back the glove on the thumb and index finger makes using the camera controls and mobile 10x easier, they also have a great zippered pouch for a memory card or what I’ve done in the past, a handy little hand warmer.
Datacolor SpyderX Pro Monitor Calibrator
Things start to get serious when a landscape photographer begins printing their own work, and if one is processing on an un-calibrated monitor, they may be confused when the finished print looks completely different to what they see on the monitor. Therefore, it is crucial to calibrate a monitor to ensure the colours are accurate and the exposure correct (almost all monitors from the factory are shipped at 100% brightness with is way too bright for processing landscape photographs). In my eyes, the best calibrator a landscape photographer can use is the Datacolor SpyderX Pro, it’s super easy to use and delivers professional results - they won’t believe the difference this will make.
Adobe Creative Cloud Photography Plan 20GB
In todays day and age, landscape photography is basically impossible without having post-processing software to convert RAW files into shareable image types. If you really want to be in the good books this Christmas, you can purchase a 12 month subscription to Adobe’s Creative Cloud Photography Plan that includes Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, Photoshop and Lightroom Mobile. All the programmes needed to process RAW files like a pro. It will help make the post-processing workflow easier, look more professional and also take their work to the next level. There are cheaper alternatives, but I’d say this is the best option for a landscape photographer.
£££ - Landscape Photography Gifts Under £300
Now we start getting into the pricier gifts, that besides from big purchases like camera bodies and lenses, will most certainly bring a smile to any landscape photographer on Christmas day. I will only list three of my go-to gifts here, but in all honesty, I could easily list a dozen items under this price bracket depending on the camera system they are using.
Kase Wolverine Magnetic Circular Filters
First on my list has to be a great set of versatile, reliable and high-quality glass filters. My filters of choice are from Kase, simply down to the unparalleled optical quality, no colour-cast and hydrophobic properties meaning they are easy to clean with a microfibre cloth, without any smudging - perfect for those seascape adventures. I would recommend being sneaky and finding out the lens diameter of each lens, and ordering a set a size-up to remove any possibility of vignetting - for example, if they have 67mm lenses, purchase a 77mm set and some 67-77mm adapter rings.
Lowepro Whistler Backpack 450 AW II
I feel us landscape photographers have an unhealthy obsession with bags… not the over-shoulder type, but a good, high quality camera bag that can hold all of our equipment, with extra room for goodies. For this price range, you can get some fantastic bags. My personal choice, however, would be this Lowepro, simply because it is extremely well made and built for extreme temperatures - it can also cope with plenty of throwing around and even in some cases, rolling down a hill (I speak from personal experiences). They are also highly adaptable and have plenty of room for tripods, accessories and other personal items.
Benro Mach3 TMA38CL Carbon Fibre Tripod
Now we’re talking, a good solid, carbon fibre tripod - this really gets us landscape photographers cracking a smile! I have had many tripods over the last five years, with each one aimed at “professionals” but failing miserably when it comes to durability and reliability. There is, however, one tripod that is simply perfect for this price point - the Benro Mach3. I have many friends that have purchased this tripod, solely for landscape photography, and let me tell you, it really would be hard to notice the difference between this and the incredibly more expensive Gitzo’s. The Mach3 extends tall, relatively lightweight and incredibly sturdy, making it one of the best tripods you can buy for landscape photography.
