This weekend a friend and I went looking for some new camera bags. We were looking for bags that would be suitable for backpacking and camping. Personally I prefer the traditional shoulder bag for backpacking. This is for several reasons. First this frees my back for caring my other supplies such as camping gear. Secondly it provides for easy access to my equipment. And finally it provides for arm support, which comes in handy when you are caring a large zoom lens on a all day hike.

While we were looking we started talking about backpacking in the Badlands of South Dakota. This is one of my favorite places to photograph. It offers a variety of landscape types including deserts and prairies. Along with the varied landscapes there is a plethora of animal species in this region. I have seen everything from foxes and coyotes to buffalo and porcupines here. Surprisingly to my dismay, I have not found any rattle snakes yet. Maybe this will be the year I get some shots off of a rattler. There is nothing I love more than to park my car off in this remote region and backpacking for several days. Over the years I have taken thousands of images in these hills and prairies here are a few for your viewing pleasure. These were taken with a Canon 10D, 20D and 5D bodies.