Albert Dros (@albertdrosphotography) is a professional landscape photographer from the Netherlands. He’s known for his spectacular landscapes from both his home country and also from his travels around the world. “While writing this article I’m in Kyrgyzstan and figured it would be nice to show you how I pack my bag while traveling and hiking.” We connected with Dros during his travels to find out more about how he packs light and about the Sony Alpha cameras and four Sony lenses he fit in his pack.

Professional landscape photographer Albert Dros shares which Sony Alpha gear he fit in his pack for a photo trek into parts unknown.

Cameras

Sony Alpha 7R IV: For me, the Alpha 7R IV is currently the best camera for landscape photography because of its high megapixel count. Being able to shoot in very high resolution with the high-quality Sony G Master lenses makes sure that I capture my images in the best quality possible. It also gives me some room to crop.

Photo by Albert Dros. Sony α7R IV. Sony 14mm f/1.8 G Master. 1/3-secs., f/11, ISO 50

Sony Alpha 7 III : For me the Alpha 7 III is one of the best all-around camera bodies. I use this as my second body (and also a backup body). It has very fast and versatile autofocus, great ISO performance and is also great for video.

Lenses

For this trip I had to make some choices. Many times I bring my Sony 12-24mm f/2.8 G Master. In fact, it’s one of my favorite lenses. But having visited Kyrgyzstan multiple times and checking my history of images, I noticed that most of my shots were with longer focal lengths. And my wide angle shots were usually at 12 or 14mm. With the new 14mm f/1.8 G Master just out, I decided to bring this one instead, along with the 24mm f/1.4 G Master. These two lenses combined are almost the same weight as the 12-24mm f/2.8 GM, and offers me better quality when shooting the Milky Way at night.

Therefore, for this trip I picked these. In total I brought four lenses:

Sony 14mm f/1.8 G Master: The new super sharp prime that’s amazing for night photography because of its speed. I am using this one for wide landscape shots and shots of the stars at night.

Photo by Albert Dros. Sony α7R IV. Sony 14mm f/1.8 G Master. 20-secs., f/1.8, ISO 5000

Sony 24mm f/1.4 G Master: Wide angle lens with beautiful bokeh and perfect for astrophotography. You can even shoot nice portraits with it.

Photo by Albert Dros. Sony α7R IV. Sony 24mm f/1.4 G Master. 8-secs, f/1.4, ISO 3200

Sony 24-105mm f/4 G: One of the most versatile Sony lenses for the midrange, that I tend to use a lot.

Photo by Albert Dros. Sony α7R IV. Sony 24-105mm f/4 G. 1/50-sec., f/14, ISO 200

Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G Master : This is one of my favorite lenses. One of the best telezooms and super sharp across the entire range. The 100-400 is very useful in Kyrgyzstan as you often have wide mountain vistas from far away that you can beautifully compose and compress with this lens.

Photo by Albert Dros. Sony α7R IV. Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G Master. 1/1000-sec., f/10, ISO 100

Accessories

Bag: For trekking (on this trip), I use the Shimoda Explore 60L. It’s very comfortable for hiking and fits all my gear + many more things to carry on hikes. At home I usually take the Mindshift Backlight 36.

Filters: Nisi S6 holder for the 14mm lens, so I can shoot longer exposures and use a polarizer if I want to. I brought the 10- and 6-stop filters. I also brought a variable ND for the smaller lenses.

Rocketblower: One of the most important accessories. Used for the blowing of small dust from the sensor. Also nice to use to blow off water from the lens and filters.

L-bracket: Second most important accessory, my Sunwayfoto L-bracket. It makes it possible to switch from horizontal to vertical shots in just a second.

Lens Cloths: Obviously!

Nitecore Power Bank + LED Light: Very handy to light up a foreground at night, or even use as a light to shoot portraits. It’s also a power bank. 2 in 1.

Nitecore Headlamp: Great for walking at night. Has red and white lamps, and dimming options.

Photoclam Professional Series Tripod: Great brand that I’ve been using for years already. Light and sturdy, and no center column makes it super easy for me to get very low to the foregrounds. Along with the tripod, I use Sunwayfoto Heads.

Sunscreen Factor 50-100: As a dutchman with very white skin, my skin doesn’t tan easily. In fact, I usually turn into a tomato, so strong sunscreen in the mountains is a must.

Protein Bars: When you need a bit of an energy push while walking up a mountain.

Business Cards: You never know who you run into, even in the mountains.

See more of Albert's work on Instagram @albertdrosphotography.