DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Photographer travels 20,000 miles by thumb, foot, van, and train. This is how his camera ended up

Oct 29, 2016 by Udi Tirosh 4 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

20000-miles-01

One of the biggest selling points for more professional cameras is their rigidity. Mag-alloy body vs. Plastics; better weather sealing, and all and all better constructions, but photographer Mike Quain from Arkansas shows that you can pull it off with an entry level Nikon D3300 and a cheap 35mm f/1.8 lens.

Mike (A.K.A The Nikon Kidd) did quite a bit of travel with the camera: A total mileage of 17,803 (9214 miles Hitchhiking, 5,500 miles by van, 1,900 miles by bus, 739 by freight trains and 450 by Amtrak) this camera has been around the block.

Mike did not start travelling with a 2 years photography project in mind, instead, he left his home town (Arkansas) after it was hit badly on the recession, and he was miserable with his night job of stocking shelves at the local Wallmart. The result is a facinating travel story documented on Mike’s Facebook page.

As for the photo above, Mike has an encouraging message:

This one is just a little Nikon D3300 with no weather sealing, but it’s been with me through sandstorms, rainforests, and salty ocean spray. It just won’t die. I’ve woken up next to it, covered in dew. It’s been frosted over. I’ve dropped it off moving freight trains and down steep embankments and I think I lost the lens cap somewhere on Interstate 40 two years ago. No amount of abuse has ever bothered it. Sometimes when it gets wet, the rear dial stops working, but it’s fine after it dries out in the sun.

Here are some of the portraits Mike has taken in the course of his travels:

20000-miles-13 20000-miles-12 20000-miles-11 20000-miles-10 20000-miles-09 20000-miles-08 20000-miles-07 20000-miles-06 20000-miles-05 20000-miles-04 20000-miles-02

Today though, Mike has updated a bit. He now uses a D610, a 24-70, and a couple primes, plus a few film cameras. the old D3300 is still in a usable condition.

To wrap it up, Mike has a pretty inspiring call for action:

What I’m saying is don’t be afraid to get out there. Your camera is a tool that works best when you use it to capture photos that nobody else will. Your camera can take abuse and so can you! :)

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Photographer travels 28,000 miles to chase storms and make this stunning timelapse Train Kills One Photographer And Injures Two More While Taking Photos On Train Rails This spectacular storm timelapse took 15,000 miles of travel and over 85,000 photos to create Photographer traveled 17,000 miles across rural Australia, trading her photos for food and accommodation

Filed Under: news Tagged With: D3300, Mike Quain, Nikon, portrait photography, That Nikon Kidd, travel photography

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.net

About Udi Tirosh

Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

« Photographer painted 20 models like skeletons to tell a story of love, just in time for Halloween
Photographer shops out ex-gang members tattoos, resutls bring them to tears »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Here’s a bullet time video booth you can build yourself
  • Ricoh has discontinued the HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited silver lens
  • This “stellar flower” unravels the twilight’s evolution in 360 degrees
  • Strobes vs Continuous LEDs – Which is right for you?
  • Wave goodbye to Apple’s My Photo Stream next month

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy