--- title: "An interview with Petr Jan Juračka about camera gear, drones and equipment for the road" description: "Petr Juračka is a well-known Czech adventurer and naturalist. We wanted to know how he manages it all when these days he barely moves without a camera and a drone. Does he lighten his gear?" canonical_url: "https://gramino.com/blog/interview-petr-jan-juracka-camera-gear-and-drones" last_updated: "2018-03-10" --- # An interview with Petr Jan Juračka about camera gear, drones and equipment for the road Authors: David Czempka Date: 2018-03-10 Petr Juračka is a well-known Czech adventurer and naturalist. We wanted to know how he manages it all when these days he barely moves without a camera and a drone. Does he lighten his gear? Petr Jan Juračka – adventurer, naturalist, and, above all, an incredibly skilled photographer and aerial cinematographer. He's already done just about everything in his life. Climbing a third of the way up K2 with a drone, writing several international scientific papers, or crossing part of Greenland on foot. Petr simply can't say no to crazy challenges. And even when he promises his wife he'll stay home, he manages to visit 6 different continents in a single year. You can find out more about Petr on [his website](http://petr.juracka.eu/), and now on to our interview. We wanted to know how he manages it all when these days he barely goes anywhere without a camera and a drone. How much he carries, where he has to cut back, and what his family says about his crazy challenges. #### Hi Petr, thanks for agreeing to this interview. I believe many of our readers are, like you, photographers and passionate travelers. They – and we – would surely like to know how you manage your trips with so much camera gear on your back, where you were most recently, and what you're planning when you're not busy with your family at home. Anyway, let's take it one step at a time. Your last big trip was to Norway. Where are you most drawn to right now? East, west, dense forests, barren rocks, high altitudes, or lowlands? Hi, my problem is that I'm drawn to all sorts of places. Lately, though, what appeals to me most are trips I can do with my kids. I get that it's not exactly "cool extreme," which of course I enjoy too. But right now my girls are at an age when these shared trips can give them the most. So we'll see if it does any good 🙂. Otherwise, when it's just me, what tempts me most right now are physically more demanding trips where I'm moving at the very limit of what I can do. "I'm slowly getting older, and in roughly ten years I may no longer have the fitness for it. Before that happens, I want to really push my body. So altitude, treks, and extremes of every kind, as long as they don't get outright risky." I'm slowly getting older, and in roughly ten years I may no longer have the fitness for it. Before that happens, I want to really push my body. So altitude, treks, and extremes of every kind, as long as they don't get outright risky. #### You've already traveled a great deal. Which of your trips do you consider the most valuable, whether in terms of the photos you brought back, personal insight, or the encounters along the way? Do you plan to repeat it someday? Maybe with better camera gear, or just for the sake of it? It's always the most recent one, of course! Uganda was my first time in Africa, and with a drone too – that one was really powerful. I'm planning a return to Africa. #### In 2016, Czech mountaineer Klára Kolouchová took you to K2. Rumor has it that, because of your drone and camera gear, you carried almost as much weight as the Sherpas up to 6 334 m above sea level. How much truth is there to that? It never occurred to me to compare. The high-altitude Sherpas probably carried a bit more – I didn't weigh their packs – but not by much. I had 17 kilos, you see, while most climbers go with half that weight. But we're not talking about climbers like Czech mountaineer Marek Holeček, whose pack is even heavier without a camera, because he doesn't have any Sherpas up there – he's someone I'd really rather not compare myself to. #### People who don't take photos will hardly understand the long waits for the right moment. So do you prefer to travel alone, or do you have a partner? It really depends. Most trips are simply impossible without a partner. Our Greenland trip, for example, would have been completely out of the question for one person. Not that it couldn't be walked solo, but you won't get nearly as many shots without your colleagues' support. The Alps, in turn, would be suicide alone. And the high mountains are completely beyond reality – one person couldn't even lift everything you need for a more professional operation. #### Petr, we know you're well traveled, and even when you promise to stay home, you manage to visit 6 continents. You must have found that there are some pieces of gear you don't need at all – will you tell us which ones? Well, obviously – the ones I forget at home! No, I travel with a minimum of personal luxuries like toiletries (although I do bring toothpaste and a toothbrush now) or extra clean clothes. Since switching to merino, I've found it's no problem to wear the same clothes several (I'm deliberately not saying how many) days in a row, and they don't smell so bad that I'm grossed out putting them back on. When it comes to camera gear, that's a bit of a problem, because I'm used to carrying seven lenses. Always. On some trips I can partly solve that by simply taking fewer and choosing the lighter ones. I also don't mind carrying a crop-sensor DSLR, which these days can take better photos than full-frame ones from a few years ago. Either way, I pack completely differently every time. #### Have you ever been in a crisis where you really regretted not having something? The worst is a forgotten memory card! It weighs nothing, but without it you're done for. Or batteries. I've often regretted having small supplies of water or food. My tech, on the other hand, is usually packed well – usually all I'm missing is a big tripod when I don't bring it. #### Do you have an optimal pack weight you try to stay under when packing, or do you not worry about it and simply pack what's needed? I always lay out everything I absolutely need to have. Next to that, I lay out what I'd like to have but can manage without. And I start packing. And I usually end up taking half of the things from the first pile. #### Do you notice a difference between how you packed for trips as an inexperienced greenhorn and how you pack now? Enormous. When I was getting ready for my first winter mountain crossing, in the Rychlebské hory ("Rychlebky") on the Czech–Polish border, I took the train from Prague with Dan Vondrák. My Zuzka was also traveling with us; she was getting off in Pardubice, east of Prague. Dan took the unnecessary stuff out of my pack and packed it for Zuzka to carry home from Pardubice. She could barely carry it. #### What's the average weight of your camera gear, including drones, on longer trips? That's hard to say. It's different every time. But the average daily setup is 17 kilos – 12 kilos on my back and 5 kilos in front on my chest, where the DSLR with two lenses is. That's pretty manageable; I can walk with it all day, even in the mountains, and not have a sore back the next day. On K2, though, there were 87 kilos of stuff in total, so my 17 were on me and the remaining 70 were carried by three porters and a mule. I did Greenland with 32 kilos, same as Lesotho. And that's pretty awful – there's a lot I'd pack differently today and enjoy it more. #### Companies today are investing in lighter, more packable, and more durable materials – where do you think we'll be in a few years? How would you like to run around with a tiny pack weighing under 5 kilograms that holds absolutely everything you need? Yeah, that would be awesome! But even now I often fit under 10 kilos, and that's great! I'm also finding that when I'm light, I get further and fresher, and I'm actually able to do more interesting and creative work. Though it's always a trade-off. #### Could you go on one of your longer trips truly light and limit yourself to a smaller, lighter setup – say, a phone with a good camera and a light, compact drone? Not with a phone, no way, but I flew to Australia, for example, with just a Mavic and an APS-C DSLR, the Nikon D500. I left the full-frame at home to be lighter. And it turned out it's not a bad combination, and that small things can do big things. That's also why the D500 is my main body, and thanks to it I'm gradually finding out that new lightweight lenses aren't bad at all. Plus they're cheaper, so I'm not afraid to take a few risks with them. #### Can you estimate how much time a month you spend on photography and how much on your work at the Faculty of Science at Charles University in Prague? Have you ever thought about traveling and shooting full-time for a brand? After all, a lot of companies must have approached you after your K2 climb. They approach me a lot. But it wouldn't be the same – I have my sponsors, and I dare say our partnerships benefit both sides. I enjoy it more this way. Shooting full-time wouldn't be as free anymore; it would be restrictive. And I really love science, especially where it connects with the visual world. We'll see how it goes. #### What do your kids and wife say about your travels? They must be thrilled when you then show them such incredible scenery on camera. Yeah, then they see that it all makes sense. Of course we always shed a few tears when I fly off, but then the welcome home is beautiful. That's also why I'm now planning lots of trips together, so my girls can see it too. #### Have you ever considered trying something longer, like the Pacific Crest Trail in the US or the Te Araroa Trail in New Zealand? Not really. It's inspiring, of course, but I wouldn't have time to shoot along the way, and without that I don't enjoy it. What does get me, though, are runs across the Krkonoše (Giant Mountains) in winter – I've done two, and along the way I get some beautiful shots when the conditions are right. Sometime in the near future I'd like to run it from Žacléř to Harrachov in a single day, with just a hydration pack, a camera, and a pile of energy bars. We'll see. #### What's your dream, and what's still on your to-do list for the next 10 years? Is there something you'd really like to see but haven't yet found the money, courage, or time for? Hehe, nice one. I don't have anything like that, because I really don't like fixating on the future. Living in the present is very liberating. I'd like to keep living the way I do now for a while longer, if I can. #### Petr, thank you for the interview, and we wish you many successful trips with your family in the years ahead, and plenty of crazy challenges you can't answer with anything but yes! Thank you. This post is also available as [HTML](/blog/interview-petr-jan-juracka-camera-gear-and-drones). ## Sitemap See the full [sitemap](/sitemap.md) for all pages.