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Camera Gear I Packed to Photograph the Royal Palace Gate in Fez
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items Standing in front of the Dar el-Makhzen gates with the wrong lens is a mistake you only make once. I flew to Fez with a suitcase full of mediocre gear and came home with blown-out highlights and zero keepers. After two more trips and way too much tri...
Sections
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Lenses That Handle Fez's Harsh Midday Light and Tight Spaces
Camera Bodies That Survived Fez Dust and Heat
Tripods and Supports for Palace Gate Long Exposures
Bags and Carrying Solutions for a Full Day in the Medina
Accessories That Made the Difference at the Palace Gate
Lenses That Handle Fez's Harsh Midday Light and Tight Spaces
The medina streets around the palace are narrow, and the brass doors reflect blinding afternoon sun. I ruined an entire memory card of overexposed shots before switching to glass that could actually handle the contrast.
Grab this if you want the full palace gate in one frame without backing into a donkey cart. The wide angle saved me when crowds pushed in tight, and the coating handles flare from that brutal Moroccan sun way better than my old kit lens ever did.
Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD Sony
Use this for isolating the intricate zellige tilework details on the gate columns. I spent a whole golden hour just picking out mosaic patterns with this lens, and the bokeh made each tile pop against the background. Lightweight enough that your neck...
Sony 85mm F/1.8-22 Medium-Telephoto Fixed Prime
Keep this mounted as your walking-around lens for the medina streets leading to the palace. Versatile enough that you won't miss a shot fumbling through your bag. A street vendor handed me mint tea and I captured the moment one-handed at 70mm, no pro...
Canon RF 24-105mm F4 L IS USM Lens Review
Swap this on right before sunset when the palace floodlights come on. Cuts the yellow sodium glow so the brass doors look warm gold instead of radioactive orange. Wish I had known about this filter on trip one instead of spending hours color correcti...
NiSi 77mm Natural Night Filter
Camera Bodies That Survived Fez Dust and Heat
Fine sand gets into everything in Morocco. My first camera needed a full sensor cleaning after three days. These bodies handled the conditions without drama.
Toss this in a crossbody bag and nobody looks twice at you near the palace. The compact size means less attention from touts, and the weather sealing held up through a sandstorm that rolled in from the desert. Autofocus locked onto the palace guards ...
Sony a7C II review: small camera, little compromise
Switch to this when you want that film-look straight out of camera. The Classic Chrome simulation made the green tile roofs around Dar el-Makhzen look like a 1970s National Geographic spread. Lighter than a full-frame body, which matters when you are...
FUJIFILM X-T5 | Cameras | FUJIFILM X Series & GFX - USA
Bring this if you plan to shoot video of the gate ceremonies too. The internal stabilization is wild, I walked through the crowd filming handheld and the footage looked gimbal-smooth. Dual card slots saved me when one SD card corrupted on day two.
Nikon Z6 III Camera Review
Throw this over your body when the surprise November rain hits. Fez gets sudden downpours and I watched another photographer scramble to protect a bare camera while I just kept shooting. Packs down to the size of a fist so there is no excuse not to c...
Peak Design Shell Camera Rain Cover
Tripods and Supports for Palace Gate Long Exposures
Golden hour at the palace lasts maybe 20 minutes before the light disappears behind the medina walls. Steady support made the difference between a sharp keeper and a blurry delete.
Pair this with a remote shutter for those long exposure shots of the gate at dusk. Folds flat enough to strap to the side of a carry-on, and the feet gripped the polished stone plaza without sliding. Security near the palace never questioned it becau...
Travel Tripod
Wrap this around a railing when the palace guards wave you away from setting up a full tripod. Saved a sunset shot I would have completely missed. The flexible legs also work on uneven cobblestones where a regular tripod wobbles like crazy.
Joby GorillaPod 5K Kit Flexible Tripod
Try this if your current ball head creeps under the weight of a heavy lens. Locked my 85mm in portrait orientation and it did not drift a single millimeter during a 30-second exposure. Smooth panning for video too.
Tripod ball-head LH-40PCL, dual panorama function + NP
Snag this tiny plate for resting your camera on walls and ledges around the palace perimeter. Weighs almost nothing and fits in a jacket pocket. I got a perfectly sharp 2-second exposure of the gate lanterns by just pressing the camera down on a ston...
Pocket Support Large Black - MP3-BK
Bags and Carrying Solutions for a Full Day in the Medina
Walking from your riad to the Royal Palace means navigating chaotic souks, steep stairs, and crowds that press in close. The wrong bag turns a photography day into a chiropractor visit.
Use this if you want quick side access to your camera without swinging a bag off your back in a crowded souk. The hip belt distributes weight so well I forgot I was carrying two bodies and three lenses by hour four. Fits under the seat on Royal Air M...
A two-year review of the Shimoda Explore V2 camera bag
Grab this for short walks from your riad to the palace when you only need one body and one lens. Slides from back to front in one motion, so you can pull your camera out before the light changes. The magnetic clasps are silent, which matters when you...
Everyday Sling
Toss this padded insert into any backpack you already own and suddenly it is a camera bag. I used it inside a regular daypack so I looked less like a tourist target near the palace. Velcro dividers let you rearrange compartments in seconds.
Tools Packlite Travel Bag for BYOB, BYOB Camera Insert
Keep this stuffed in your main bag as a backup for when you buy too many ceramics in the souk and need extra carrying space. Waterproof fabric saved my prints during a rainstorm walk back from the palace. Weighs practically nothing so there is zero r...
Freerain32 Packable Backpack
Accessories That Made the Difference at the Palace Gate
Small stuff I almost left at home but ended up using constantly. Every single one of these earned its spot in my bag by day two.
Swipe this across your front element after walking through the spice souk. Turmeric dust settled on my lens twice and this cleaned it perfectly without scratching the coating. Faster than fumbling with a cloth and cleaning solution while the light is...
LensPen NLP-1 Camera Lens Cleaning Pen, Black
Bring this because your phone dies fast when you are using GPS to navigate back to your riad after shooting until dark. Charged my camera batteries and phone simultaneously. Heavier than smaller banks but the capacity meant I never once ran out of po...
Anker 737 Power Bank (PowerCore 24K)
Hold this up for one reference shot in front of the palace gate tiles and your white balance is locked for the entire session. The zellige greens and blues looked accurate on my monitor back home instead of the weird cyan shift I kept getting on prev...
ColorChecker Passport Photo 2
Try rotating this polarizer when you are shooting the brass door details. Cuts the reflections so you can actually see the engraved patterns instead of a mirror image of yourself holding a camera. Also deepens the blue sky behind the palace walls in ...
Hoya Circular Polarizer Filter (HRT CIR-PL UV)