How to Survive in the Wilderness with Only Your Camera Gear

Gear  •  Photography Tips

After an argument, Chris Niccolls gets stranded in the woods. While it’s obvious from the video that Niccolls isn’t actually lost, it’s a very plausible situation. Getting lost in the wilderness is nothing to take lightly, and Niccolls shows how you can help increase your chances of surviving using only the items brought for a photo shoot:

While camera equipment is used to capture a wide variety of images, very rarely do we think of the equipment as survival tools. Equipped with only cables, a DSLR, gaffers tape, lenses, point and shoot cameras, sensor cleaning accessories, and a tripod, Niccolls starts by showing how you can create a cutting tool. By smashing a UV filter with a large stick, Chris uses one of the triangular pieces of the smashed glass to create a makeshift knife.

Chris uses a large stick to break the UV lens.

To try to catch some fish for food, Niccolls uses various camera parts he found from taking apart his camera. The lure was created from the dead cat from around his shotgun mic and his tripod helps to create a makeshift fishing pole. Although it is a tiny one, it will get the job done.

One of the most important things he accomplishes (at least in my opinion) is creating fire. He mastered this by soaking lens cleaning tissue in a methanol-based sensor cleaning fluid and igniting the tissue from wires charged by the flash unit. With the fire, he not only cooks his food and keeps warm, but he also uses a disc reflector to boil the water he captured (and filtered) with plastic bags to provide drinking water.

Breaking open the camera, Chris takes stock of the parts he can use.

These are only a few of the clever tricks Niccolls showcases during the tutorial. While these might seem a little far fetched, these tricks are all completely true, and ultimately they could be the difference in whether or not you can survive until help arrives.