
About Us
We are professional photographers, travellers, and publishers with over 60 years of experience between us. These days we specialise in travel & tourism photography, tourism products, photography education, image licensing & fine art prints – but mostly, just for the love of it. We have been published twice in National Geographic coffee table books and also self-published 6 photography books which you can check out here.
In 2021, we launched Pauly Designed Streetwear on the publishing arm of the business. This is something we have wanted to do for a long time, and it seemed like a natural progression to start it during the COVID-19 pandemic when we had more time on hand than usual. If you want to check out the designs click the banner below.

Paul Woodford has been in the photographic industry for most of his life and was General Manager of Australia’s largest photographic company in the hospitality industry for almost 9 years. His passion and commitment to capturing the perfect scene to reflect nature’s beauty

Helen Woodford has been involved in photography for over 30 years and worked for several years at the same photographic company as Paul. She has also been involved in the Travel & Tourism industry where she gained invaluable knowledge of the industry and its requirements. A skilled photographer, designer, and webmaster, she provides WideScenes Photography and Pauly Designed with fresh ideas for images and products. She has been a Runner-up at the 2017 & 2018 Sony Alpha Awards Aus/NZ in the Abstract Category.

We are proud to be a Samyang Creator. We have been using their fisheye lens for many years and several of their ‘Tiny Lenses’ are a permanent addition to our camera bags whenever we travel. Check out our profile here.

What’s in our Bag?
These days there is a lot of emphasis on the contents of the camera bag as there are varying “carry-on” restrictions on airlines. In general, we try to stick to the 7kgs which usually is the maximum that some airlines allow. Naturally, if we were to do a trip where we were travelling only on airlines that allowed up to 10kgs then we would consider taking additional equipment, but generally, we would still try to only take what we are prepared to carry. If you do a lot of walking on trips, as we do, then the lighter the better.
In 2014 we changed camera systems from Nikon to Sony and this has saved us some weight, especially in relation to our 70-200mm focal range although these days the Sony lenses are starting to get a bit heavy. Below is a list of equipment that we carry on all trips regardless of where we are going. We still have the option to pack some items that we do not use on a regular basis in our “check-in” luggage and transfer them to our camera bags at our destination if we feel that we’ll be using them on a particular day. Also note, as we always travel together we share equipment. You can click on any of the links below to buy similar products on Adorama or other affiliated sites.
Please Note: Some of the links below will take you to the product on Adorama or other affiliated sites. As an Adorama affiliate and affiliate for other products, we may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Other links may take you to our review of the product.
Helen’s Bag
- Peak Design Everyday Backpack Zip 20L or Peak Design Everyday Sling 10L bag V2
- Sony A7Riii mirrorless camera body + Atoll
- Sony FE 24-105 f4 G OSS lens
- Sony FE 70-200 f4 ZA OSS lens
- Laowa 15mm f2 Zero-Distortion lens
- Samyang AF 18mm f2.8 FE lens
- Samyang AF 35mm f2.8 FE lens
- Peak Design Field Pouch V2
- Peak Design Slide Strap Lite & Cuff Camera Wrist Strap
- 3 x NP-FZ100 camera batteries
- Wireless Remote and wired remote control
- SD Cards
- Western Digital My Passport Wireless 2TB External Hard Drive
- *C-PL, *ND filters & *UV filters for all lenses
- Camera Cleaning Kit
- Waterproof camera cover
- Small torch
- Peak Design Travel Tripod
- Other accessories such as Bubble Level, Cleaning Cloths & Allen Key
Paul’s Bag
- Vanguard Alta Rise 45 Camera Backpack or Peak Design Everyday Sling 10L bag V1
- Sony A7Riii mirrorless camera body + Atoll
- Sony FE 24-105 f4 G OSS lens
- Sony FE 16-35 f4 ZA OSS lens
- Samyang 12mm f2.8 Fisheye lens
- Samyang AF 24mm f2.8 FE lens
- Samyang AF 35mm f1.8 FE lens
- Peak Design Slide Strap & Cuff Camera Wrist Strap
- 3 x NP-FZ100 camera batteries
- Wireless Remote and wired remote control
- SD Cards
- NiSi 100mm V5 holder + CPL, ND & ND Grad filters
- * URTH C-PL, ND filters & UV filters for all lenses.
- Camera Cleaning Kit + Air Blower
- Peak Design Shell (waterproof camera cover)
- Small torch
- Peak Design Travel Tripod
- Other accessories such as Bubble Level, Cleaning Cloth & Allen Key
- Lenskirt – a portable, flexible hood that you attach to the end of your camera lens to remove reflections when shooting through glass.
*We Highly Recommend URTH products for all your screw-in C-PL, ND & UV filter requirements. They also now produce a Square Filter Holder for 100mm & 75mm filters, Special Effects filters, camera backpack bags, camera straps, lens adapters and more.
Click on the banner below and use coupon code ‘widescenes‘ at checkout for a further 15% discount on all their products.
Other Equipment
Other items that we travel with but don’t necessarily carry around with us on a daily basis are –
- Sony A7Rii mirrorless camera body – Backup
- Sony FE 24-70 f/4 ZA OSS lens – Backup
- Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS lens
- Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di 1:1 Macro lens + Metabones Adapter
- Voigtlander Heliar-Hyper Wide 10mm f/5.6 Aspherical lens
- Sony RX100 V camera
- Western Digital My Passport Wireless 2TB External Hard Drive
- 2 x Godox TT685 flash + X1T Wireless Flash Trigger + Diffuser
- Microsoft Surface Go tablet + Keyboard + Pen
- Laser 20,000 Power Bank
- 2 x Peak Design Capture Clip
- Macro Rail
- Peak Design Lens Kit
- Peak Design Leash Ultralight Camera Strap
- Peak Design Tech Pouch & Urth Tech Organiser
