The job of a photographer is getting more and more complicated. In the past photographers have had to be their own promoter, accountant, travel agent, porter and therapist.

More recently  many photographers have added the role of writer and blogger, but perhaps the biggest change is going to be the increasing importance of both video and sound. 

Take a look inside the camera bag of travel photographer Tewfic El-Sawy:

* Canon EOS 5D Mark II
* Canon G10 (ideal for unobtrusive street photography)
* Canon 17-40mm f4.0
* Canon 28-70mm f 2.8
* Canon 24mm f1.4
* Marantz PMD 620 Audio Recorder
* Acer Aspire One 8.9-inch Mini Laptop (w/LR2 and SoundSlides)
* A 250gb G-Tech Mini G-Drive External Hard Drive 
* Blackberry & an iTouch

 Along with all the camera gear there is a Marantz PMD 620 Audio Recorder.

Marantz PMD620 Handheld SD MP3 WAV Recorder

When I met Guardian photographer David Levene a few months ago I noticed that along with  two Canon EOS 5D Mark IIs and a wide selection of lenses he also carried an Edirol Audio Recorder. He recorded sound at Okinawa’s Churaumi Aquarium which would later be combined with photographs to create the slideshow that can be seen on the Guardian website here.

Edirol R-09HR High-Resolution WAVE MP3 Recorder

The Marantz PMD620 Audio Recorder and the Edirol R-09HR Audio Recorder are both able to record high quality stereo sound in either MP3 or WAV format to the same type of SD cards you use in a digital camera. At around 300 dollars each they are also a significant investment.

Both photographers use Soundslides (you can see Tewfic has it loaded onto his laptop). Soundslides is a “rapid production tool for still image and audio web presentations.” Basically, it’s a computer program that allows you to upload a series of photographs and a soundtrack to produce a slideshow that can then be easily uploaded to the web.

I used Soundslides to create the slideshow for my latest exhibition using guitar music a friend had recorded (If you haven’t seen it you can still check it out here on You Tube.).

The next challenge for me is to produce a slideshow with both my photographs and sound I’ve recorded. I am planning on documenting the Awa Odori Festival in August, so hopefully this will be the perfect opportunity for me to get some great shots and interesting audio. 

Of course the big challenge after that is finding a market for the work, but I’ll cross that bridge (or at least attempt to ford the river) when I come to it.