No matter where you´re going, whether it´s a year-long trip around the world or a weekend getaway, if you love photography, chances are you will want to bring a camera. And making compromises concerning your cameras and lenses isn´t usually a photographer´s favorite subject. So in this post, I´ll focus on the essentials I bring on most of my trips, the way I pack to keep things safe and dry, and how the usual nightmare of flying with photography gear can be improved by a few little hacks.
My clothing and personal gear vary depending on the destination, but my camera gear essentially travels with me all the time, mostly in the same "basic" configuration.
I´m a Nikon shooter (for the moment) and what I`ll bring are two camera bodies, an ultra-wide angle lens, a standard zoom and a telephoto. No surprises here.
(For the camera nerds amongst us: For the moment I´m a fan of Tamron lenses, so I use a Tamron 15-30 2.8, 24-70 2.8 and a 70-200 2.8.)
I would never check in my camera gear, so all is stored in a backpack that I´ll bring in as carry-on. I might even include smaller second bag that I´ll put my heaviest gear in, in case the backpack gets too heavy. For destinations where safety and security are a major issue, I recommend staying away from obvious camera bags and go for something shabby-looking, a cheap trolley, backpack or similar and store your gear in camera inserts (they´re cheap and super practical! It´s the orange things in my photo.
I´ve always been lucky traveling, but I´m more on the cautious side of things.
My backpack will weigh around 10KGS (which is just above the limit on a carry-on, but if you need to weigh it boarding the aircraft, take the camera and heaviest lens out, wear it around your neck. It usually works.
All my other travel gear, including a tripod, go into a sturdy, waterproof trolley. The most important features there are good wheels, a quality zipper and some way of carrying it on your back, aka. backpack straps. If you´re traveling a lot by boat, or if the luggage is transported on the roof of a car or bus, the waterproofness makes a big difference.
Inside the large trolley, I pack everything into compression bags (i have a couple of old sleeping bag bags I use) and ultralight backpacks, costing 2$ each and weighing close to nothing to store underwear, toiletries, laundry... It´s a huge difference to have things sorted correctly.
Two pieces of kit are difficult, and draw attention:
Drone batteries, and underwater equipment. Research what you can bring onto a plane, airlines may have different guidelines. And be aware of customs and restrictions in various countries. Preparation is everything, so your trip doesn´t start with a surprise at the airport.
Last one, but essential. Bring only what you need - be able to carry all your gear on your own and my personal limit of bags is 3. I can carry a backpack, pull the trolley and have my bag in the front, nothing more. Bringing more items, means the chances of something getting lost or stolen along the way are higher.
Hope all this helps.
To check out what I shoot and why I became a travel photographer: https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@janoliverkoch/the-deciding-moment-of-chasing-your-dream-or-how-i-started-travelling-the-world-as-a-photographer
I´m new here, this is my second post and I will be sharing my dream chasing journey. I´ll be sharing insights from my adventures, glimpses backstage to the life on the road or better - far off the roads. I´ll be sharing my photography knowledge, pictures and stories.
My introduction post was: I care about nature, I love sharing it and wrote about my dreams here before: https://steemit.com/photography/@janoliverkoch/the-life-of-a-nature-and-adventure-photographer
Chase your dreams.
Yours,
Oliver
Instagram: www.instagram.com/janoliverkoch