TRAVEL TIPS

Traveling is a balancing act between having what you need, what you think you might need and lightweight, portability, access and ease of use. The older and wiser I get the less I need and the less I want to carry.

Flying:

-When flying, bring your camera bag and laptop as a carry on. Never check them as luggage.

-If traveling with film always bring it in your carry on bag.  Do not put it in your checked luggage, as that is subjected to much higher doses of x-rays.

Choosing a camera bag:

-Backpack style camera bag is easier to carry

-Over shoulder bag is easier to work out of on the street

-Bag with wheels is easier to bring thru airports but heavier and harder to use on rough terrain

-Good luck finding one bag that has it all! I have different bags for different types of trips.

Camera bags:

- An old camera bag or case is less tempting for thieves

-Keep a notebook, pen and Sharpie in your camera bag.

-If you have them, put a couple small promo pieces or postcards with your photos. Remember to include a photo credit and email address on the piece

-Always keep an extra camera battery and extra memory card in your camera bag

-Put some business cards with your address and e-mail in your camera bag to give to subjects to contact you to receive prints.

-Hide a business card or small card with your name, e-mail and phone number well hidden under the bottom padding of your camera bag. If stolen and recovered you can quickly prove it is yours.

-Keep a small ‘hot list’ of frequently used or emergency phone numbers or contact info in your camera bag. You may not have your cell phone and most of us don’t remember frequently called phone numbers any more.

-A jeweler’s screwdriver may be a helpful accessory. So is a leatherman tool, but travel with it in your checked luggage.

-It may be helpful to bring a small portfolio or Blub/Apple type book of your images to keep in your camera bag to show subjects the style of photography that you do.

-Bring a plastic bag to protect camera bag contents in a rainstorm.

Equipment:

-I bring Red and Yellow filters for B&W film. For color or digital I bring a polarizing filter.

-I normally don’t put a filter on my lens unless necessary, but use UV filters when traveling to protect the lens.

-If you have multiple lenses, mark the rear body cap with a special Sharpie that shows the focal length of the lens to make it easy to quickly distinguish which lens is which.

-Leave big, heavy or long lenses at home unless you are on a bird watching expedition or wildlife safari. They will get in your way in making intimate portraits and will make you tired and sore from carrying around.

Film:

-Again, do not put new or shot film in your checked luggage when going thru airports!

-Bring small zip lock plastic bags to put shot film in, to protect from moisture and dirt.

-You can Fed Ex shot film home as they do not x-ray Fed Ex packages. If you have a lot of film it is best to separate every other roll into two packages and send on two separate days.

Digital:

-Bring a small surge protector for your laptop. Always plug in the surge protector into the wall outlet first, then plug in your computer’s power cord, then plug the cord into your computer. I will explain why this is important and what could go wrong if you don’t on our trip!

-You can also download images to a portable hard drive/viewer like the Epson 7000 if you don’t want to bring a laptop computer. You can also download to an iPod or iPhone if it set up properly.

-Keep shot memory cards in a separate place from computer, but not in your camera bag, as a back up.

-Don’t forget power cords and battery chargers

Luggage, etc:

-Write down all your camera gear serial numbers and keep in a separate place from camera bag. Also keep a copy on an iDisk or server that is internet accessible.

-Write down all your credit card numbers (you can devise your own code to scramble the numbers) and phone numbers of credit card companies and put in a separate place in case they are lost or stolen.

-Remove all unnecessary credit cards from your wallet before travel.

-Make a digital scan of your passport and e-mail to yourself so you have access to it. Keep a copy on your hard drive.

-Make a photocopy or digital print from the scan of your passport and keep one in your camera bag and one in your luggage.

“No matter where you go, there you are!”

  -Jon Kabat Zin

“There is only one journey, going inside yourself.”

  -Rainier Maria Rilke