Tech Thursday: Packing for photo trips

Traveling for photography is always a challenge, there is so much stuff you need. The best way I’ve found is to organize your packing so that the most important stuff, and only the most important stuff ends up in your bags. After a half dozen trips you will start to recognize what you think you may need, but actually almost never do, that stays home. With clothes obviously it depends on the occasion, but if it is just casual travel or in the field shooting, I tend to take four day worth of clothes and then wash them as I travel. I’m a big fan of Ex Officio pants. These tough nylon pants wash and dry easily even if you only hang dry them and look surprisingly nice. They take up about 1/3 the room as regular bulky cotton pants or jeans. Light nylon outdoors shirts serve the same purpose, they cut the wind better, dry faster and are more comfortable when the temps get higher. Many of these shirts from Ex Officio, North Face, Columbia, and L.L. Bean have mesh panels to allow the air to pass through keeping you much more comfortable. I keep at least one pair of Merrell Moab Ventilator light hiking shoes available for trips when I need to look a little nicer. I own five pair and use the ones that best fit the kind of dress code of the trip. If absolutely needed I throw in a pair of leather dress shoes, “heaven forbid”.

I find t-shirts to be another can’t miss clothing
choice for travel. I only take two or three
when flying, and pick comfortable ones.

I do the same four day plan on underwear,
socks, etc. A shave kit, meds, and other
needed things gets stuffed in with the
clothes. A light jacket for rain, a polar
fleece if it is a colder climate. Of course
heavy winter clothes when traveling to
a winter or cold weather location.

My Macbook Pro and all the needed hard
drives, cables and accessories are packed in
a rolling bag from Lowepro or Think Tank.
This is an area where you really have to
pick and choose what you really need,
but after a few trips, you will decide what is really needed. I find the laptop, two spare hard drives
that hold duplicate sets of all my images. The needed power cords and attaching cords, covers it pretty well. At the very top you see my two most frequently used travel rolling bags for air travel. If I were traveling by car I really like the Red Oxx heavy nylon travel bags, they are indestructible and work great our of a SUV. The two rolling bags at the top allow you to take the ball head off your tripod, and story it inside, wrapped in clothes. Taking a tripod on a flying trip is nearly impossible on the plane. I just put it in my big rolling bag and pray it shows up where I do.

Of course day before yesterday I covered the camera gear which now will travel in the Lowepro
Pro Trekker 300 AW back pack. I may, on occasion, ship the Think Tank belt system ahead and use it for walking around assignments.

One last item, my iPad, which contains, my schedule, images, music, movies, and my Bible, countless important apps, and my daily devotional from In Touch!

The key is take only what you need, resist the temptation to take everything you think, “you might need” and enjoy your travels…..

Now, Father thank you so much for allowing me to have such an exciting life, though sometimes I think it is a little too exciting, I know you have purpose in every assignment. Give me the strength and your gifts to complete each assignment to Your glory and honor. Amen

the pilgrim

* All AV gear, projectors, and stands get shipped ahead UPS.