I am out of town for the next week on an overseas shoot. I am hoping to post during my time that I am gone... but that all depends upon how crazy the schedule gets.One of the things that I am always trying to try to perfect is how to pack for long out of town shoots. By nature, I like to bring everything that I might possibly need with me... and then some. The problem is that ends up being waaaay more than I could every sneak past the flight attendants as carry-on.
Each shoot is also different, so each time I have to weigh what to bring, and what to leave home.
But I am always trying to thin down my load, and bring only what I will need, but at the same time not leaving anything behind that I will end up really needing... and many of my shoots are in places where there is nowhere to pick up an extra battery charger, memory cards, or rent lights or lenses if I end up needing them (or needing more that I packed.)
It is also tough because I refuse to check camera or computer gear. I want to carry it on the plane, and carry it off the plane so I know that it arrives in one piece.
I have had a few memorable experiences where my luggage did not arrive when I did. The most extreme was covering Hurricane Rita when I worked for five or six days with only what I carried on the plane... my cameras and my laptop. No clothes, no mosquito repellent (which I sorely needed... I looked like I had chicken pox by the time I was done), no toothbrush, or anything else that I had packed. It was a drag. Even worse, since it was a fairly serious storm, there were no stores open so there was nowhere to buy clothes or anything else... I was ripe by the end of that assignment.
I was on a shoot once that was in a more remote area of the U.S. and we were going to be lighting everything... so I carefully packed my lights in a Pelican case and my light stands, gels, grids etc, in a separate case. The lights showed up... the second case with everything else didn't. The nearest place to rent lighting gear was about 4 hours away and we had to start shooting in a couple of hours. The airline was reeeeeeeeealy sorry... but still they didn't make it and we had to make do. The client understood, and it turned out OK, but it was still not the most ideal situation.
So I don't even want to think about what it would be like to arrive somewhere and not have my camera gear and/or laptop. I can make due without most things, but as a photographer I need the cameras to do my thing.
I have accepted the fact that there is no way for me to carry-on lights along with cameras and my laptop (unless I am just using 580's, or have brought an assistant with me so I can use them to carry on the lights) most of the time when I have to bring lights, I just have to check them and pray that they make it.
The one thing that has totally made traveling a little more fun it is the ThinkTank Photo Airport International II rolling bag . It holds:
5d MkII's x2
50D
16-35 mm f2.8
24-70mm f2.8
70-200 mm f2.8 IS
24mm f1.4 II
50mm f1.2 L
135mm f2
580 EX II flashes x 2
small bounce cards, off camera cables, etc.
lots of camera batteries
chargers for the 5D MkII's and 50D
memory cards
flashlight and lots of other odds and ends.
It is a great bag. It has survived multiple trips to Iraq and Afghanistan along with lots of other places both in and out of the U.S.. It is one of the things that has made travel easier. It is also international sized, so I have never had a problem bringing it as a carry on... even on overseas flights. It also fits in the overhead on the smaller jets.
Along with the Airport International II, I also carry the Shapeshifter. for the laptop. Thinktank has really cornered the market in good travel gear for the photographer.
But I am off for another adventure. I have all my gear packed (hopefully) and I will be posting more soon.
