Travel Light, Travel Deep & Travel Often

I love traveling but every time that I plan a trip I fret over the choice of camera gear I want to take. Interestingly I am not worried about not having the right gear and missing some critical shot, but I really struggle to pick a camera or two that I want to use.  I have too many wonderful options and this makes my selection difficult. 

For this trip, I have decided to travel light so that I can travel deep...let me explain. Carrying heavy gear, something I have done for years, is photographically rewarding but limits the enjoyment of the travel itself. You end up walking a bit less, taking short cuts and reducing the depth of your travel. 

So I will pack to travel light, travel deep and travel often! So I went through my gear and opted for the following setup.

1. Olympus OM-1:  A very light, small camera that gets out of your way and lets you enjoy the photographic experience. This little gem is an amazing piece of engineering and is a joy to use. I have a 50mm, 35mm and 28mm prime lenses each of which are amazingly sharp. 
2. Leica ME: Full frame and still very portable this rangefinder has some of the most amazing color rendition I have ever seen! I will carry a 50mm, 35mm and 15mm lenses.  I might take the 90mm lens as well but it is rather heavy so I am still thinking it over.
3. Leica M6: I really believe in the need to have a back up film camera.  Lets face it, these babies are getting old. I have had one fail on me during a trip and I learned to always carry a back up camera.  Normally I would have taken my OM-2 however it is not working (again).  So the Leica M6 allows me to use the same lenses as the ME cutting down on the weight.  

I have been to Rome several times, and I have been to Athens once.  Hence I will not be trying to capture all the architectural images and will focus on people.  The family I will travel with, the people seeing the amazing sights and people we encounter along the way.