Travel Photography Part 2: Packing for the Trip

So in Monday's blog post, I explained how I plan for a photography trip. I assumed we had three days in Paris but only one of them would be spent dedicated to photography. Maybe this is when your partner goes out shopping, or perhaps the family want to see something you are not too interest in. So we have one day to use how we want!

So we have our shot list, a map of how we are going to move around and, most importantly, the sequence of the shots we plan to take. Now we need to pack for the trip!

If you are smart, and only have a single camera, this is easy. Unfortunately if you love gear and have a ton of it then you have the difficult task of deciding what to take. I decide based on the shots I am planning on taking and what is inspiring me at the time.  Lets assume that for this trip I finding inspiration from Henri Cartier-Bresson and his street shots of Paris. 

HCB famously shot quickly using the advantages of the 35mm film camera to his advantage. His tool of choice at the time was a Leica film camera. His shots are contrasty, grainy with a magical touch of composition and timing. His images take advantage of the scene around his subject to frame and enhance the image. He owned the background by finding a scene and waiting for someone interesting to enter it.

But B&W images of Paris would be a bit overdone. Perhaps some nice color images as well?  Something a bit more contemporary, less masterful but very talented. Lets go with Serge Ramelli who seems to jump all over Paris with his digital camera capturing some good photographs and makes them wonderful through post processing. Serge is all about the wider angles, capturing as much of the scene as possible.

So what gear do we need for this? The HCB is easy we have to go with a 35mm film camera. For the film we will need something with higher ISO to give the grainy feel. Perhaps a 400 ISO film we can push to 800. So in goes the 35mm camera with some normal lenses. A 35mm and 50mm lens should be plenty. 

For the Serge inspired shots our DSLR, wide angle lenses with a tripod would be perfect. The great thing about Serge is that it is not about the gear only about the post processing. He does some great work and is eager to teach everyone.

In terms of bags, I always take the same one. If I am getting on a plane I take my ThinkTank Airport Airstream. It can carry a ton of gear, protects it and is accepted in most carriers.

It even has a thick cable with a lock to leave it locked in the hotel. While not completely safe, it is better than nothing.

This is only for the plane portion of my trip, once in the hotel this bag stays behind.

For my walk around bag, I will go with a messenger bag. A backpack could also work and in winter would be my primary choice. But in the heat of summer, a messenger bag will help keep me cool. 

Finally, I clean all the gear including digital sensors, I charge all the batteries, pack the chargers and my back up hard drive. I pack the tripod, film, and come lens cleaning supplies. Everything goes into my carryon back with the exception of the tripod which goes in my checked luggage. Even the tripod head comes with me. It makes for a heavy bag but very important to protect everything.

​This ends Part 2: Packing for the Trip.