Posted: 3/7/2017 7:41:23 PM EDT
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I learned quite a few things about travel and photography on my recent trip to Hawaii and thought I'd pass along my thoughts.
First and foremost, this was a business trip and not a vacation. I might have thought about packing/bringing things a little differently it this was a leisure trip, but I had to prioritize what I brought, and photo gear was a secondary concern. Photo gear: D500 Rocket blower Remote shutter release Nikon 24-120 Tokina 11-16 Nikon 70-300 Manfrotto BeFree travel tripod Magpul MS3 sling for camera strap (!) I carried the body w/ attached short lens in a Tenba BYOB 10 and the extra lenses in their factory soft cases, and put both of those in an ordinary backpack. No issues with damage to gear on-site, in airports, or in the air. My body and lenses are apparently tough enough to withstand a few short stops in the car (falling to floor) and regular banging around while packed in the bag. The first thing I learned is changing lenses all the time is a PITA. It has to be done, though, if you want super-wide and telephoto and don’t want to compromise image quality or lens capability (aperture) with a “one size fits all” zoom that while it does it all, doesn’t so it all as well as separate lenses would. Changing lenses in windy dusty conditions is an art form; I think I did a pretty good job of keeping dust out of the innards. Changing lenses in the car works best, but in the field you just get quick with loosening the ocular dust cap on the new lens, taking the old lens off the camera while keeping it pointed down, slapping the cap on the old lens, and attaching the new lens. Then you tighten down the cap. Rocket blower comes in handy for getting rid of dust on oculars. Planning ahead saves on lens swaps. I wanted some wide sunset shots, and then tight shots of the sun as it hit the horizon. Better to leave the zoom on for the sun horizon shots and then put on the wide for sunset as most sunset color happens after the sun is below the horizon. Reverse for sunrise. BRING LENS WIPES. I didn’t and bought a box at a drug store. Most drug stores anywhere in the free world will carry lens wipes in their eye care or eyeglass section. The tripod and remote release were INVALUABLE. The Manfrotto BeFree tripod is excellent for travel, EXCEPT for the head (it’s a ball that doesn’t have a separate pan feature). I got used to not having the pan feature on my regular tripod, but it’s nice to have. The big advantage of this tripod is it folds up very small and fits in its own travel case, which it won’t do with a standard ball head (you’d have to carry that separately). Next trip I take this I’ll probably limp along with the included head because I won’t want to deal with taking my standard head on and off every time I put the pod in its case. The head held up well to all my lenses, with no noticeable drooping under weight. I’m not so sure how well it would hold up to the 150-600. The tripod was particularly useful to me for some of my favorite shots; starfield, landscapes near dawn/dusk, etc. Just can’t do that effectively without a tripod, and the tripod was very easy to transport in cars and planes. When driving around a cool place like Hawaii, keep that camera out and turned on, with lens cap off. Use your hood to protect the lens. I missed several opportunities because I had to root the camera out of the Tenba. I got by daily on 1 battery charge. I shot a total of 3,882 frames in 16 days, averaging 242 per day. 637 (total) were kept. Better to shoot a bunch and discard then be miserly with your shutter release. 10 fps shooting on the D500 runs up the frame count QUICK. Battery got low a few times, but I always made it back in time to charge. I did get an inverter (for laptop) and had the Nikon charger with me in the car, so in a pinch I could have charged in the field. The 64 GB primary and 32GB secondary cards on my camera never gave me space issues. I offloaded pics every night into my laptop; if I hadn’t had the laptop I would have needed extra cards. Speaking of laptops, BRING ONE IF YOU CAN, with your processing software on it. Being able to properly look at and process images same day REALLY helps with satisfaction. Don’t forget your card readers. I found myself looking for and planning photo opportunities. I found a few overlook-type areas that I stored in my GPS and visited them several times (and at several times of day). If you’re in an area long enough SCOUT COOL LOCATIONS. Start with good maps and then go visit. And revisit. Be prepared for weather. One afternoon up on Mauna Kea the temps went from mid-50s to under 30 in a matter of minutes as the sun set. Hats and gloves are nice to have. Nice sunny afternoons turn into cold evenings ricky-tick in the mountains. Rain, while it happened, wasn’t a hugs issue as I usually had my vehicle nearby. I will, however, at least take a kitchen-sized trash bag to throw gear in if hard rain comes all of a sudden and catches me away from cover. But, most of all, HAVE FUN. Photography isn’t everything. Don’t ruin a trip because you HAVE to get that one shot. Better to miss a shot and enjoy the experience and memories. Aloha! |
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Quoted:
I'd also add that you keep your gear with you 100% of the time. I agree with this. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I was a professional pilot for 30 years, so I've spent more than my share of time in hotel rooms. And while I've never had anything stolen out of my room, I know that many, many people have a key to every room in the hotel. Everyone who works in housekeeping, maintenance, management, etc, can get into your room if they want to. So when I travel, I always keep my camera gear with me, and never leave it in the hotel room. And that is a big pain in the ass sometimes. Go to breakfast, carry your camera gear. Go to supper, carry your camera gear. Ever go to a buffet with a 16lb camera bag hanging on your back?  Going to the pool for a day in the sun, carry your camera gear. Going to a show, carry your camera gear.
Even when I'm not taking pictures, I have a damn camera bag hanging on my shoulder. That really gets old after a week or two. I sometimes will carry nothing more than a P&S camera, but then I miss my DSLR. So, I'm in the process of putting together a smaller and lighter kit. I've already sold a couple of "pro" zooms, and have ordered a couple of primes to replace them. We'll see how it goes. 
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