Traveling and your camera Part 3

You did it! The trip is booked! But......

(free photo stock image. Looked for one with a nikon, but this was the best that I could do.)

Over the last few posts I have been discussing the ability to travel and the questions that I have in regards to traveling with my gear, because this is not something that I have done on a regular basis. Up to this point in my life my traveling with my gear has been limited to just within a few hours of home. So this meant I would put my gear in my truck and just go. There was no big concern about theft, loss or damage of my gear as I had total control of what was going on with my gear. 

Now I am able to travel without much stress on a plane, and with that said, this is where the control is lost. Especially if you have to check your gear with your luggage. I have come to the conclusion that this is just not the way that I want to go. First of all my luck is not great. I have had my baggage lost on multiple occasions, and I really do not want to lose time due to not having my gear. Especially if I am traveling for the sole purpose of using my gear.

Once past the how am I going to travel with my gear question I move on to "How do I take care of my gear in different climates?" question. I am sure that there are people that are reading this and feel that I am over reacting about this thought, but it has become a very real concern for me. Before living in South Carolina I lived in Hawaii. Hawaii was amazing! The sun was shining and it stayed at a pretty steady 80 degrees, and never really dipping below the 70's. If it was raining I would wait in my vehicle for about 10 minutes, and the rain would pass and I could get out and continue to photograph whatever my subject for the day was. However South Carolina has thrown a huge game changer for me. For example in South Carolina it reaches at its peak about 105 degrees during the summer, but than there is the humidity to factor in and that raises the temperature to 115-125 degrees. (That's the highest that I have seen so far this year.) The heat is a concern in regards to my sensor, but considering that I am not out in the middle of the day shooting it is not a huge concern. However the big concern is the humidity.

I realized that this was a concern when I was out working in the backyard and realized the opportunities that I was missing to practice shooting the small insects and animals that I was running into while out. So I ran to the house and grabbed my camera. In my opinion I did not think that there was much of a temperature change from the house to the yard (as this was early spring) but I did not consider the humidity. When I got back out to the yard I began to take photos, and realized that they were soft, and seemed to be out of focus, yet in the view finder they were sharp and seemed to be the exact way that I wanted them to be. I took photos for roughly five minutes and they continued to get worse. When I finally stopped and looked at my lens the glass was covered with condensation. I also noticed that it was starting to develop on the body and the outer portions of the lens. So I immediately took the camera back inside. My saving grace was that when I went outside I did not switch the lens so this kept the inside of the camera and the sensor protected. However it affected the glass, and caused it to spot and I worried that the weather sealing may not have been able to hold. Several hours in I realized everything was ok, but it was a huge shock. 

In another instance several years ago a fellow photographer and I were deployed with our unit to Iraq. At the time I was barely dabbling in photography and opted not to bring anything more than my point and shoot. I honestly did not think that I would have the time to shoot much anyway. Not to mention it is a desert that has been ravaged for years with war and I did not think that there would be much to really photograph that would be of interest to me. However I was sadly mistaken. 

(Sunrise in Tikrit, Iraq)

The place in of itself was not great to shoot, but the buildings, Saddam's castle in Baghdad, and the sandstorms were amazing! Sounds strange to most but the sandstorms were one of my favorite things to watch roll in. But the damage the would cause to a camera was horrible. The fellow photographer that took their camera had to send all of their lens and I believe their camera body in to be cleaned when we returned and they were afraid that the sand may have damaged the sensor. It had already done a number on several of the motors in the lens which later led to having to replace them completely.

(Soldiers standing in formation outside during a sandstorm)

As you can see in the picture above a sandstorm for us was no joke. This photo was shot in the middle of the day, and yet due to the sand being so thick in the air it changed it to a very dark and orange environment. 

So what do you do to protect your gear in various climates. Here are some suggestions from what I have learned.

l. When traveling into a new climate make sure that you are prepared for anything. The best way to prepare is do some research into the area. Determine what type of climate that you are going to be dealing with. Is it humid? Dry? Hot? Are there potential storms I should be concerned about? Cold? 

2. Prepare for that type of climate. If you are dealing with a humid environment realize that your best way to deal with this is to slowly expose your gear to the environment. For example when you reach the location just unzip your bag and let the air slowly start moving into the bag, after 15 minutes carefully check your gear without opening the bag to far and with out removing it from the bag. If it appears to have climatized you can open your bag and go about your planned day, however I do not recommend changing lens in this type of environment. 

3. If you are using your gear in a harmful environment protect it. You can use rain hoods, or in my case while I was in Iraq I kept my point and shoot in a ziplock bag and during sandstorms would shoot with it in the bag. 

4. Inspect your gear often in a controlled environment. As soon as you are done shooting for the day take your gear to your hotel, home or where ever you may be staying and check it for dirt, water damage etc. This can be done more frequently if you are worried about your gear. If you notice that your gear is not standing up to the challenge of the area stop using it!

5. Clean your gear often. I say this with a word of caution. I am not saying that you should do a full on cleaning as Nikon or Canon would do if you sent it to them, but I am saying to do the basics and do not go out of your comfort zone. Clean the outside and all of the contact points and mirror if you have one. But do not clean the sensor of you are not comfortable or do not know how. You will cost yourself more money in the long run.

If you have more tips or suggestions or maybe some things that I did not mention please comment below! I would love to hear from you! 

Traveling and your camera.... Part 2

Traveling can be a stressful experience for some, but I have come to realize that it is even more stressful when I travel.

(photo stock image)

Truth be told it almost makes me panic when I travel. I typically fly when I do travel and this leads to a number of concerns. The first is baggage check in. I have had my luggage lost enough to know that it is not a safe route to go, and the older I get, well the lighter I travel. I have it almost down to a science now. I use the same jump bag that I deployed with and that holds everything I need with room left over. However this is not exactly ideal to tote all of my camera gear in. There is no protection, and I am not about to have my gear go unprotected.

So this leads to the first problem. Do I need to base my bag on where I am traveling, or do I base it on how I am traveling or both? Or do I by pass all of this and look at a bag that is rated to handle 95% of the situations that I usually find myself in while I am traveling? I will admit that when it comes to price and spending money I do get a bit squeamish. I am trying to get every bit of worth out of something that I purchase, so I want to make sure that what ever I do it is financially acceptable. Before writing this post I posed these thoughts written a similar format to a group that I am. I did not get many responses, however the ones that I did get seemed to follow my thought process. The all-in-one bag is the way to go. Or at least preferred. But I still wonder about how others feel. I know that I carry all of my gear in a backpack, but I have noticed when I have shot at weddings and such as a second shooter that the primary shooter always has a fancy leather messenger bag, or something along the messenger bag line which leads to question if there is a need to have different bags for different activities. 

I have taken the time and looked at various bag reviews and honestly they reinforce the idea of needing different bags for different situations. Here is the first article that I read.

http://improvephotography.com/gear/bag-gear/

This article lead to even more, you guessed it. Divided thoughts about bags and what is best for what. Which here are the links for those. Please keep in mind that these are written by different contributors to the website and are all vetted by the owner for authenticity before posting.

http://improvephotography.com/35962/35962/

http://improvephotography.com/35887/messenger-camera-bag-review/

http://improvephotography.com/35723/bag-review-sneak-peek-peak-design-ona/

I also spent some time with google and discovered these sites as well. They are not as detailed, but at least it gives a few answers.... about the bags... not the decision making.

http://www.cambags.com/

http://www.adorama.com/alc/1357/article/12-top-camera-bags-traveling-photographers

After digging through these articles I am still really stuck. I have come to the conclusion that you either go with personal preference, or what you think will work best for you. Worst case scenario you have a closet full of bags for different reasons. 

The one positive out of reading all of these articles is that there seems to be one particular theme. When it comes to traveling on the plane a backpack seems to be the best option that there is out there. The reasons that are listed and make sense is that you can fit it in the overhead bin, the weight is distributed properly on your back when you are carrying your gear anywhere you are going, and you can get backpacks with rain gear protection which leads to extra protection for your camera. Not to mention a number of bags are being made now that not only hold the camera and the gear but there is also room for personal items which means even less to carry while traveling! A personal pull for me really. 

When it comes to picking a back pack I believe it comes down to comfort and durability. If the bag is not comfortable your camera is never going to travel with you purely because you are like every other person in the world and like to be comfortable.  Durability will play a huge role as well. I mean if you are putting thousands of dollars in a bag you want to ensure that it is not going to be damaged. However realize that nothing is safe. A photographer learned this the hard way. He put ALL of his gear in a pelican case and checked his bag. Once on the plane and seated he glanced out and saw lenses and gear strewn all over the ground outside. About that time the stewardess announced over head that someone's camera stuff had been dropped from the plane while loading and they needed to speak with the owner of the bag. The pelican case had busted open when it hit the ground and nearly all the gear was scratched, and there were thousands of dollars in gear that was just destroyed. It just makes my gut churn when I hear about stories like this.... Just remember... Nothing is 100% effective, and be ready for the worst to happen. 

I'd love to hear your thought about this or any other information I have put out there! 

Traveling, and your camera

As I look out my window and notice the mound of yard work that I really need to get done I can do nothing but day dream about going out and about with my camera. When I say go out and about I more specifically mean going on a vacation, or traveling somewhere, well really anywhere but to my back yard. Don't get me wrong, I love my house and where I live, but it is summer, and it is one of the best times to see the world and all that it has to offer.

In thinking about traveling my mind set is slowly changing. All of my children are old enough to keep track of themselves, and for the most part travel on their own if they want. With this concern, and stress slightly lifted from my shoulders this gives me more time to think about me and what I want to take on the next adventure.

In most cases my traveling consists of somewhere within a couple hours of home and looking for new places to hike and explore. I love exploring a new area and photographing anything that draws my attention. Which is great, but now that I am looking to start taking bigger trips there are things that I need to start thinking about.

1. Where am I going to go?
I have so many options running through my head that I have no idea where to begin really. I want to see the world and I want to do it all right now! Very unreasonable thought I know, however it is not quite so unreasonable to plan to do as much of it as I possibly can. So in order to slow myself down I have started a "Bucket List" I am sure that a number of you have them, and I am finding that they are great to have. I love lists. My biggest reason for loving them, because I love to check things off of them! So I figure that this is the best way for me to accomplish the traveling that I want to do and at the same time be organized and make sure that I do not forget or over look a place that I want to go.

2. How am I going to get there?
This is a question that in most cases would be a simple answer, however, as I said before I love lists and checking things off of them. For example, I have never been on a cruise, and I also would love to go on a tour of Alaska. Well my friends I can officially take two things off of my list. There is a cruise schedule in Alaska and if I go at the right time I can go whale watching, which means, you got it, another thing off of the list. 3 birds with one stone!  I am not sure that I can do much better than that.

So here is where my concern now comes in. I must admit that I have not done alot of distance traveling with my camera and this leads to a number of concerns that I have about my gear. For example:

1. Do I need to look at having a different camera bag for different places or activities?
2. How do I take care of my gear while I am traveling?
3. How do I keep track of my gear while I am traveling?
4. Does the care for my camera change in different climates and what is different in those climates that I need to consider to protect my gear?
5. How do I protect my memory cards from things like X-Ray machines at the airports, and do I need to worry about things like climate changes?

These are just the 5 basic questions that I have, and I am sure that there are many more. However these are the 5 top things that I think about when it comes to traveling.

I am sure that are a number of you that have great answers for these questions and I would love to hear them! Please share them in the comment section below.

If you don't have answer, but may someone that does, please share this with them and than you and I can both learn from them together,

I am looking forward to all the suggestions, guidance, and new questions that may come along the way!