Travel opens up so many opportunities for new images. The terrain, architecture and local culture changes and affords photographers the opportunity to find their ?eye? again or get out of a rut by having new things to explore and shoot.

This was the case with me and my anniversary trip to Vegas was the cure. The only problem is that when I travel I tend to travel HEAVY and take everything. My camera bag weighs 42 lbs and when you are in Vegas you don?t necessarily want to talk around with $18,000 in camera equipment for your entire stay.

So, what do you do when you want to take everything but you don?t want to have it with you at all times? The safes in the hotel rooms are too small for 2 bodies, 7 lenses, filters etc and there was no way I was walking around with my shoulder bag or backpack for 4 days loaded with my camera gear.

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NOTE: Nothing on my blog is for sale, there are no ads and there is nothing to subscribe to (unless you want to). I just post reviews and pictures online to share. I thought this article may be of interest to all. I also have a few articles on CS4 that may be interesting as well.

David
Faces, Places and Things

PS- Sorry for putting the post in the wrong place. There doesn't appear to be a delete function :-)

I am going to tell you a story. I had a cable lock for my bicycle. One day, I parked it against a fence surrounding a house which was being built. I attached the cable to the fence. When I came back in the evening, the bike was still there and the lock neatly sat besides it, cut open. The workers had moved the fence and my bike was in the way.

I then realized that cable locks offer no protection. A cable cutter costs 10$ and can be found at any hardware store.

one body,two lenses maximum (12-24 and 50-135)and a spare battery are all u need really.the less u think about changing lenses and the less u carry,the more good shots you will find.
I carried around just the 12-24 for a week,it was great,you adapt to what you have and i never missed anything.
Tripod: either something very small and light (handbag suitable) or u can improvise.i know that can be hard for architecture night photography,but sometimes a little improvisation is all u need. :-)

Although I recently took a body with battery grip, four lenses, a tripod, gorillapod and flash on my trip to the US, I agree with this. :)

Whenever I'm feeling a bit lacking in inspiration, one of the things I like to do is set myself a challenge to go and find interesting shots using only my 50mm prime, or only my wide-angle.

More often than not I end up with a memory card full of crap, but it's good to get the mind working again.

I do agree. Often times less is more. Since I was going to a place where I was completely unfamiliar I wanted to have the lion share of my gear. That way I could have options while shooting. I generally have one body with my 70-200 on it and the other with my 17-30 or 28-70. I find that lately I really enjoy shooting wide more than anything.

David! As you stay in a hotel they mostly have save deposit boxes on the reception. Also your camera equipment will be save in there luggage locker room. I put some locks on the zippers and put my equipment packet in a suite case there and never somebody take some away from me. As I always on travel I have always all my stuff with me and here in India as I stay longer here I buy a big steel save deposit box for my camera.
Anyway you can not prevent totally that someone get mad and take it away so the best is you have a good insurance who can care such loss.

Robert

Great article, i think it is now the time i read it as i planned to travel to Africa this year, i was lucky in the last 4 years ago with many gear i carry and didn't face problems yet, but i was always panic about my gear to be lost or stolen mostly, and in Africa it is not easy or safe most of the time as the places i went before.

I pack all my gear in a big Pelicase, except what is in my cam backpack which is always with me.
Many have asked how I dare travel with all that expensive stuff. Standard answer: ' Nobody runs fast with my luggage!'
Been lucky so far, nothing lost, except a roll of film on an Amazon trip. So far, two occations when people have tried to take my gear with no success.
Insurance is probably a good idea, but too expensive. And the insurance don't cover underwater cameras when used under water...