Volume 31
Fall-Winter
2005 |
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I am about to head off to Europe for the
tenth time in twelve months. After several
exasperating instances abroad where I wasted
far too much time tracking down plugs,
chargers, or batteries after forgetting mine, I
have created a digital travel checklist. Like everything
else about digital photography, traveling
with digital cameras has its good and
bad points. The biggest advantage is that
airport X-rays won’t damage capture cards.
X-rays pose a serious problem with film,
since the effects are cumulative and airport
personnel are often surly about inspecting
film by hand. On the other hand, one drawback
of traveling with a digital camera is that—
unlike film—pixels are ephemeral, and safe
storage on the road can be challenging.
Here is my basic list of the photography
equipment I carry when I travel. There are
numerous brands and options, but these are
my choices:
1. Camera bag: I like a bag with a waist
strap to take the weight off my neck and
shoulders, and one with a large enough outside
pocket to hold a small strobe unit. Cameras,
lenses, and capture cards go in the bag.
To protect from dust, a serious problem with
digital cameras, carry your camera body in a
separate case or sealed bag that you keep
closed when not in use.
2. Backpack: I carry everything I will need
for photography in my hand luggage. My
laptop goes in the backpack, as well as miscellaneous
unbreakables such as batteries and
chargers.
3. Camera bodies: I always carry two, in
case of loss or damage.
4. Lenses: For pleasure shoots, I carry a
wide-angle zoom and a telephoto zoom. For
professional work, I carry too many lenses
to list.
5. Strobes: I carry two Nikon digital
strobes designed to work with my cameras.
6. Laptop: I use a Sony Vaio with plenty
of space on the hard drive to upload photos
and a built-in CD burner and card reader.
Wireless capability is important if you want
to e-mail photos along the way, as most
internet cafes do not allow you to attach your
own external drive to send attachments.
7. External Drive: I have two 50 GB
LaCie pocket drives for backing up photos. I
first upload cards onto the laptop, and then
transfer a copy of the files onto the external
drives.
8. Capture cards: I have eight cards, mostly
512 MB and 1 GB.
9. Cases for capture cards: I prefer small
cases, which hold four cards each.
10. Card reader: I use the built-in reader
on my laptop and also carry a separate card
reader, in case I want to transfer photos to
someone else’s computer.
11. Chargers: Almost all chargers now
work from 100 to 240V, so an electrical current
converter is no longer necessary. I carry
separate chargers for my computer, for my
camera batteries, and for AA batteries. Take
it from me—remember your chargers!
12. Plug adapters: Different countries
have different electrical sockets. Be sure to
bring adapters for your plugs. I always take a
few extra ones, after forgetting the plug in a
hotel socket on more than one occasion. It’s
also nice to be able to give one of your extras
to a friend who forgot hers. There is no need
to buy the expensive sets. Most hardware
stores sell single plugs for most European
countries cheaply.
13. Batteries: I have four rechargeable
camera batteries, several sets of rechargeable
AA batteries, and a five-hour battery for my
laptop in addition to the standard one.
14. CDs: These are useful as another way
to back up photos or even to take to a local
camera store for printing. (I do not yet carry a
portable printer—maybe next trip.)
15. Photoshop or other software: I like
to view photos along the way and sometimes
make adjustments, although I always
save the original JPEGs since it’s difficult to
calibrate a laptop monitor accurately. Sometimes
I bring copies of software on CDs, in
case I have to reinstall along the way.
16. Mouse: I find it easier to work in
Photoshop with a mouse. I used to bring a
mini-mouse, but realized that a full-sized
one isn’t that big and is infinitely more comfortable
to work with.
17. Rubber air puffer: It’s impossible to
keep dust from getting into a digital camera
when you change lenses. You must be vigilant
in cleaning the CCD, or you will spend a
lot of time when you get home working with
the clone tool in Photoshop to repair the
damage. It is expensive to have the CCD
professionally cleaned and risky to do it yourself,
because it scratches easily and is expensive
to replace. The easiest way to clean the
CCD is to put the camera on a long exposure,
such as thirty seconds, click the shutter,
remove the lens, and puff vigorously with a
rubber bulb. I use a camera accessory called a
Hurricane Blower. It is very affordable at
$6.00. Confirm the results by shooting a
white wall at f/16 and checking for dark spots,
and then puffing again. Do not use canned
air.
18. Small flashlight: A flashlight is very
useful if you shoot at night, in darkened
rooms such as clubs, or at stage performances.
19. Manuals: I always bring all manuals
for my cameras, strobes, and laptop, as they
are indispensable if you forget how something
works or have to troubleshoot.
20. Cell phone: Finally, I carry a mobile
phone with a removable card, which allows
me to change cards in each country and make
calls at local rates. Of course, bringing a phone
means carrying yet another charger.
Bon Voyage!
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| Martha Cooper is the director of photography at City Lore. Her images have appeared in museum exhibitions, books, and magazines. If you have a question about photography that you’d like her to address, send it to the acquisitions editor of Voices. |  |
After several
exasperating instances abroad where I wasted
far too much time tracking down plugs,
chargers, or batteries after forgetting mine, I
have created a digital travel checklist.
This column appeared in Voices Vol. 31, Fall-Winter 2005. Voices is the membership magazine of the New York Folklore Society. To become a subscriber, join the New York Folklore Society today.
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