Packing Again

Last night I got home from Adelaide and tomorrow I’ll board a flight to Mexico on a photographic adventure. I’ll be travelling via London, and then taking a bus from Mexico City to Oaxaca. On the way back I’ll be stopping off for a quick break in Miami.

Every trip I try to pack lighter, but I’m still struggling to figure out how much gear I really need. For this trip, the core is two camera bodies (D90 and D50) and four lenses, 24mm Tilt Shift, 50 f1.4, 105 f2 and my trusty 18-200 all purpose lens. I’ll be travelling with a new Really Right Stuff BH40 ballhead (with panning clamp) and a Gitzo GT2542L tripod. As always, I’ll be carrying the gear in Click Elite shoulder bags and Victorinox Rolling luggage bags. That’s plenty of room for things like memory cards, filters, backup drives and what will mostly be a jeans and shirt wardrobe.

I’m in two minds whether to take any artificial lights on this trip. Odds are I probably will – which will mean packing two flashes (SB800 & SB600), a small stand, some pocketwizards and connecting cables. I won’t be taking any softboxes, but I’ll probably pack some reflectors, a scrim and maybe a shoot-through umbrella.

Hopefully there will be opportunities to share some thoughts and observations from the road. I’m still hesitant to offer lessons or advice on photography. But, I’m happy to answer questions on how I’m approaching things, in a practical sense.