Travel Photography: What to Pack © Wendy L. Folse May 19, 2001 The trip is planned. The details all worked out. Now it's time to pack up the camera. Here are a few tips and hints to make your vacation photography a breeze this year.
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Film
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Batteries
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Camera
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Flash
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Plastic zipper bags
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Small pocket sized notebook or journal
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Small white labels to mark film
Film: Bring all the film that you think you will need with you. Purchasing film at a tourist shop will cost big bucks and the quality of the film is always questionable. It is much better to take along more film than not enough. What kind of film should you take? With the different types of film on the market today, its no wonder that many people stand and scratch their head trying to choose. Getting great prints starts with getting the right film. The right tool for the right job. The first question is whether you want to have slides or prints. The majority of people prefer to have print film for obvious reasons. Print or negative film is much more forgiving meaning that you don't have to be as precise in the exposure to still get great prints. The second consideration is the climate and weather at your destination. If you are vacationing in a sunny location then ISO 100 speed film is perfect. Check the online weather forecasts in the cities you expect to visit. Bring along a couple of rolls of ISO 400 for cloudy, rainy, or overcast destinations. The third consideration is the local attractions. For example, a trip to Las Vegas should include plenty of ISO 400, 800 or even 1000 speed films as the primary focal point is the nighttime street scenes. If you are headed to an amusement park with a lot of rides, you might want to bring along some fast speed film to stop the action. Same goes for a vacation that might include water skiing, auto racing, parasailing, etc. The fourth thing to consider is what you want to do with the prints. Do you want to have them enlarged? Are you looking for eye-catching colors? If your goal is to have travel photos that look like the ones in the travel brochures, choose one of the enhanced color saturated films. Fuji films are great for high-contrast, high-color subjects. The slower the film speed the larger the prints. If you want a poster size print choose an ISO 50 film. These films perform beautifully in very sunny locations and can be enlarged without noticeable quality loss.
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In my opinion, skip the 200 speed films as there really isn't any need for them. ISO 100 speed film with a flash will cover anything the 200 speed film can and you will just end up with less quality and no benefits. Also skip the ISO 1000 speed if you are not used to dealing with high-speed films. Many of the simpler cameras won't handle this type of film and a lot of the one-hour photo processing places won't develop it. Confused by all the film choices? Here are a few simple ideas. If you are using a simple point and shoot zoom camera, try a couple rolls of the new ISO800 films for prints to put into an album and share with friends. A standard multipurpose film to use is a 400 speed film. If you are going to a sunny destination, pack mainly ISO 100 speed films with a couple of rolls of 400 speed for sunsets, indoors and nighttime shots. Here is a great online resource to help you pick just the right film for your vacation. Kodak Film Finder Batteries Be sure to pack extra batteries for each piece of equipment you plan to bring. This seems like a no brainer, but it can be a pain if your battery starts to run low while on vacation. Many of the specialized photo batteries are extremely hard to find and can cost a fortune in a tourist destination. Even if the batteries in the camera are new, still bring along some extras. Using the flash burns up a lot of battery power and it is always better to have a couple of extra batteries on hand. Back-up Camera: If possible, you should always pack a small lightweight back-up camera just in case. A simple point and shoot, APS, or digital camera can come in handy if your main unit fails for any reason. Keep it light and keep it simple. No need to lug tons of photo equipment with you. How to pack: Pack your film like the professionals. Remove all the plastic canisters from the boxes. If you are traveling on a commercial airline, remove the film canisters from the plastic cases as well. Place a small white label on the actual film canister, being careful not to cover over the bar code area. The film should be numbered from 1 to whatever. Why is this important? Because each time you load or unload a roll of film, record the number in the notebook. Record where the film was taken, major highlights, notes, problems, etc. More on the travel log in a minute. Pack the film in plastic zipper bags, sorted by type of film. This allows you to see what is in the bag. You'll know exactly how many rolls of film you have left and of what types. When you need a roll of film, you won't have to rummage around in a suitcase and fumble with boxes and plastic containers. Just grab a roll and pop it into the camera. It saves a ton of time and takes up less space. Professional photographers do this for another reason as well. With the film packed in see through bags, the photographer can request a hand inspection of their film at the airports instead of having it x-rayed. They can just hand the bag to the official with its contents clearly visible. Travel Log:
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Small pocket notebook
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Pencil
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Rubber band
The copyright of the article Travel Photography: What to Pack in Photography is owned by Wendy Folse. Permission to republish Travel Photography: What to Pack in print or online must be granted by the author in Page 2 writing.
Keep a small pocket notebook with you to write down and record notes about the images. Jot down the film number, place, date, subject, etc. Not only will this serve as an excellent reference when the film comes back, it also becomes a record of your trip. The notebook should be small enough to slip into a pocket for easy access. Many cameras have a time and date stamp feature. This will make it easy to check back through the notebook. Many people over look this simple little tool in helping to drastically improve their image taking abilities. Jot down things like; used a tripod, used a polarizing filter, fire lit shot, and nighttime street scenes, compensated for reciprocity, etc. It is also a great place to record the names and addresses of people you meet on your trip. When the pictures come back, you can send that copy you promised because you will have a record. The notebook is not meant to be cumbersome nor time consuming. Keep it small and keep it handy. Slip a rubberband around the front cover to hold the filled pages. That way it is a breeze to flip it open to a new page each time. Final Notes: X-ray Machines: Never pack your camera and film into suitcases that are to be checked baggage at the airport. Make sure that you place the film and camera into a small case that will travel with you at all times. The film in checked baggage can be exposed to much higher doses of x-rays that can ruin the film. Some airports are using the new x-ray machines and some aren't, for obvious security reasons the FAA does not disclose at which airports these machines are in use. The effect of x-ray exposure is cumulative. Which means that you have to consider how many times the film may be exposed to the scanners. On a typical non-stop flight with round-trip, you can figure at least twice. This level of exposure is not enough to harm most films in carry-on bags. WARNING: Film in checked baggage can be exposed to extremely harmful levels of x-rays and film should not be stored in checked luggage.
The copyright of the article Travel Photography: What to Pack in Photography is owned by Wendy Folse. Permission to republish Travel Photography: What to Pack in print or online must be granted by the author in Page 3 writing.
Travel Photography: What to Pack © Wendy Folse
The copyright of the article Travel Photography: What to Pack in Photography is owned by Wendy Folse. Permission to republish Travel Photography: What to Pack in print or online must be granted by the author in Page 4 writing.