Arctic Trip Tips 1 - General tips

Many of the lessons we learnt (or re-learnt) on this trip are applicable to a wide variety of trips, so I have included all of those in this entry.  A smaller set of tips, applicable primarily for polar excursions, will be included in the next post.  

1.       Motion sickness patch can cause motion sickness: The prescription patch for motion sickness is becoming extremely popular with travelers, since it provides excellent relief of symptoms without having to remember to take pills on a regular schedule. There are a couple of important things to be aware of, however, when using this medication. The first is that you may still experience some symptoms of sea sickness if the seas are particularly rough. This is not unexpected. The second is that if you wear the patch for more than three days, then suddenly remove the patch at the end of the voyage, you may end up feeling the symptoms of motion sickness (nausea, dizziness, etc.) a day or two after the patch has been removed while your body adjusts to the sudden removal of the drugs. This is a noted side effect of the medicine, but can still catch you by surprise – for example, if you are flying out a day or two after your voyage. Plan ahead, and adjust your medications appropriately.

2.       Give yourself plenty of time before and after the trip to get where you need to go. Travel in general, and adventure travel in particular, does not run on a tight schedule.  Flights, including charter flights, are often  delayed; disembarking a ship can take more time than expected; bad weather can interrupt plans; and luggage can be temporarily misplaced. If you provide a little extra time at the start and end of your trip, these disruptions are less likely to impact you and you will be able to remain relaxed instead of stressing out. Even simply over-nighting at your departure and arrival locations may give you the time that you need. For example, on this trip, the charter company responsible for returning us to Toronto changed, causing a change in arrival time. Because we were spending the night in Toronto before continuing on to our final destinations, we didn’t have to worry about exactly what time of day we got into Toronto. Some of those who had booked connecting flights had to reschedule them, because we arrived several hours later than initially expected, and they still had to clear customs and check in to their connections before moving on. In cases like these, the connecting airlines take no responsibility for the cost of rebooking the flights, since the arriving flight was a charter, not part of the connecting airlines’ service. Any additional expenses were borne by the travelers, and almost certainly exceeded the $100 cost of a hotel room for the night.

3.       Work with local experts and experienced guides whenever possible. Do research before booking your trip to make sure that the people you are travelling with are not just familiar with travelling in general, but with the area that you are heading to in particular. In adventure travel, the agenda must adapt in response to a variety of conditions, including weather. This means that flexibility is important. The more your guides know about the area, the more options you have and the better you will be able to respond to the unexpected. On this trip, each day’s agenda was posted the night before based on the guides’ best estimate of what we would encounter, and we still had numerous changes during the day. However, because our expedition lead had been to the area over 40 times, and the captain had made hundreds of cruises in the area, they were able to identify alternatives that made us feel like we weren’t missing anything.  Less experienced guides would not have been able to respond as effectively, and we would have ended up with cancelled activities.

4.       Always bring spare socks when hiking. Of course, on longer hikes, you likely already know that you should change socks every chance you get just to keep your feet dry and prevent blistering. However, even when a hike is supposed to be easy you should still bring a spare pair along. There is always the chance for something to happen – for example, stepping in a puddle or needing to rock-hop across a stream. If you have a spare pair of socks, you can easily change out of a suddenly wet pair into a dry one, preventing blisters and keeping your feet happy. If you don’t, then you have to suffer with wet feet for the remainder of the hike.

5.       Mosquito netting is your friend. Surprisingly, to me at least, mosquitoes not only live but thrive above the Arctic Circle. While bug dope (aka repellent) will work, the bugs still swarm your face, sit on your hat or glasses, and generally try to find an unprotected area to attack you. Having netting available keeps them away from your face and decreases the distractions while you are hiking. Given the small cost and weight, it is definitely worth packing netting even if you don’t think you will use it.  Of course, you should still bring bug spray for those areas not covered by your netting. And, very importantly, keep both the netting and the spray with you whenever you are on an excursion. It does you no good at all if it is sitting in your room while you are providing a feast for the local wildlife.

6.       Bring external backup devices. I have previously written about our use of a Hyperdrive external hard drive to back up our flash memory cards. This is a good, single-purpose device which can copy files from a variety of different types of cards. However, it can freeze up when things are done out of order and it does not support filtering of images because the screen size is too small and the images cannot be categorized. On this trip, I noticed several people using an iPad instead of a full-blown laptop for accessing their photos. This has the advantage that the tablet is much smaller and easier to transport than a laptop, while still providing the essential capabilities that one would want on a trip (e.g. reading eBooks and sending email). It is also well designed for performing an initial filtering of the photos, since it has a large screen, can easily move between hundreds of photos, and allows directories to be created and populated based on content. Unfortunately, the current version of the iPad does not natively support an external USB drive (this has been hacked around by some), so this limits the usefulness of the device as a backup for long trips where you will have many more pictures to store / access than can fit on its relatively small internal drive . With tablet computers becoming more popular, however, I would expect this limitation to be overcome in the near future.

7.       Walkie-talkies keep people in touch.  It can be really handy to be able to talk to others in your group from a distance.  This allows you to find each other when you have become separated and can reduce trips back to the cabin for forgotten items. For example, if a polar bear is sighted, one person may rush out on deck to see where it is, while someone else rushes to the cabin to get a camera – but then finding each other can become challenging.  In many places, such as ski areas, cell phones have been allowing people to connect remotely for years (e.g. to coordinate lunch between black diamond and green bunny-hill skiers). Unfortunately, cell phones don’t work in many places – and even if they do work, they can be expensive for these types of quick calls. Instead of cell phones, for international and adventure travel, I suggest taking a hint from your guides and using a set of walkie-talkies. They work anywhere, use rechargeable batteries, and can provide an effective link to others in your group over moderate distances.  Even a fairly basic set will provide a level of connectivity that will save you several laps around the deck looking for people.

8.       Bring ski goggles. If you wear corrective lenses, you know that one of the downsides of wearing glasses instead of contacts is that rain, snow, fog and other weather events can severely affect your vision. On this trip, the rain was so bad one day that I simply took my glasses off since I couldn’t see anything through them. It was during this downpour that I noticed our more experienced guides were wearing ski goggles, which protected their eyes and gave them a reasonable view of their surroundings. Even over glasses, these provide an enhanced weather block and are much easier to keep clean while hiking.

9.       Always use your lens shade. While the nominal purpose of a camera’s lens shade is to keep the sun off of the lens’ front element and let you take a better picture sans lens flare, while on an outdoor shoot you should always keep your shade on. In addition to protecting from the sun, it also helps to block rain, sleet, and snow from hitting your lens. This not only increases the chances of getting good pictures but reduces the time that you need to spend cleaning your gear. It is not a bad idea to keep the shade on during indoor shoots, too.  The shade can help protect the lens against damage from ungraceful moments.  (How many of you have ever accidentally hit your camera against a chair back while walking past?)

 

Terence

City Escapes Nature Photography

Trip summary: Arctic Adventure Cruise

Hello all,

This past summer, we completed a fantastic two week Arctic cruise. Over the next several weeks, I will be sharing some of the tips that we picked up during this cruise. Most of these tips are general travel tips that could apply to adventure travel anywhere; however, there are a few that are specific to travel in the Polar regions. Before getting into these tips, however, I want to give you an overview of the excursion that we took.

This was our first adventure travel / expedition cruise, and it was very different than previous cruise experiences on the major cruise lines. In our case, the itinerary and excursions were organized by One Ocean Expeditions who rented the Clipper Adventurer ship for their exclusive use during this trip. The ship is leased to other companies throughout the year and sails in both the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

Compared to the larger cruise ships used by the major lines, our smaller ship was more personal, more interesting, and matched our interests perfectly. The Adventurer has a maximum of 120 passengers, and is well suited to expedition cruising with an ice hardened hull, a complement of 10 zodiacs, and the ability to load zodiacs from either side.  Our cabin was a little small but extremely well laid out, with two single beds (dressed in comforters), two good-sized windows (not portholes), three closets, a writing desk, a night stand, and an ensuite washroom with shower. The main lounge, where tea, coffee, water, and snacks were served 24 hours a day, hosted our lectures and served as a general meeting location. The dining room sat the entire ship for a single serving, and produced amazing multi-course meals throughout the trip.  Possibly because of the smaller number of passengers, the food was much better than my experience with the larger ships while maintaining variety and options (e.g. dinner was 5 courses, with at least 2 salad, soup, and dessert options and 3 entrees, all of which were different each day, and never repeated). There was also a well-stocked library and a back deck, with chairs, that we used for afternoon tea several times during our voyage (yes, we had afternoon tea, outdoors, above the arctic circle. Comfortably.).

Our itinerary gave us an excellent overview of the small part of the Canadian Arctic  we sailed through and  a glimpse of West Greenland.  We took a charter flight out of Edmonton to our starting point in Resolute Bay. From there, we traversed the eastern Canadian Shield visiting Beechey Island, Prince Leopold Island, and Devon Island, before heading over the north-east side of Baffin Island to Pond Inlet.  From there, we crossed Baffin Bay to Greenland where we visited Uummannaq, Ilulissat , and Sisimiut before heading down Sondre-Stromfjord to Kangerlussuaq, where we boarded another charter flight for our return to Toronto.  As one would expect on an adventure trip, our schedule was flexible and there were several times when our initial plans changed in response to weather, sea conditions, or wildlife. It was a credit to our staff that we were able to work around these interruptions (often without the passengers’ knowledge) and maintain an exhausting excursion schedule.

The focus of the trip was on wildlife and photography and excelled in both areas – a credit to the One Ocean’s team and the Captain.  The staff clearly had significant experience in Arctic expeditions, and was able to provide a variety of activities at most of the sites  where we landed. In most cases, there were at least 3 distinct options, ranging from zodiac cruises to “charging” hikes, where the goal was usually to get to the top of a local peak. There were also usually at least 2 less strenuous hikes (which was what I usually did). When we stopped at villages, there were  cultural options as well –  at least one museum visit was included as an option in each town, with the residents of Pond Inlet hosting us for a two-hour, live cultural display at their museum. This range of activities kept the passengers engaged and allowed for everyone to get what they wanted out of the trip. The One Ocean staff also gave regular presentations on a variety of topics and made frequent use of the ship’s intercom system to alert us when something interesting was happening outside that we might be missing. As one might expect, the staff included a couple of naturalists, who were able to put what we were seeing in context. What we were not expecting was the level of experience that the entire staff had, each having spent months at the Poles over dozens of expeditions. A highlight for us was a talk given by one of these naturalists about his experiences leading the last major dog sled expedition in Antarctica. Importantly from our perspective, the staff also included two resident photographers who worked closely with the passengers (in fact, we found out about this trip from one of them). They not only gave presentations about relevant topics and led photography-centric groups on excursions, but provided personalized instruction based on the individual’s level of interest, expertise, and equipment. The opportunity to learn from these experienced professionals, and to ask very specific questions, added significant value to the excursions and turned into one of the highlights of the trip for us.  

The ship saw 16 polar bears during our trip, and I personally saw 9 – averaging over one per day until we left Canada (missing several while I slept). My most memorable viewing came when the Captain parked the boat on the edge of an ice floe for about half an hour so we could observe a polar bear on the floe. The bear did not appear to mind us being there: although it did charge the ship once to see if we would back away, it spent most of its time looking for seals and sleeping. As we finally pulled away, the sun came out and gave the bear’s fur a glowing white silhouette as it stretched. Absolutely awe inspiring! In addition, we had several other viewings from both zodiacs and the ship. The staff was extremely diligent in making sure that there were no bears near our landing sites, so we never saw a bear from land – an important safety consideration since polar bears will hunt humans and they are extremely fast. I had an excellent musk oxen sighting, with a small herd letting our group approach fairly close, as well as several distant sightings where the musk ox looked like brown boulders that moved. I also had two close walrus viewings, one from a zodiac where we were able to watch for about 15 minutes before he slid into the water and one where the walrus was sitting on an ice floe that passed by our cabin window as the ship moved between stops late one night. We were told that we saw narwhals as well. Unfortunately, apparently, during the summer, all you can see are the blows – the tusks and most of the narwhal remain underwater and invisible. So while I saw a blow spout, I wasn’t able to clearly identify the type of whale.

Overall, the trip exceeded my expectations – and everyone I talked to seemed to feel the same way. The ship was fantastic, and the wildlife encounters more than you could hope for. However, the staff of One Ocean really made the trip everything I could hope for: they focused on making sure we saw the wildlife and landscapes we went there to see. A few snapshots from the trip are viewable at our Flick site.

 

Terence

City Escapes Nature Photography

 

 

Jasper-park-lodge-review

Hotel Review: Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, Jasper National Park, Alberta Canada

Rating: 1 star

Date of visit: July 2010

 

This is a Fairmont hotel? Seriously? This is the worst Fairmont hotel I have ever been in – by far. In general, Fairmont hotels are known for luxury: they have courteous and helpful staff, they often offer  afternoon teas (and have their own Fairmont-branded teas in the hotel rooms), the towels, robes, and linens are plush, and the rooms are well-maintained and well-equipped.  To top things off, the hotel itself is usually a building that is a work of art, in a location that is inspiring (whether that is the center of Vancouver or Banff National Park). In general, the guest can reasonably expect a first class experience.  Further, while Fairmonts are never cheap, they often offer discounts that place them in the affordable splurge category.

 

My experience with the Jasper Park Lodge has left me wondering if this was the worst hotel in the chain – and hoping that if it wasn’t, I never find out which one is.

 

First, the good things.

·         The location is wonderful, with the main lodge (registration, restaurants and shops) on a lakefront within the beautiful Jasper National Park. 

·         The main lodge is everything that you would expect of a Fairmont: breathtaking architecture appropriate for the location, plush interiors.

·         The housekeeping service was outstanding during my stay. They did absolutely everything right (replaced everything that was used, didn’t throw away anything not in the garbage). This sounds minor, but it is very rare to find these days.

·         The standard Fairmont towels, robes, teas and soaps were all present, providing the only tangible association with the luxury component of the hotel to be found in the guest rooms

·         Lots of activities from golf to horseback riding to kayaking available at the hotel.

 

Unfortunately, the bad outweighed the good by far in this case. The worst part of this facility is the complete and total lack of maintenance that has been performed on the guest rooms.  I have been in Super8s that have looked better. I won’t even mention the lack of air conditioning on an 80+ degree day and the ceiling fan that was incredibly slow, even on high. Instead, I will focus on: the entrance doors that were scratched up and down, both inside and out; the peeling paint; the peeling wallpaper; closet doors that didn’t open; the concrete steps that were falling apart to the point of being a safety hazard; the mold growing in the bathroom window (the only source of ventilation in the bathroom) and the decomposing wood on the window frame; the old carpets; and the layout of the room that caused numerous meetings between bed frame and shin, despite the room being a decent size. 

 

Other, more minor but still extremely disappointing experiences include:

·         The hotel was expensive, even for a Fairmont (the discount walk-in rate was 25% more than I was charged at the Chateaux Lake Louise – a nicer hotel - the day before).

·         The layout of the units is unduly complex. This is a lodge, not a hotel, and as such the rooms are spread among a collection of separate buildings (with stand-alone houses also available). Unfortunately, the roads are narrow and 1-way which makes loading / unloading and generally navigating the land less pleasant than it should be.  We had to unload our car in front of our unit, then drive 0.25km to get to the parking area.  To get from the parking area to the front of our unit, for loading, we had to go across the entire complex again.

·         Service was extremely poor. From the initial check-in ,where our introduction to the property was “Park here to unload your car, then drive to this parking lot when you are done.” (whatever happened to – “Do you need help with your luggage” or “Our lounge is open until 11”?), to the sprinklers in front of the unit (where we needed to load and unload our luggage ourselves, a rarity at Fairmonts) turning on and watering not only the grass, but also all of the walkways as we were trying to load our vehicle to leave before checkout, to the lack of paper delivery and not receiving a copy of the bill before checking out at the front desk in person, to the grounds staff driving over curbs to get around cars, to no-one bothering to ask how the stay was on checkout. Housekeeping excepted, the entire staff seemed completely unaware that they were working at what was supposed to be a luxury resort instead of a low-end motel.

·         Security clearly wasn’t a concern. There was no safe in the room and the use of actual keys instead of cardkeys means that room access cannot be tracked. Why are these standards not in place? 

·         The welcome note in the room was for someone else who was expected to check in the same day that we did – and it arrived, addressed to the wrong guest,  after we had already been in the room awhile.

·         Since all of the rooms are on the ground level, the curtains have to be drawn in order to prevent people from seeing into the room. Unfortunately, this also limits natural light in the room.

·         There was a loud, rowdy, and drunken group of people who passed outside of our open window (the only way to cool down the room) several times in the middle of the night and remained within earshot for several minutes each time. Not completely within the hotel’s control but not exactly the ambience expected at a Fairmont.

 

For this, people are expected to pay several hundred dollars a night? I certainly won’t ever do so again. This hotel is clearly not worth it.

 

Worse, it has made me seriously question the Fairmont brand – which until now I have always held in high esteem. The inclusion of this hotel in the chain makes me wonder which of my experiences have been the exception and which the rule...

 

 

Terence

 

City Escapes Nature Photography

 

B&B Review: Northside School Bed and Breakfast, Bonner’s Ferry ID

Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

 Date of visit: July 2010

 

This decent sized B&B (with 9 rooms for rent) on the north side of the city appears to have a lot going for it based on the web page, where the pages show a single picture of each of the rooms – showing well decorated rooms but without any indication of size.  B&B guests can enjoy a pool and hot tub, an after-dinner drink cart that is rolled out in the evenings, and a full breakfast in the mornings.  The building itself certainly has some historical charm and the Principal's Office room has a decent view over the city.  There are also nice gardens and a sitting area near the pool where you can sit out and enjoy the view.  

 

It should be noted that the rooms were up 3 flights of stairs, with no elevator, so it is not appropriate for people who are not able to easily traverse stairs.  Unfortunately, this disclaimer is not on the web pages.

 

The breakfast was a nice, if standard, B&B breakfast. It was, however, essentially self-serve, with a hot quiche brought out when you sat down and the rest of the food lined up buffet-style. Items that ran out were quickly replaced. This has the advantage that the owners can accommodate a range of breakfast times, and allows you to pick only the items and portions you want. While this set-up is uncommon for many B&Bs, I think it worked out pretty well for us.

 

In person, I was a little disappointed. While the proprietors seemed to go out of their way to make sure the boxes were checked (e.g. separate bathrooms - check , pool – check, breakfast – check, guest fridge - check), the quality of what was provided was not always at the level that I would expect for the price. For example, the guest fridge was a dorm-sized fridge that was shared among all of the guests, not one for each room, so it was hard to actually put drinks away; the towels and soaps provided were the same quality as one would find in a Motel 6, not a nicer hotel; and the room was not well stocked. There was no obvious place for standard items such as a spare roll of toilet paper (which we had to explicitly ask for since there wasn't enough left on the used roll). In addition, the proprietors were aloof and not as outgoing or friendly as most of the B&B owners I have met over the years. We certainly did not feel like we were welcomed into their home.

 

There were also minor maintenance issues with the room. Of particular concern was a screen missing from our window – which was the only way to cool down our room (there was no air conditioning, so the room was stifling hot on the 90+ degree day we were there). Having to keep the windows open all night also forced us to listen to the train coming through the city regularly – not conducive to a restful sleep. While central air may not be possible given the age of the building, window air conditioners would have been much appreciated and done a lot to alleviate our discomfort.   

 

The rooms were clean and average – although a little on the small side – however, the bathrooms were exceptionally tiny.  Beds were queen size, not king. Very few of the rooms had tubs; most had showers only. The sink area was so small it was impossible for 2 people to get ready at the same time - there was simply no room to put 2 people in that area. Definitely not an advantage when you are trying to get up and out.  The rooms were also not exactly as they appeared on the web. A major annoyance for me was that I had intentionally picked a room where the bed did not have a footboard (according to the web site photo). However, when we arrived, there was a footboard. This may not sound like a big deal, but since I hang over the bed several inches, it can really disturb my sleep.

 

Finally, there were some tacky aspects to our stay. For example, there was a tip envelope in the room for housekeeping – something I haven't ever seen in a B&B before – and most of the paintings in the hallways had prices on them. While I don't mind the pictures being for sale, it would have been nice to have that information in a single place and let the guests enjoy the pictures without making them feel as though they are overnighting in a gift shop. 

 

Overall, I would suggest shopping around a little before staying here. Prices at other nearby locations vary a lot, and it is likely that a better deal can be found elsewhere. If not, there are certainly worse places to stay. This is a middle-of-the road B&B in a place without a lot of other options, so it is definitely worth considering. I would stay here again in a pinch – but certainly not in the heat of summer, and only after considering other options.

 

Terence

 

City Escapes Nature Photography

 

Packing for Adventure Travel

 

After extensive experience packing for corporate meetings, and years of trips focused around our nature photography, I have come to the conclusion that it is almost impossible to truly pack light for photographic adventure travel. Clothing and personal effects are a miniscule component of the overall luggage that we take on our adventure trips. We bring multiple layers of clothing to deal with varied weather conditions while simultaneously reducing bulk, and make heavy use of quick-dry clothing, such as that produced by Ex-Officio, to reduce the number of outfits we need (e.g., typically no more than 3 shirts for a multi-week trip).  However, a successful trip requires being flexible and having the right gear easily accessible.  We always have hats, sunglasses, sunscreen, and at least a simple first aid kit (for our most extensive first aid kit, see the comprehensive first aid kit we used when we went to Tanzania). Depending on the type of activities we are planning, we could also be bringing snorkeling gear (mask, snorkel, fins, wetsuit), winter clothing (thermals, sweaters, gloves, parkas, snow boots), hiking gear (good boots, poles, refillable water bottles, bug repellant), rain gear (for us and our camera equipment), or any combination of the above.  All of this adds up quickly and we find that we will often be checking one moderately full bag each with just this. 

 

The real weight starts when we bring in the photography equipment. For domestic travel, we have a very large Pelican Case. It is an extremely useful container, because it is practically indestructible, is waterproof, and holds the equipment securely in place with customizable foam padding (important if you have ever watched a baggage handler toss / drop a box marked fragile).  You can also lock the case using TSA approved locks to prevent snooping – since Pelican Cases tend to attract attention. Finally, it comes with wheels and a handle that make moving it around, at least in the open, a lot easier than you would think.

 

This huge container will carry everything we typically bring, including our tripods, but can easily top the scales at about 70 pounds – more than most airlines will let you pack without an additional handling charge.  To get around that, we also have a LowePro Super Trekker backpack. This backpack is large enough to carry all of the lenses and camera bodies we need for a trip, including the large 600mm lens, and will fit in most overhead bins on the larger planes. We then check the tripods and monopods in our normal luggage.  If we are not taking our largest lens, we use a much smaller backpack from Tenba.  It is much easier to carry and maneuver, yet still holds all of our gear, including a tripod.   Note: while the Pelican Case is sturdy enough to adequately protect our gear when checked – and it is lockable --, we never check any backpacks containing camera equipment.  Though they may provide good protection for normal bumps and thumps, when it comes to our camera gear, we only subject hard-sided containers to the rigors of checked baggage.

 

What we bring on any specific trip depends a lot on the nature of what we expect to see and whether we will have a vehicle or will be carrying everything on our backs. Typically, for a longer trip, we bring the following items, and select a smaller subset to carry with us for day-trips:

-          Primary camera body (Nikon D300)

-          Backup camera body (Nikon D60)

-          Water- and shock-proof point and shoot camera (currently a Fuji – yes, we take snapshots, too, plus Jodi needs something that will survive her kayaking!)

-          Waterproof shoot-through dry-bag (note: we do not trust this bag enough to submerge it, but it works well to protect the camera and a smaller lens while shooting in wet, misty, or drizzly conditions)

-          Quick set-up tripod (QSX DigiPro 8500 with a Joby Ballhead)

-          Heavy-duty tripod (Gitzo tripod with a Wimberly head)

-          Monopod (Gitzo)

-          Nikon Nikkor 600mm lens

-          Nikon Nikkor AF VR  80-400mm  4.5-5.6 lens

-          Nikon Nikkor AF-S  18-200mm  3.5-5.6 lens

-          Quantaray  28-200mm  3.5-5.6 lens

-          Quantaray AF  19-35mm  3.5-4.5 lens

-          Nikon AF-S 1.7 Teleconverter (TC-17EII)

-          Quantaray 2X DG Teleconverter

-          Kenko Extension Tubes (12mm, 20mm, 36mm)

-          Nikon SB-600 Speedlight (flash)

-          Sekonic Flash Master L-358 Light Meter

-          Expodisc

-          Circular polarizing filter for each lens size (except the 600mm)

-          UV filter for each lens size (except the 600mm)

-          Graduated neutral density filters (Lee .3 and .6)

-          Solid neutral density filter (Lee .9)

-          Lee filter holder and lens attachment rings

-          Lumiquest Mini Softbox

-          Big Bounce light reflector

-          Two collapsible light reflectors

-          About a dozen memory cards

-          Cable release

-          At least 2 spare camera batteries (charged)

-          Spare AA batteries for light meter and speedlight

-          Sanho Hyperdrive Colorspace (for backing up memory cards; smaller and more convenient than a laptop)

-          Cell phone

-          Battery chargers for everything (including the phone) as well as power adapters

-          Double axis Spirit Level

-          Visible Dust Arctic Butterfly (for cleaning lenses)

-          Visible Dust Sensor Loupe

-          Lint-free towels

-          Lens cleaning fluid (note: if carrying my gear on a plane, this must be in my one-quart liquids bag)

-          Small multi-purpose tool (similar to a Gerber tool)

-          Small container of Krazy Glue

-          Gloves that can fold back to become fingerless

-          Bandana

-          Scrunchy and clips to pull back Jodi’s hair

-          Assorted Ziplock bags

-          Instruction manuals

 

 

 

Terence

City Escapes Nature Photography

http://www.cityescapesphotography.com/

Packing-light For Business Travel

 

All of the travel guides recommend it, and with airlines charging fees for checking bags, everyone is trying to do it – but how do you really pack light? Last year, I flew over 75,000 miles for business meetings and a thousand more for fun. When I travel for meetings, I never check luggage. I pack my carry-on bag and my personal item (laptop bag) and zip on and off the plane. Furthermore, I want my trips to be efficient and that means having everything I need – and some things I just want - close at hand.

 

Most of the time, I use a Costco brand carry-on bag which has several compartments to separate various items and fits in the overhead compartment on all except the smallest of planes.

 

In the large main bag, I pack:

·         Up to 5 shirts, underwear, handkerchiefs, and socks (less if I am staying fewer than 5 days)

·         1 pair pants

·         1 sweater if I am going somewhere cold

·         Electric razor

·         Toiletry bag containing

o   Cough drops

o   Pepto-Bismol, Claritin, Aspirin   

o   Sewing kits, Band-Aids, Q-tips

o   Travel towel, lint-free shoe shine towel

o   Small tape measure

o   Toothbrush, toothpicks, floss

o   Travel hair brush and comb

o   Deodorant

o   Prescription meds and vitamins

o   Breath mints

·         In the pockets, I keep

o   Hands-free cell phone headset and charger

o   Power chargers for my cell phone and camera

o   Small notepad

o   2 Power Bars

o   Thin magnifying card

o   Laundry detergent and fabric softener for 1 load, in Ziploc bag

o   A number of spare, clean Ziploc bags in varying sizes

o   A plastic laundry bag

·         Small point-and-shoot camera

 

In the front pouch, I pack

·         Travel umbrella

·         3 books

·         1 quart sized Ziploc bag with all of my liquids and gels (as mandated by TSA)

o   3 oz toothpaste, in refillable container (much more affordable than the travel sizes)

o   3 oz shampoo

o   2 oz hand sanitizer

o   Newskin liquid bandage, hand lotion, Neosporin, Chap Stick,

o   4 days worth of Dayquil and Nyquil gel caps

·         Snacks (either trail mix or beef jerky)

 

In the small front pockets I pack

·         Electrical tape (smaller than duct tape J )

·         Assortment of pens (different colors and a Sharpie)

·         Power Bar and a chocolate bar

·         Handi-wipes

·         Post-it notes

·         Batteries for headset

·         Breath mints

·         Business cards

 

In my laptop bag, I pack

·         Laptop & power supply

·         Security cable to tie down laptop

·         Wireless mouse and batteries (both AA and AAA)

·         Notepad

·         Power Bar, chocolate bar

·         Chocolate muffin

·         USB sticks, air-card (for network access over cell phone service)

·         Itinerary

·         Book (the one I am currently reading)

·         Business cards

 

I also use carabineers to clip on

·         A small Pelican Case containing my Bose noise-canceling headset and batteries

·         A refillable water bottle

 

That’s it. I wear my jacket and cell phone so I have easy access to them on the plane and they do not take up any space in the luggage. However, unlike those who truly pack the least amount possible, I have everything I need to handle bad weather, extended layovers, and minor problems such as a missing button.

 

For trips where I have to dress up, I switch to a garment bag instead of the carry-on and pack the suit and shoes instead of the sweater.

 

Clearly, this is not a small list – and I could eliminate many items if I had to (e.g., I really only need one sewing kit and probably don’t need the towel). However, it all fits in my carry-ons and I have ready access to anything I need. I have found that rolling clothes helps save room in the suitcase and allows for more items to be comfortably packed – I am not sure why, but it works well.

 

It would be easy to eliminate things you don’t think you will use on a given trip, but I find being prepared for the unexpected has advantages. You can also reduce the number of clothes you pack by using quick-dry clothing that you can wash in your sink. This tends to be relatively easy if you have access to water, however I only do that when I expect to be on the road for multiple weeks without easy access to a laundry (e.g. on our trip to Africa).

 

Of course, for adventure travel, or even trips where you need a variety of clothing options (e.g. from suits to hiking equipment), you will probably need to pack a broader variety of things and therefore check your luggage.  Otherwise, for standard business trips this should work fine.

 

With a little planning, you can enjoy your trips and keep your travel fees down!

 

Terence

City Escapes Nature Photography

 

P.S. – A Woman’s Perspective

 

As a woman and a photographer, I pack differently than Terence does.  For example, I have a greater variety of liquids that must fit into my one-quart bag, from conditioner and hair-styling products to sunscreen and liquid make-up items.  I also take such things as saline solution for my contacts (which does not have to fit into my one-quart bag, but will need special screening by TSA screeners), a hair dryer, a straightening iron, baby powder, etc.  These extra items do not mean, however, that I cannot also still get everything I need to fit into my two carry-on approved bags.  I simply have to be organized and discriminating about what I choose to bring, especially if I am also bringing my camera gear.  (My camera gear takes up a bag all on its own, leaving me with one carry-on sized bag in which to fit everything else.)

 

I often have to bring an extra pair of shoes, either dress shoes for a special occasion, or hiking boots for a shoot.  In order to save room in my suitcase, on the days I fly I choose to wear the biggest, heaviest pair of shoes I am bringing.  This often means that I am wearing my hiking boots on the plane.  Though my everyday slip-on shoes would be less hassle, I choose instead to opt for more room in my suitcase.  This does come at a price, of course: it is easier and faster to go through the security checkpoints at the airport wearing the slip-ons rather than my hiking boots.  Nonetheless, the extra time and effort is worth it to me.  Note, however, that many people make the exact opposite choice, Terence among them.  You will simply have to decide which works best for you.

 

Some people believe that it is impossible for a woman to carry everything she needs for a week-long trip in carry-on luggage, but I am here to say that such a belief is simply not accurate.  It may require a bit of time and planning to get it right, but it most certainly can be done.

 

 A special note on TSA and airline requirements:  all lithium batteries, regardless of size or purpose, must be included in your carry-on luggage; none may be packed in your checked bags.  On the other hand, no knives or multi-purpose tools may be included in your carry-ons; all must be checked.  I keep a multi-purpose tool in my camera bag.  Therefore, if I am traveling to a place where I cannot easily borrow one, I must either remember to remove the m-p tool from my bag, or check a bag with the m-p tool in it.  And, of course, any time that I take a full-sized camera tripod with me, I must check it.

 

Jodi