I wanted someone to tell me what to bring, what matters and doesn't matter, and probably most importantly, what NOT to bring.
I wanted to have an enjoyable experience without bringing multiple cameras, multiple lenses, multiple filters, and multiples of anything that I didn't need multiples of.
If this post helps you, I'm glad. I think you will at least get some valuable ideas from reading through my lists of what I brought and what changes I'll be making for the future.
If you want to make travelling with your camera fun, I recommend the following:
- Keep your camera kit simple
- Keep your camera kit lightweight
- Use a versatile lens
- Know your camera before you leave
- Understand how to use exposure compensation + / -
- Practice with your flash settings before you leave
- Lose yourself in your new surroundings, not in the amount of equipment you brought with you!
The Gun Fighter
You need to think of your camera setup like a Gun Fighter: The instant you see your target, you need to be able to draw quickly, and fire accurately.
Living Gun Fighters are not struggling to get their pistol out of the holster. They are not changing bullets after drawing their weapon. They are not fiddling with the rear-sights or changing the trigger-pull. Living Gun Fighters are the essence of economy in motion. Simple, smooth and repeatable = SPEED.
As I'll explain briefly below, targets can be fleeting due to a variety of factors depending on where you are vacationing. If you are in a national park with few people around, then these may not considerations for you and your setup will be different. Each situation is different. I am NOT a professional photographer.
Professionals probably don't struggle with the types of things I list below because they have better strategies. However, I will say that most of the cameras that I saw attached to human beings were not in the hands of professional photographers. They were humble photographic folk like me on the trip of a lifetime and they just wanted to get some nice photos.
Crowds. In Madrid, Barcelona, Rome and Florence you will be dealing with crowds. You cannot get away from them while doing any of the attractions. If you are travelling in any type of a group, and even if you are by yourself, you will only have a few moments to capture a shot. Why?
Guided Tours. There are a lot of guided tours being done. You may be part of one. Whether you are in one or not, you will have to work with that reality. These tours move from one exhibit to the next, or one key vantage point to the next. Anywhere from 4 to 25+ people can be in a group. Therefore, the opportunity to get an unobstructed shot from the angle that you want, and from the distance you want, can be a real challenge. There were times that I had to wait 5 minutes or more for the crowds to clear, and even then, I wasn't completely happy with the shot.
Also, if you are in a group you have a choice - listen to what is being discussed (afterall, you did pay for this), or take photo's. The tradeoff is to take photo's and listen to as much as possible. You will be chasing behind the group a lot, but that's life. What that means is that many of your shots are going to turn into "snap-shots" instead of masterpieces. You only have a brief window of opportunity to get the shot. Don't hesitate!
Positioning. There are lots of people at each site. Jostling to the preferred positions is just part of the hunt. Try being at the Trevi Fountain in Rome as the sun is going down and the fountain lights are coming up. There is probably a million dollars of camera gear in a basketball court sized area.
Overload. There is too much to see and not enough time. You just can't photograph everthing.
After the first 2 days, I reconciled myself to this reality and made the best of it! Don't worry, be Happy!
A couple of strategies that I found helpful:
- Take the shot. I'm not Michaelangleo. It may not be perfect. It's OK.
- Get queued up for the best positions and wait behind a photographer or two. All of us photographers want the same thing and we are all in the same position.
- While you are waiting, take practice shots and get your exposure, aperature and other settings squared away. You will be dealing with a lot of high-contrast enviroments. Make your photographic decisions while you are waiting, check your settings, histograms, etc. Be ready so that when you step up and take your shot, you are the model of efficiency.
- The above step is important because your family, along with the tour guide, is now half a block away and you will be running to catch up with them! When it's 90F you'll be happier running less.
- Exposure Compensation. Get a good book on exposure and read it. You will be dealing with a lot of interesting contrast situations at the attractions. You will not always be in a position to change your position (other than a couple of steps one way or the other, and zoom in or zoom out). This will create problems that your camera can have trouble dealing with. You will need to make decisions about how to get the "best" exposure. If you have a little knowledge about those + / - buttons, then you and your camera can team up and make a pretty good team. Knowing how to use those little + / - buttons on your camera can really help!
- Museums: I'm trying this and we'll see how it works. Most museums do not allow photography. Therefore, I looked through the postcards after the tour, found 1 or 2 of the key pieces that really resonated with me and purchased them. I plan on scanning them in at home and adding them to my photo album when I print it out. Since it's only for my personal use, I think I'm alright. It's just sitting on the coffee table in my living room....
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