Today’s Post by Joe Farace
“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta
One mistake that many photographers make is trying to cram all of their equipment into one bag. They start by analyzing the sizes of their gear, checking camera bag specifications and then buying the one bag that will hold it all—only to find they can’t pick it up!
The Two Bag System
When I was doing more traveling, one of my mentors shared his two-bag system for travel photography with me. There are few “secrets” in photography, so it should come as no surprise that the common denominator for his choice of lenses was zooms. His goal in lens selection for travel photography was to provide a seamless selection of focal lengths within the range he likes to work in. His standard camera bag was the Billingham Hadley Pro and he has two: a black one and a sadly no longer available sage (green) one. The black bag was his secondary bag, while the green was his primary bag.
How I Made this Photograph: A touristy shot made during my only trip to Japan with a touristy camera and lens—a Canon EOS Digital Rebel with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens. Exposure was 1/320 sec at f/11 and ISO 200.
Here’s how he accomplished this with Bag #1. Your own favorite focal length range may be different: The bag held a Canon DSLR with battery grip, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM*, EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM and EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM. This focal length range of all the lenses encompasses the essence of what he prefers for photographing while traveling. Since travel photographers don’t always use natural light, the bag also contained a Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT for fill light and when he was shooting under conditions that demanded a little extra light.
In Bag Number Two
The second bag includes a back-up DSLR and lenses that fit a category some might call specialized. In his case, this was an EF 85mm f/1.8 USM, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM and Canon MR-14EX II Macro Ring Lite. And make no mistake, these bags were still heavy when full.
One of the advantages of having a simplified camera bag system for travel is that it’s easier to keep your equipment close to you. One of the best security measures you can take to prevent potential theft is to have your bag on your body when shooting. Storing equipment inside any vehicle is almost always an invitation to theft. If you absolutely must do it, one of the things you can do to mitigate any possible theft is to make it impossible to see the gear from outside your vehicle. Keep equipment out of sight under a cover or in a (locked) trunk. Tinted glass for your automobile can be a good idea and so is a burglar alarm but neither will scare a determined thief. The main security advantages of this two-bag system is to keep it simple and keep it with you.
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