{"id":4765,"date":"2011-01-13T12:12:34","date_gmt":"2011-01-13T16:12:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/?p=4765"},"modified":"2011-01-13T12:12:34","modified_gmt":"2011-01-13T16:12:34","slug":"the-art-of-packing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/4765\/the-art-of-packing\/","title":{"rendered":"The Art of Packing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ArtOfTravel\"
\nThere\u2019s an art to packing. Practice it with care. You\u2019ll get better every time you do it. Learning this art will help you make the most of any photographic expedition and enjoy it more.
\nDo pack the essentials. Don\u2019t pack too much. Traveling with too much is hard to handle, tiring, and can be costly. Less is more \u2013 up to a point.
\nClothing<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s tempting to bring too much clothing. Bring only versatile essentials. Find light, washable, quick-drying, versatile clothing you can walk or go to a casual dinner in. Find out ahead of time what kinds of laundry services will be available during your trip and plan to use them \u2013 frequently. Bring a good pair of light waterproof hiking boots. Dress shoes don\u2019t work when you\u2019re walking in the wilderness. Bring sun protection; sunscreen, hat, and sunglasses. Unless you\u2019re traveling in a desert, bring waterproof rain shells (jacket and pants). If you\u2019re likely to be in cold situations (early mornings or snow), bring light gloves, hat, long underwear, and a warm light sweater or pullover. If you\u2019re going to be in an arctic or alpine environment bring two pairs; staying dry is key. Leave the big ski parkas and pants home. Layers rule.
\nBags<\/strong>
\nThe right bags can make journeys easier. Wheels save you an enormous amount of wear and tear. Make sure your camera and\/or computer bag fits under an airplane seat or in overhead compartments. (I use LowePro MiniTrekker and Roadrunner bags.) If you\u2019re flying on small airplanes to more remote regions, check weight limits and take them seriously. Check your clothes; carry your gear. Avoid checking your gear; it can get damaged or stolen. If you\u2019re ever forced to check your gear, carry on one camera and lens around your neck. I travel with one larger camera bag and one small backpack. I carry on the camera bag and pack the backpack in my checked baggage. Once I\u2019m in the field, I walk with my small backpack carrying only the things I need for that location \u2013 camera, cards, extra battery, two lenses, water, power bar. (I always pack power bars, for morning when breakfast is light or late or mid afternoon when my fuel reserves can get low.) I also pack an extra duffle bag, just in case I need to check an extra bag \u2013 it comes in handy for laundry too.
\nCameras and Lenses<\/strong>
\nAlways carry a backup camera. If one is damaged or stolen, you\u2019ll still be able to shoot with the other. It\u2019s convenient (but not necessary) if the two cameras you carry are the same. That way you\u2019ll only need to carry one set of accessories, like batteries, chargers, cords, etc.
\nYour choice of lenses is important. Lenses help you make the most of many situations. I travel with lenses for three ranges \u2013 wide, medium, and long. I rarely walk with all three lenses. To decide which lenses to take, I first look at the location and decide whether I\u2019m most likely to work wide (close environments) or long (wide open spaces), take the appropriate lens, and a medium lens for versatility. All of my lenses are zooms, providing extra versatility. (Canon 16-35mm, 28-135mm, and 100-400mm) Lens shades are important. Polarizing filters are the most useful filters.
\nDust and Moisture<\/strong>
\nProtecting your equipment from moisture and dust is a significant concern. I pack all of my lenses and cameras in sealable plastic bags. (I use Ziplocs.) I store them in them, whenever I\u2019m not using them. I never put my gear away wet. Pack a small cloth to wipe down equipment that does get damp. If you\u2019re likely to shoot in rain or snow consider using a rain cover for your camera. (I use\u00a0 Aquatech\u2019s.) Bring a sensor cleaning system. (I use Visible Dust products.) Dust happens. It\u2019s a lot more efficient to remove it in the field than in post-processing.
\nStorage<\/strong>
\nHaving the right media to store your images is important. It\u2019s worth investing in a few large media cards so you don\u2019t run out of storage to shoot with in the field. (I use SanDisk 32GB CF cards). At the end of each day, I download onto one portable hard drive and backup to a second.. (I use LaCie 1TB Rugged drives.) When I fly, I pack one in my suitcase and carry one with me at all times. You might also consider carrying a large capacity thumb (32GB plus) drive with you at all times. Put your 5 star images on it. What if your hard drives were lost or stolen? You can replace equipment, but you\u2019ll never be able to replace your images.
\nCustoms<\/strong>
\nGetting all your gear through security and customs is rarely a problem. That said, in any security situation where my equipment is being screened I take as many precautions as practical to ensure equipment doesn\u2019t fall out of a bag or bin and isn\u2019t dropped when it\u2019s handled. Clearing customs can be more problematic in some countries than others. Do a little research on the web and determine if a carnet (an official government document proving ownership) is recommended. Even if it\u2019s not, I always travel with a copy of my insurance policy that lists my equipment and the serial numbers of each piece.
\nBefore you travel, take the time to get organized and be prepared. You\u2019ll make better photographs and enjoy traveling more too.
\nLearn more\u00a0in\u00a0my digital photography workshops.<\/a><\/strong>
\nView my webinar\u00a0The Art Of Travel here.<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

View my Equipment Packing List here.<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

View my Clothes Packing List here.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Find out about the tools I use here.<\/a><\/strong>
\n\"Gear_Guide_425\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s an art to packing. Practice it with care. You\u2019ll get better every time you do it. Learning this art will help you make the most of any photographic expedition and enjoy it more. Do pack the essentials. Don\u2019t pack too much. Traveling with too…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[2197,1005],"tags":[2194,496,1212,2195,26,281,2196,1214,611,1344,2074,2198,889,2199],"post_folder":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Art of Packing - John Paul Caponigro<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/4765\/the-art-of-packing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Art of Packing - John Paul Caponigro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There\u2019s an art to packing. Practice it with care. 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