Travelling with photo gear

[Mike McCarty]

Hello John,

First I would like to congratulate you on your self portrait on your web site. That is really good stuff.

I shoot in natural light exclusively, however, I would concede that some of the scariest times I've had were arriving on foreign soil not knowing what I would find as far as quality of light (direction, location and size of windows etc.) and background.

I think that having and understanding an artificial light set up could reduce the stress considerably in these circumstances.

[Marvin Mattelson]

I travel with two heads (not counting the one on my shoulders) and a power pack produced by Comet, a Japanese company. The size is quite small so I can fit them in my carry on luggage. Without good lighting there can't be good painting.

[Chris Saper]

My experience is greatly limited, but here are my thoughts at the moment:

1. Carry on what you can't do without: camera, printer, printer paper and tripod(s) There are some very tiny portable printers that can connect either to the digital camera with Pict-Bridge technology, or take a chip directly.

For film, you have to find a local procesor anyway.

It made me nervous to have to depend on the hope that I could find a near-by image processor, that wasn't waiting for repair, or had a back up in the schedule.

I take two tripods, one for camera and one for light, if necessary. two bulbs of any type I think I might use.

2. The reflector shell fits into virtually any size suitcase. I have a background system by Giotto, with a carry case, two 12' ( I think) tripods, and a 3-bar system for backdrop. I put a reflector umbrella in the carry case along with the tripods.

My camera, printer and paper fit into my purse, and I believe that the tripod case will meet travel requirements, though I haven't yet tested this.