June 4, 2007
Morocco!
I've never really written about photography... or at least introduced my kit to you guys... so here's one just for kicks.
Some friends and I are doing a trip this Saturday to Morocco... and I'm really looking forward to taking of my camera gear out on the road! Over the last two years I've begun to really enjoy my photography, and I've even managed to sell a few photos, some as stock photos to travel books, and some to people at the LSE.
So on to a description of the photo:
Anticlockwise from the top:
1) Crumpler Pyjama Pride backback with Camera enclosure.
2) Lowepro S&F Waistbelt, with sliplock cases for my lenses.
3) Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens with hood (My walkaround lens)
4) Canon EF 70-200 f/4 L IS USM Lens with hood (For longer, telephoto(ish) shots)
5) Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 IS USM Lens with hood (Wide angles)
6) Canon EOS 30D Body, with a 50mm f/1.8 II Prime Lens and hood (Portraits, low-light)
7) Velbon Maxi 347GB Tripod (Great for travel)
8) Big arabic sign that says "I am going to Morocco". (Sold separately and not included with kit.)
9) (Not shown) Canon Powershot S2IS point and shoot camera.
10) (Not shown) My laptop which has Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop CS3 loaded on it.
This to me is an almost perfect travel kit. Some of it of course is second hand..., but even if I did hit the lottery, I don't know if I'd really change my behaviour that much by buying different lenses. I might swap my 17-85mm lens for a two lenses that are faster and cover that range (like the 17-55 f/2.8 L and the 24-105 f/4 L).
Actually flying with this stuff can be a real pain in the ass. The key to getting through the airport in one piece without destroying your lenses is to carry them in a backpack. My Crumpler is excellent at that. The camera compartment is perfect for travel, and comes off easily. So when I reach my destination, I leave the camera shell at home and use the backpack for regular day to day stuff like water bottles, jackets, guidebooks, maps. etc. My camera kit switches over to the wasitbelt and pouches, which form a snug fit around my hips. In all, it's a pretty reasonably priced solution to an annoying travel problem.
The tripod goes into check-in luggage during travel, and then fits on the tripod attachment to my Crumpler bag when I'm walking around. It's an excellent option for travel photographers that cannot afford to carry the more heavy (though more sturdy) Manfrottos.
Lastly, I always carry my point-and-shoot for emergencies and the occasional video shot I might take, as well as my laptop to look over photos (my equivalent of morphine when the blisters on my feet are so painful I dream of amputations). Sometimes it's nice to work on photos when you still remember what you saw as you composed the photo. Cameras never reproduce the whole range of colours as you saw them, and Lightroom/Photoshop does a bloody good job of coming close to it. I always shoot in the RAW format, and then work on my photos as and when I get time.
I'm back from Morocco on the 14th... and have some good/bad news to share with everyone... so check in with me next week to see if there's anything new!
Until then... Masalama!
Posted by
vinayak on Jun 4, '07 at 9:48 PM | Permalink
Comments
can we make bets on what the good/bad news is? I think there have been many hints on this page .... :-)
Posted by: dave at June 11, 2007 3:24 PM
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