It's been a couple of years since I traveled extensively for business. I think back to the Fall of 2018 when I did something like 18 round trips around the USA working on an annual report. Trips that took me from high up in the Virginia mountains one day and into the heat soaked Florida Everglades the next.
Those trips were planned for the ultimate efficiency in getting time on the ground during the daylight hours for shooting. And, when traveling in and out of small airports on small planes, the turnaround times and luggage restrictions were quite a bit to juggle.
One had to pack for multiple climates and with the knowledge that you might need both dress shoes and waterproof boots in the same day, along with a cold weather wear and also sunscreen and a sun protective hat.
When it came to camera gear I needed to pack enough stuff to be able light subjects in different environmental conditions and I needed to bring enough back-up great to keep the job from going south if we lost, damaged or otherwise destroyed a light, a camera or a lens. Or all three. We also needed light stands, modifiers and a tripod. And batteries. Lots and lots of batteries.
I'm used to being highly strategic and pretty tightly wound on work trips and that makes it hard to unwind and be relaxed about vacation travel such as we'll be embarking on in the next few days.
We're flying on big planes and in both directions there is only one stop (darn it! Air Canada had a direct from Austin to Vancouver but only during "high" season --- not when I want to use it...). I keep trying to get it through my head that if we miss a connection the bottom won't fall out of a "once in a lifetime" job. Nothing bad will happen. No clients will be lost. There's very little on a vacation trip that can't be solved with the application of credit card magic.
B. is a great, calm and relaxed traveler at all times. I am her polar opposite but I'm trying as hard as I can to channel her travel mentorship. We booked a top rated hotel in the middle of the area we identified as the absolute best location. We booked good seats. We don't have a budget we're trying to hit. There's no huge project looming over me when we get back home. And then... there's packing.
B. is petite. Her shoes are smaller so she gets to take two pairs. Her clothes are smaller so her bag can hold more quantity. She's convinced me to try and get everything I'm bringing into one regulation carry on bag. She has already demonstrated her ability to pack the identical model of Osprey luggage with room to spare. I'm struggling because I wanted to bring more shoes, more variation in weather gear, etc.
She laughs at me because I can walk into a store and buy everything I might need off the rack. She insists that I don't need "back up" anything because if I find the lack of something that didn't make it into a suitcase I can buy said product just about anywhere.
I just finished re-packing clothes for the third time. I tossed out the second pair of hiking boots and one layer of insulation. We won't even see weather under freezing; if the forecasts are correct. But we've got enough SmartWool to open an REI outlet.
Cameras for B. are simple. Walk out to the studio. Find the Sony RX100 in a drawer. Grab the two extra batteries and the charger. Insert the 16GB SD card. Set menu. Charge batts. Toss in suitcase. Done.
Me? I've made a whole ordeal of it. Too many choices, for sure. Just when I think I've narrowed it down I turn and look at a shelf and think, "Maybe I should go the other direction and pull out that old Deardorf 8x10 that's been sitting around unused for 20 years. I wonder if there's enough time to order 100 sheets of black and white film.... And how would I pack it?"
I think I've made my final choice but I won't mention it right now because I don't want to jinx it and open myself up to a whole new episode of, "which camera and lens is the magical one?" Again.
Let's just say that I've got one camera picked out and one lens. I've got three batteries total. I've never packed this small. But as one wag told me in an email: "Don't worry if you mis-packed and now regret your choices. There are three Leica dealers in the Vancouver area." Instant comfort zone.
One more post tomorrow... unless I have to re-pack...
27 comments:
I wish I had only one camera, one lens it would make photography so much easier. I compliment B. on a great strategy for taking photographs. I have 3 systems each with an assortment of lenses and I struggle just to get out the door with a choice of what system to bring. FF, APSC, m4/3 yikes should I just sell everything and get back to basics, OMG. Kudos to anyone out there that has simplified their camera system and just enjoys the process of taking photos.
You made me laugh Mr.T. This would make a great Monty Python skit.
Eons ago when I worked for the Canadian Feds I spent the better part of 10yrs travelling around the country ... anywhere from a few days to three weeks. After a few months of doing that, you learn to pack efficiently. I still do. But here's the thing, I absolutely HATE unpacking! I have no idea why, but there it is. My wife used to unpack whenever I got home form a trip.
If you need emergency camera assistance, your best bet is Broadway Camera. They are an easy cab ride from downtown and the Broadway store is their head office so you should be able to get anything you need there.
Hope you have an EXCELLENT visit to my town.
JohnW, So looking forward to the sunshine and warm walks on beaches, etc. Surfing?
kidding. We're coming for the weather... in a good way.
Peter Komar, I obviously feel your pain about too many choices..... Same.
I have traveled a lot in my career and what I was guilty of was packing too much. I never wore everything I packed and Im finally at age 78 confident in the fact that with the few things I now pack I'll make do, maybe not the nice vest I wanted or the shirt and pants I really wanted to bring, but I wore what I had and had a great time not missing what I thought I should have taken. It's sort of like taking one camera and one lens and how much better it feels to head out and make do with what you have. Have a blast, ride a bike around Stanley Park and enjoy the amazing food that is available in Vancouver.
I second Stanley Park... wonderful place for a walk or bike ride. FYI, there are many places nearby that rent bikes by the hour.
Something slightly off the beaten path, if you two are interested: UBC campus has a small but neat museum of First Nations art, including some carvings. It is in a beautiful part of the campus too, and the campus itself is in a nice setting. If you happen to be nearby, check out the museum. Regardless, have a fun trip.
Ken
My wife and I spent a wonderful day walking all around Stanley Park. One of the highlights of our trip to Vancouver. When we come back-it will be because of that wonderful day walk-- we will do that again.
I started to send to my friends/relatives 1 picture of the day as a picture postcard- just a picture via email (bcc: to all) no comment no long explanation, no bragging, no lamenting .. just 1 image a day,
Hope you post a picture a day no post nothing but 1 picture for the day.
Enjoy your time away
I once traveled a lot and as much as I could, carried-on. Now I don't, at least when I go to big airports. The last time I flew to LA, and last week to NYC, my checked bags were waiting when I made it to baggage claim. Things have gotten much better, the computers have gotten much better, at least in some places. (I have a Delta App that now tells me, "Your bags have been loaded on your plane.") Now I check, and don't have to drag bags all the way through the airport. I have learned at least two other things: (1) hotels will launder your clothes. If you're staying somewhere for a week, you need to take only three days of clothes, and not only that, you always look freshly pressed, instead of winkled; and (2) Fed-Ex. I always buy stuff when I travel, usually heavy stuff, like books. For a few bucks (OK, 20 or 30) you can Fed-Ex your dirty clothes home. Or the books.
Kirk
As someone who travels heavy for pleasure vs. business, listen to B.
One rain shell is enough, you don’t need more. Plus, constraint fosters creativity.
I will second visiting Stanley Park. The best view of the Vancouver skyline is there, day or night.
Have fun!
PaulB
Have a great trip Kirk! Welcome to Canada 🇨🇦 Maybe in the summer Calgary 😉
Eric
Kirk,
Have a great time on your trip. Connie & I always travel with just max carry-on size backpacks, and that includes weeks in Europe, or our upcoming trip to Florida and 45 days of cruising in the Caribbean and the Panama Canal. We do laundry as needed and don’t worry about wearing the same set of clothes multiple times over the course of a vacation. At most I bring one camera with 2 lenses. It all works out well.
Steve B
To follow up on my earlier comment, as others have noted, Stanley Park is beautiful any time of the year - though especially in the spring and summer - but the forecast for the coming days is mostly rain. So here are a few more alternatives, although you probably already know what you want to do / see: the very walkable neighborhood around False Creek; Granville Island; Capilano suspension bridge and the park around it; and Grouse Mtn. ski resort, which is directly above the city and has spectacular views from its restaurant (which you should be able to get to without needing to ski). Have fun!
Ken
You worry too much. Fact is, nobody cares what old farts wear, nobody's looking anyway.
To get yourself in the Vancouver mood, listen to some Tom Cochrane music. Bon voyage.
Hi Kirk, I lived in Vancouver for several years. Unfortunately, you are headed to the rainiest part of Canada during their rainiest season just as the climate change is sending atmospheric rivers of moisture from Hawaii to the BC coast. Pack a snorkel, Kirk.
"Fact is, nobody cares what old farts wear, nobody's looking anyway."
Maybe it's the other way around. No one seems to care because old farts dress like crap. What if we flipped the cliché and dressed well. And then what if we got noticed in a good way?
And, yes. I do worry too much. It's just my nature.
Lucky you, heading to one of the most photogenic places on earth.
Been there twice, loved it at first sight. Have friends there. Suggest you take the tram to the top of Grouse Mountain (4,000 feet) for the view of views. Get dinner up there and enjoy the twinkling of the city lights way below you.
On my last trip it was cloudy the first 4 days, and then late in the day the clouds magically parted and there was a to-die-for view of the nearby snow-covered-mountains bathed in pink light, a vision of heaven...
I will also never forget one day on my first trip where something wonderful would happen and I'd think "It can't get any better than this..." but it kept doing so all day long, finishing at the top of Grouse Mountain having dinner under the stars with a bunch of friends. Bring a jacket, it is 14 degrees cooler at 4,000 than at sea level.
FYI if you hit the traffic lights right, it is theoretically possible to get from downtown to the top of the mountain in about 20 minutes, courtesy of the tram. The mountains are right there.
–I highly recommend Banyan Books, a remarkable bookstore devoted to spiritual topics.
–Canadian people are very friendly, except when they play hockey, so don't play hockey with them!
I would go back there in a second...
Any camera will do, you are in Vancouver, point it somewhere!
Bon voyage, Kirk!
Do you still have your X100v? Perfect travel camera IMHO.
Also I feel your pain on packing. I'm pretty adamant about one bagging it but as a big guy it is can be challenging to fit everything in.
I hope you have an amazing journey.
As a 50yr. Vancouverite, welcome and enjoy your trip. True, the start of the rainy season came on October 17 (after 3 months of ZERO rain) but there is still lots to see and do. Walking and biking in Stanley Part, around Granville Island and Kitsilano, along Commercial Drive (for a bit of funk) and around UBC and Jericho is great even with some rain. Restaurants and coffee shops abound; try one of the JJ Bean chain for coffee and a couple of the truly hundreds of sushi places.
We've only taken carry-on for our last 40 trips or so except when going to the Arctic or Antarctic. Last month we went to Iceland, Germany and Ireland for nearly a month and a carry-on was more than enough. Plus a camera bag. Since we were going to attend the Leica International Society (formerly LHSA) convention in Dublin a Leica had to come along, with three lenses and my current usual travel m43 camera(s) with 4 lenses all in a fairly small if heavy case, plus a lot of wiring.
Talking about camera stores is a bit depressing. The three main contenders are: Beau Photo; more professionally oriented and where you go if interested in film or in other outré stuff, Kerrisdale Cameras with a small selection of used items plus new, and Broadway Cameras which are our main Leica dealer as well as the other bigger names. They rarely have anything that's really interesting, though.
what henning said! i recommend carry-on only! but who knows you might have good luck with your checked luggage, it is a bit of "spin the wheel hope for the best" :-) affair when i comes to travelling with checked bags these days
Well are you packed yet? I have the same issues, taking to much stuff, it makes it hard to pack so you have to pack and unpack until you get it right. Or so you think. I know the mind set. Then realize I have to much, dare I say it? Stuff. Then trying to figure out how to fit all the camera gear you own into 2 Domke bags or better yet a steamer trunk with 3 layers.
The answer, I think, maybe to travel back in time to your younger years when less was better. When the trip and the images were the most important along with having as much fun, yes fun as possible. When less was better. Having to many possessions confuses the mind, and make decisions to difficult. At least for me.
Food for thought
Have fun
Roger
Minor note: as a long-time fan and appreciator of both your writing, your photography, and your perspectives on so many things - and also, more to the point, of the occasional vacation or trip photographs you have posted - I think among my favorites were several series which you did with the Pentax K-1. What you did with that camera was rather magical or entrancing in moments. I can only imagine that whatever you do with whatever camera and or lens lenses you take with you, will be equally intriguing.
And to further muddy the waters with idle, unsolicited speculation - I've appreciated your occasional forays into Fujifilm X100v territory - and can't help wondering whether an X100v, in a large jacket pocket, might not be a rather ideal travel camera.
Have fun!
My OCOLOT (one camera one lens one trip) is my A73R and Tamron 28-200 ƒ/2.8-5.6. Surprisingly capable and affordable and, for what it is, compact.
Arg
Sigma fp and one lens, no doubt!
Nice site
Gee no updates. I guess Kirk and B are having a great time or they are both frantically treading water, what with all the rain that has been falling on Vancouver.
I suspect it's the former.
Let's have a poll. Chime in with what you think Kirk took for a camera and lens.
I vote for the Leica CL and a MF 35mm lens.
I think he took an S5 and that new 40mm. That’s my guess.
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