Traveling "minimalist" this time.

 

It's hard to pack for a photo excursion when you have a work agenda to tackle and client expectations to fulfill. Then, you have an almost compulsive desire to bring along everything you might even remotely want to use. And you have to figure out how to pack it, transport it, pay baggage fees to get stuff onto an airplane and then figure out ground transportation at the other end. I'm guessing that even though commercial photography can be fun that dealing with tons of gear is why they call it work. 

You're always trying to balance what you need with what your journey can handle. Too much and you might get weighed down and delayed at every step. Too little and your project might fail completely. "For want of a lithium battery a kingdom was lost."

But then there's the opposite. Traveling just for the pleasure of traveling. Photography just because you want to. Traveling without the burden of equipment logistics. Trips where a good dinner is as important as having time to play with making images. 

When I planned my upcoming trip to Montreal my first priority was getting a room on short notice at a hotel I've always wanted to stay at. It's a small property. A boutique hotel in the Old Town. I could have found a cheaper/less expensive place to sleep but this time I wanted to toss caution to the wind and go in lavish comfort. I didn't want to settle for a hotel that gets a nice, fat eight out of ten stars from customer reviews. I wanted a 9.9 out of 10. 

I have a list of places I want to dine in. Not the smoked meat, fine bagels and poutine list. While that fare might be fun and popular I was thinking of places with great wine lists, wonderful menus and creative chefs. I've already made several reservations. Having been to the neighborhood before my one happy nod toward rank tourism is a daily breakfast at Crew. Bagels beyond bagels. Great coffee (a given) and one of the most spectacular interiors ever imagined for a .... coffee shop. 

So, what to bring? Camera wise?

A quick and easy plan there. The new (to me) Leica M240 with the 50mm APO-Lanthar. And extra battery. The second camera is the Leica Q2. And two extra batteries. And that's it. Fits in a small Domke bag along with my phone, travel docs and a Kindle. Nice fault tolerant back-up.

Clothes? Whatever fits in my carry on case. If I misjudge the weather I look forward to buying some cool outerwear on the ground. 

It's weird to me that we no longer really need to bring paper money. Well, we do....but just for tips. Everywhere I go and everything I buy is set up to be paid for with credit cards these days. Just with credit cards. Only with credit cards. From coffee to cars. Such a change from the days of looking around for ATMs or the even older days of going into the American Express office to get travelers checks before departing. 

My client is lackadaisical this time around. I asked for a shot list and he laughed in my face. I talked about budgets and he scoffed. His one demand was that I spend my time on two pursuits. Having fun and taking photographs. So nice to be self-propelled. 

Just in case you were wondering about my plans for packing....

No itemized receipts required upon return.