Organizing a brief trip to another city to shoot a conference. Who knew there were so many details to attend?

 

The Eldorado Hotel. Santa Fe.

Never give a certain type of photographer too much time to plan a trip. They will research it to death. 

I'm heading to Santa Fe, N.M. in the middle of next month for a three day bank conference. I'm working for a client I really like and have worked with for nearly 30 years now. She mentioned my participation for this meeting way back in Spring of 2024 and confirmed it just after the start of this year. I put the dates in my calendar and ... immediately started worrying over details. 

The last time we did this conference in Santa Fe was 2022. I drove there then. That was a big mistake. Everyone says you can drive it in one day. I'll only agree that if you are 18 years old, high on speed and driving a Porsche GTS-R3 then...yeah. You can make it in one day. If you are, say 66 years old, driving a Subaru Forester and the most powerful drug you ever put in your system is coffee? Then no. It's a two day trip.

Better yet? You can now fly directly into Santa Fe on a real airline. It's no longer required to fly into Albuquerque, rent a car and drive for two hours. Nope, you can fly right in. I researched it. I booked my tickets back in January. There's a one hour stop at DFW. Not a big deal. 

The airlines seem to be anticipating declining travel numbers in the short term. Businesses are uncertain about things like tariffs and, well, basically the sanity of the people running the government. It's showing. American Airlines emailed today and offered to upgrade all of the legs of my flights in and out of Austin  and Santa Fe to first class seating for a fee that would just about cover dinner for two at a nice restaurant. First class buys you pre-boarding, a better seat and...most important of all, a dedicated overhead luggage space. Perfect for people traveling with delicate cameras. I jumped on the offer and didn't give it a second thought. 

For the last several months I've been trying to figure out exactly what gear to take. The flights into and out of Santa Fe are on smaller regional jets and I was operating under the idea that I'd be flying economy and that I needed to pack to make sure the cameras could fit under the seat in front of me. That's based on the premise that the overheads will be tiny and that no matter how I tried to game the boarding with my luck I'd end up near the end of the line and would have to hassle with whether or not I'd have to gate check cameras. And lenses. 

One month, back in 2018, I was working on an annual report job for a huge infrastructure company and I did 24 different flights, some round trips, over the course of 30 days. Most of the locations were in and out of rural areas where big planes didn't fly. I got really good at figuring out how to pack hard to break stuff to check into the bellies of planes and how to pack soft-sided camera bags that could be coerced to ride under the seat in front of me; if necessary. Those were the memories I conjured up as I approached packing logistics. 

And I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to safely bring along everything I wanted to have, from just in case to wouldn't that be nice to have? I'm pretty much locked in now. Then I found a solution that will allow me to bring everything I could ever imagine. Which is good because at last year's conference in a different city we needed extra lights, light stands, a tripod, and modifiers. Not stuff that fits into overhead compartments. 

No fun packing... but.... I remembered that the Austin-based event production company (lighting, sound and staging) that my client likes to use are people I have happily worked with in cities across the country and in places like Lisbon, Monte Carlo and Madrid. Really good guys who do mostly very high end production work. I called over to them last week and asked if they were sending a big truck to Santa Fe for the show. Yes indeed. They are. Could I toss in one medium-sized Pelican hard case? You bet! Just have it at our office by the 9th of April and we'll have it backstage at the hotel when you arrive. This allows me to pack a full complement of prime lenses, an extra flash, mountains of batteries and a second SL2-S body, along with accessories and cabling, and have it shipped free of charge right to my final destination. And back home again.

That means when I fly I only have to handle a much lighter camera bag with an SL2-S, the 24-90mm zoom, one flash and one Q2 camera. Oh, and my laptop. These will all fit in one manageable Domke shoulder bag which will ride on top of the roller case with all my clothing and toiletries in it as I march through the airports.

And now that I have upgraded to first class I could actually check two bags for free and also be assured that my roller case is flying close to me in the overhead space. 

My flight will leave before sunrise and I don't take chances so I'm driving myself to the airport at 4:30 in the morning. Way too early!!! But parking at the terminal can be time consuming and iffy so I've made a reservation for a covered parking space at one of the close-in private lots at the airport periphery. I've used them many times before and their shuttle will get me to the terminal fast. On the other end I have ample time to get a taxi. Or an Uber. 

I've upgraded all my production software on the laptop as well as all the firmware for the various cameras. In addition I'm meeting with my client for a lunch this week to discuss schedules, needed photos and other details. We do this each year before the show and it's helpful to know what's planned and to get a feel for the mood of the corporation. 

Every work camera will have two fast SD cards backing each other up and I'll be downloading to an outboard SSD and also to the internal SSD in the laptop each night of the conference. 

Now that I have more leeway in the luggage I'll also pack swim gear. You never know when a Santa Fe based friend might need an impromptu swim lesson....

None of this planning is my only focus on work. Last week, this week and the week after all have other projects booked in. But it's nice to have a plan, a plan "B" and a plan "C" just in case. Once I hit the hotel and grab the trucked in case the feeling of relaxation will be almost overwhelming. At that point my only worry will be getting the shots. And having fun shooting. 

Bit by bit a project comes together. It's so much easier these days when I'm not planning around a kid's soccer games or trying to figure out how to pre-pay for stuff out of a limited budget. The schedule is mine to plan around and the cash flow is no longer a worry. In fact, the most stressful part of almost every out of town trip these days is getting to the airport, getting seated on the plane and making those connections. Everything else?  I've practiced so many times it should be automatic. 

The only other logistics consideration is wardrobe. It's a banker conference. Very high end. Coat and tie. Shiny shoes. Pressed shirts. Unwrinkled pants. More than one jacket. But, again, this is not my first rodeo. I've practiced the wardrobe thing with U.S. presidents and Fortune 100 CEOs. It's the same basic plan. Dress conservatively, plan for plan B and lean on the hotel for needed pressing and dry cleaning. And if the shoes get scuffed...get them shined. 

Love the Eldorado Hotel. It's a great business destination. That's all I've got for today.