You are out in the wilderness photographing wildflowers and a deer walks by. Do you have the right equipment to be ready for whatever comes your way? Are you ready for any kind of weather? How do you work around the light when the light isn’t cooperating?
There is a lot more to taking your camera on the road than just packing right. We have advice on what to take with you when you go, specific equipment for nature photography and the right light techniques and equipment to get the dream photographs you want.
We also highly recommend you check out our Planning for the Road articles and the series for the traveling photographer called Know Before You Go.
There is a lot of confusion over the new high threat risk advisory and recent arrests in Britain of terrorists. Let's look at the specifics.
Expect Long Delays and Multiple Security Inspections
No matter where you are traveling, but especially at international hubs, expect double to triple waiting times as you are processed through security. Two hours [...]
If you are a photographer in the UK, there is now a UK Photographers Rights Document available in PDF form to guide you through the ins and outs of the laws and restrictions of photography in England.
The UK Photographers Rights PDF is intended to provide a short UK guide to the main legal restrictions on [...]
You know, when they predicted that technology would make our life easier, and that wireless would free us from the cords and cables and walls, I cheered. Now that modern technology and wireless is here, I have more wires, cords, plugins, cables, and needs for electrical sockets than ever before!
Switching to digital cameras only adds to the number of black snakes and huge black boxes, called "transformers", I have to haul around. They certainly don't transform my life. They add to the weight and clutter that haunts my computer and photography moments.
Taking your camera on the road means:
Let's see if we can untangle some of the dodads we carry with us when we go, before we go.
Today's traveling photographer who has embraced the world of digital technology doesn't need to worry about film going through airport security scanners or expiring. All they have to worry about is storage space.
That's right, storage space. Once limited to 36-38 photographs on a roll of film, digital photographers can now take hundreds of pictures without "changing the roll" so to speak. The roll is the digital storage medium inside of the camera. It does have it's limits.
The current digital camera storage media consists of the Memory Stick, Compact Flash, SD Memory Card, Smart Media Card, XD-Memory and Multimedia Card, though others are coming out all the time. They come in a variety of storage sizes, from 32 megabytes to one or two gigabytes and soon even larger. Depending upon the image resolution and format choices you make, your image size may vary from 1 megabyte to tens of megabytes, or even larger. How many images you can fit on the storage media is part of the new math.
In theory, at 2 MB per image, a 512K storage card should hold 256 images. Ah, but it doesn't. You don't get the whole 512K of space. There are other files sitting on the storage media and then there is "space" between the files that adds to the numbers. In general, if you get 200-240 images on a 512K card, you did well. If you are a serious professional photographer selling your images, you will be shooting at higher resolutions, so each image may range from 4 MB to 15 MB or maybe larger. That same 512K card is looking pretty small now.
We look at the different options for digital photograph storage so you know before you go how to store those images on the road.
The US and many countries require or recommend specific immunizations before traveling to or from specific areas. You can find information for the US's policies for the US State Department, the UK Government, and in Canada's Medical Services. Some countries require an International Health Certificate verifying your immunizations and health, available from your doctor.
For travelers with specific medical conditions, make sure your prescriptions are up-to-date and carry adequate supplies with you. Include your doctor's prescription and possibly a letter authorizing your use and transport of these medications, especially if you carry a large quantity (so they know you aren't going to sell them). If you require a specific medicine, check with the country's consulate to find out if you can get the prescription filled with your own doctor's prescription and/or with or without a visit to a local doctor.
It is always a good idea to check on the status of diseases and health in any country you are traveling to, no matter how "modern". The recent international spread of SARS and Bird Flu are good examples.
We have some tips and helpful information you need to know before you go, especially if you are traveling overseas.
As part of our ongoing series on "Know Before You Go" in our Taking Your Camera on the Road category, we answer the question most travelers are asking today. Is it safe?
Living in Israel, we are faced with this question from outsiders almost daily. After four years living in Israel, we can say that it is as safe here as anywhere else.
Some people living outside the United States are scared to travel within the US. After all, there are all those drive-by shootings, drugs, riots, mass murders, snipers, tourist kidnappers, car-jackings, and other wackos trying to kill off everyone. America is a dangerous place to live, let alone travel in, right?
In Israel, every shop, restaurant, café, grocery store, mall, and public building has security outside checking bags for weapons or explosives. It is "normal" to wait in line to get into a restaurant or mall, holding open your purse or backpack for inspection. When we go into a mall in Europe or the United States, we get nervous when no one checks to see if we are potential terrorists. Instead we get smiles and welcomes.
We talk about some of the things you need to know in to be safe when you hit the road, especially overseas.
Wandering around waiting for the war to start, and then end, it was critical for us to stay in touch with friends, families, and co-workers. It was also critical for us to get access to the news media to find out what was going on. Our shortwave radio helped, once we were able to locate the BBC World Service and other English speaking channels.
Unlike when we first began traveling, we were able to find Internet cafes and access points all through Spain, even in the most unlikely places like the small northern mountain village of Potes in Los Picos de Europa. With our Hotmail accounts, we were able to correspond with people, letting them know our status. This also allowed us to read the news online from Israel, Britain, and the United States.
Be aware that you are at risk when you sign onto a public computer, be it at an Internet access point or public library. Spyware and other surveillance software can "copy" your keystrokes, stealing your passwords and information, and do other things to get access to your private online records. If you are going to be checking your bank balance, transferring funds, or doing any secure online transactions, take time to read this article on preventing online attacks at public computers at Kim Komando's computer advice web site.
And we have plenty of more things you need to know before you go about staying in touch on the road...
Walk up to the security checkpoint at the airport, take out your film and the dude in a wrinkled uniform tells you to put the film through the x-ray. You tell him you don't want to, but he insists. "What speed is the film?" He informs you that x-rays won't hurt film unless it is ISO 800 or higher. Well, I have some important news for you.
X-rays do hurt film. The truth is that exposure to x-rays is cumulative.
That's right. One time through won't hurt your unexposed film, no more than it hurts you to get a broken bone x-rayed. But you've seen the dental hygienist leave the room during the x-ray exposure, because the effect is cumulative. This cumulative effect does the same thing to film. For more information, check out this example of the visual effects of scanning on film from Kodak.
We have the tips and information you need to know about taking your film with you on the airplane as you travel and how to get through airport security.
