> From: pdml-boun...@pdml.net [mailto:pdml-boun...@pdml.net] On Behalf Of > John Sessoms
> I would appreciate some thoughts on what constitutes the *essential* > kit. What will you need to carry to get the job done? I've done this sort of thing several times in Africa, India and various remote parts of Europe. A duffel bag of that size is far too big. The approach I took for my second trip to Ethiopia, and for subsequent trips to remote places, was to take a Pelican 1550 with an Eagle Creek shoulder strap, and a bag that was no more than 30 litres capacity - 20l is better - either a Domke F2 or a LowePro Street & Field photo backpack. This makes the stuff easy-ish to carry around, whereas an enormous duffle is just going to make things more difficult than they already are. The trick is to take all the foam and dividers and stuff out of the Pelican bag, and use your clothes and things as the padding. You can carry your day-to-day camera kit in the F-2 so have it to hand, can take it as carry-on on planes and buses. The less-used camera kit - long lenses and so on - can go in the Pelican which can go in checked baggage, on the roof of buses etc. You can lock it in hotel rooms and, if necessary, chain it to something solid to prevent people walking off with it. You economise on clothes. You only really need one change of clothing, perhaps 2 of underwear and socks, which aren't particularly bulky, and you stomp everything clean in the shower every night. As for camera equipment, you need 2 identical bodies, backing each other up and giving you options on lenses. You need a lens in the 28-100/2.8 range (135 equivalent) and it won't harm to have something a bit wider and something a bit longer, although I think I could do ok with just a 35/1.4 and a 100/2. Fast is good. Batteries, chargers and storage cards in abundance. Some sort of high capacity storage to dump the cards to every evening. Notebooks and pens. Comfortable shoes. You need far less than you think you do, and you should take pride in reducing stuff to the minimum. The ideal is to get everything in carry-on. In "Shooting Under Fire - the world of the war photographer", Peter Howe writes "everyone knows how much baggage we can require for a two-week vacation. Imagine taking the equivalent to the deserts of Afghanistan, or the battered shell of Grozny [...]. What would you need for two months under battle conditions? Well, the unisex list basically includes a change of trousers, two shirts, socks and underwear, a shortwave radio, a flashlight, a medical kit, a wash kit and a water pump with a filter if you're going to somewhere without potable water - all under twenty pounds". That's the attitude you need to adopt. B -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
