Travel Advice for Photographers
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Airports

Airports are always a source of headaches for photographers. When traveling nationally, I try and leave from smaller regional airports, even if it is more expensive, because there is less traffic, parking is cheaper, lines are shorter, gates are closer, and the airlines are often more relaxed about carry-on luggage than at major airports like Los Angeles International. On Southwest recently, I just barely made my flight with three carry-on bags and a camera bag, and they just sent me on board with all four items.



Some smaller airlines like Southwest also allow slightly larger carry-on bags and up to three checked pieces. If you are carrying several thousand dollars of camera gear in a padded soft case, as I do, the last thing you want to hear is that your bag will have to be checked. Photographers should check with their intended air carrier for their particular baggage requirements.

"I always wear clogs because it is a hassle having to take off my shoes when I pass through security," says Seattle and Los Angeles commercial photographer Pete Saloutos. "I also always leave my belt off so I don't have to take it off when going through the metal detector." Saloutos also takes his own bottled water and power bars on international flights "so I don't get diarrhea out of the gate."

Among some of the other things that he takes are a Swiss army knife, Sharpies, gaffer's tape, spare glasses, gloves, and a homeopathic jet-lag medicine.

"I fly direct if possible," Saloutos, "and if there are connections, I avoid those with less than an hour between flights in case of weather delays, etc. A longer delay is less stressful because I don't have to be so concerned about weather delays, and it allows me to make phone calls, charge my laptop, stretch, etc."

"I fly Elite class when I can, which minimizes hassle," says Ron Haviv. "My airline used to hassle me about my bags all the time, but now that I fly Elite class they don't hassle me." Often, frequent flyers can upgrade to a higher flight class for extra privileges, including more lenient baggage restrictions.

When I travel abroad for clients, I try and get there a day early to orient myself to my surroundings and ease into my shoot rather than land and start shooting on the same day. Too much stress keeps me from doing my best work.

Also, in the third world, I have found myself flying on small planes where weight restrictions are strictly enforced for safety reasons, but this, nevertheless, can be problematic for photographers. The solution is to pay for an extra seat, which gets you more baggage weight.

If you are traveling light anyway, you can distribute some of your equipment among the other passengers and be within your weight restrictions. Airlines weigh luggage, not passengers. I do not use a photo vest, but I have seen other photographers place some of their gear in their vest, thus minimizing their baggage weight.

I should add that travel or equipment insurance is a very good thing to have whenever possible. While it is true that I, and many photographers I know, have traveled in our younger days without equipment insurance, I do not recommend it if you are traveling with serious equipment. Digital equipment is extremely expensive and insurance is much cheaper.

Every photographer's traveling methods will vary according to their needs and experience, and what I take with me also varies depending on the job and location. If I am traveling a short distance as a photojournalist, I will travel lighter than if I travel as a commercial photographer overseas. I have included an expanded list of things I take with me sometimes and have bolded items I always take with me.

Traveling Bags

  • Clothes bag/Backpack
  • Tamarac Big Wheel camera bag: This is a backpack on wheels that accommodates all my camera equipment and my laptop computer, although on airlines with tighter restrictions, I may have to remove the laptop to make it fit their size limits.

Medicine Kit

  • Two types of antibiotics: Amoxicillin for flesh wounds and Flagyl (metronidazole) for bacterial-induced stomach ailments
  • Two types of painkillers: Vicodin for major pain and acetaminophen for minor pain and to reduce swelling
  • Tamiflu: To mitigate the progress of the influenza virus. It might be difficult to acquire due to government stockpiling.
  • Flu medicine (Over-the-counter): To mitigate symptoms of the influenza virus
  • Electrolyte tablets: For mild to extreme dehydration. Good even when just shooting all day in the sun and you forget to drink enough water.
  • Hydrogen peroxide: For earaches and as a general antibiotic
  • Iodine for cuts and scrapes
  • Large and small self-adhesive bandages
  • Moleskin for blisters
  • Tweezers
  • Water purification tablets
  • Chap Stick with UV protection
  • Sunblock (SP 35+)
  • Mosquito repellent (DEET)

Utility Kit

  • Leatherman tool
  • Small screwdriver set
  • Dental floss: For lashing, stitching and good dental hygiene
  • Different sizes of needles
  • Plastic Ziploc bags: Various sizes
  • Nylon cord for drying clothes and binding
  • Lighter
  • Spare pair of glasses
  • Sharpies
  • Critical phone numbers on paper
  • Copy of eyeglass prescription

Equipment

  • One Laptop
  • One external hard drive with view screen
  • Two D2X
  • One 70mm-200mm lens
  • One 17mm-55mm lens
  • One macro lens
  • Two batteries for camera
  • One camera battery charger
  • One inverter for charging laptop and batteries while driving
  • Two flash units
  • One flash cord
  • One Gitzo carbon-fiber tripod with ball head: Much lighter than the one I use when I am working as a photographer in Los Angeles
  • 16 AA rechargeable batteries
  • One battery charger for AA batteries
  • One cable release
  • Gaffer's tape: Not a roll, but strips wrapped around the legs of my tripod.
  • One can of compressed air
  • One small paintbrush: To clean camera sensor
  • One USB 2.0 cord and one FireWire cord
  • One FireWire card reader with detachable cord
  • One USB 2.0 card reader with detachable cord
  • One North Face waist bag with suspenders: To distribute equipment weight
  • One plastic poncho for rain
  • DVDs for backup if I travel with laptop
  • DVD/CD sleeves and cardboard mailers
  • One Palm Pilot
  • Color correction gels
  • Rubber bands
  • Avery stickers: Good for marking objects, bad flash cards, notes on items, etc.

Ed Carreon is a photographer in Los Angeles who has travelled extensively. He has worked from Micronesia to Sardinia, but has focused his attentions primarily on Latin America.

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