Web: www.thetravelstrategist.com -- E-Mail: fish@flyingwithfish.com
7/11/2008 – Flying With Fish To Join Mountainsmith's Design Board
Since very early on in my writing on Flying With Fish I have written about my enjoyment of using Mountainsmith's products. I have been using Mountainsmith gear for years. Along the way I have modified their gear to meet my needs, and packed their bags well beyond their intended design specifications.
Earlier in 2008 Mountainsmith recognized my completely unaffiliated, non-endorsed and unsolicited promotion of their gear and sponsored a contest on Flying With Fish. While I kept in touch with Mountainsmith over the past year, I assumed at most they would maybe sponsor another contest at some point.
Well at this time Mountainsmith is not sponsoring another contest I know of (although they are welcome to), what they have done is asked me if I'd like to join their Design Board.
It took me all of 3 seconds to accept the invitation to be a part of the process of helping design bags that make life easier for photographers. I have been involved with other companies in the past in the testing of bags, but this should be a whole different process.
So now I'll not only be a happy, long time, loyal customer of Mountainsmith products, I'll also have a hand in helping creative process of designing the bags I choose to use. It is great that Mountainsmith looks outside its own internal design team to incorporate those who use their products in the field. As my background and use of their bags is different that many of those who use their gear for hiking, climbing and working outdoors, I hope to bring a unique perspective to the table.
My joining Mountainsmith's Design Board does not prohibit me from using other bags, traveling with other bags, discussing other bags or reviewing other bags. I have many bags for many different purposes and will continue to use the other bags in my closet. I'll also continue to use whatever bag is best for each specific job.......and should the opportunity come up to work with a non-competing company, work with them as well.
My goals in working with Mountainsmith, as well as maintaining Flying With Fish, are similar. My goal is to make life easier for those who travel and put those on the road at the forefront of everything I put into these projects.
............what else may be in the future for Flying With Fish and Mountainsmith? Keep your eyes open for some retooled workshops in the near future.
Happy Flying!
Showing posts with label packing cameras. Show all posts
Showing posts with label packing cameras. Show all posts
07 November 2008
23 September 2008
Simple Baggage Solutions : Make Your Own Modular System
Web: www.fishfoto.com -- E-Mail: fish@flyingwithfish.com
24/09/2008 – Simple Baggage Solutions : Make Your Own Modular System
There are dozens of modular bag systems on the market today that are used by photographers. These bags are for general packing solutions, photography specific solutions and a hybrid of both. As I have been trying to reduce the gear I travel with for 'general shooting' situations I had started to investigate a variety of bags possibilities for more than a dozen manufacturers.
While researching a variety of bags one night I started staring at a set of bags I have used, trusted, loved and preached about often on Flying With Fish, and almost everywhere else I discuss bags. These bags as you frequent readers may have already guessed are my Mountainsmith bags.
To make a simple carry on + roll-aboard that could carry everything I'd need for a 'simple kit,' I turned to the Mountainsmith Correspondent roll-aboard bag, The Day and The Tour. These three bags can be easily combined into two bags for short trips, around the corner or around The World.
When initially setting up this configuration I removed the top 'cube' from inside the Mountainsmith Correspondent and sized up the Mountainsmith Tour to see if it would easily fit inside. Once I determined that the Tour would fit into the open slot, normally filled by a 'cube,' I was off and running.
For my needs, this how I packed for travel:
-The Day : 4 magazines (Photo District News, Airliner World, National Geographic, The Economist); sleeve of 10 DVDs, Newswear pouch with my Sony PSP Survival Kit (swapping the Skullcandy headsets for the Sony MDR-NC22 headsets), Vector 100watt emPower inverter; 15" MacPowerBook, PowerBook AC power supply;
- The Tour: Domke 4-slot insert (the original non-padded chocolate brown insert, how many of you remember when the bags were only brown?); PSP power supply; Garmin GPS; GPS accessories; Think Tank Cable Management 10 pouch (for all my random photo & computer accessories, mobile phone chargers, CF card reader, thumb-drive, etc, etc), Energizer rapid "AA" battery charger
- The Correspondent
(In The 'Cube') : Canon 5D w/BG-E4 grip; Canon 20D w/BG-E2 grip; Canon 16-35f2.8L; Canon 70-200f2.8L; Canon 24f1.4L; Canon 50f1.4; Canon EF-12II extension tube; Canon 580ex; Think Tank PeeWee Pocket Rocket (CF Card Wallet) ; two spare "AA" packs of rechargeable batteries, two spare BP-511 batteries; Canon ETTL Cord; Ilford Anti-Stat cloth
(In The Pocket Intended For A Laptop & Magazines): two button down folded shirts (folded and inside the laptop sleeve), 2 pairs of a socks, 2 pairs of boxers, belt.
(In The Inside Flap Clear Pockets) Hefty 1-quart (TSA Approved) bag with toiletries, stick of deodorant , two Canon battery chargers for the BP-511 batteries.
(In The Main Compartment): one pair of folded pants (placed above 'The Cube' behind The Tour)
With all of my gear with me, set up in easy to access and configured in a way that is easy to both unpack and repack, I am able to get to work easily. Once I am ready to get to work I remove the gear I'll be shooting with and set up my Mountainsmith Tour pack. Generally I'll head out with a 16-35f2.8 attached to my 5D and a 50f1.4 on my 20D, leaving the 24f1.4 & 70-200f2.8 in The Tour, along with a Canon 580ex, spare batteries, a Think Tank PeeWee Pocket Rocket and an ETTL cord.
The items that were in The Tour get transferred to 'The Cube' and off I go.
I have now traveled with this kit of three transcontinental trips to shoot projects and weddings and the set up has been perfect. The size and weight are easy to handle, the design function of all three items are ideal for traveling fast and light, while allowing me to carry everything I need to make sure I arrive with everything I need to do my job.
Overall, as I have mentioned time-and-time again, I trust my Mountainsmith products (they even make my mobile phone belt holster for my Razr and iPhone, the Mountainsmith Amp). The products Mountainsmith makes are reliable and durable, the space is ample, the bright yellow interior of the waist packs are easy to work out of , the zippers are strong and at the end of the day I know their products will take anything I can throw at them (including being left at the stairs, loaded with my gear, when boarding a regional jet or turbo prop flight).
Next time you're looking for a complete carry-on solution think outside the box and make your own.........maybe also check out the Mountainsmith line of bags for your needs.
Below are two photos of my Mountainsmith kit
Happy Flying!
--Click Images To Enlarge--
24/09/2008 – Simple Baggage Solutions : Make Your Own Modular System
There are dozens of modular bag systems on the market today that are used by photographers. These bags are for general packing solutions, photography specific solutions and a hybrid of both. As I have been trying to reduce the gear I travel with for 'general shooting' situations I had started to investigate a variety of bags possibilities for more than a dozen manufacturers.
While researching a variety of bags one night I started staring at a set of bags I have used, trusted, loved and preached about often on Flying With Fish, and almost everywhere else I discuss bags. These bags as you frequent readers may have already guessed are my Mountainsmith bags.
To make a simple carry on + roll-aboard that could carry everything I'd need for a 'simple kit,' I turned to the Mountainsmith Correspondent roll-aboard bag, The Day and The Tour. These three bags can be easily combined into two bags for short trips, around the corner or around The World.
When initially setting up this configuration I removed the top 'cube' from inside the Mountainsmith Correspondent and sized up the Mountainsmith Tour to see if it would easily fit inside. Once I determined that the Tour would fit into the open slot, normally filled by a 'cube,' I was off and running.
For my needs, this how I packed for travel:
-The Day : 4 magazines (Photo District News, Airliner World, National Geographic, The Economist); sleeve of 10 DVDs, Newswear pouch with my Sony PSP Survival Kit (swapping the Skullcandy headsets for the Sony MDR-NC22 headsets), Vector 100watt emPower inverter; 15" MacPowerBook, PowerBook AC power supply;
- The Tour: Domke 4-slot insert (the original non-padded chocolate brown insert, how many of you remember when the bags were only brown?); PSP power supply; Garmin GPS; GPS accessories; Think Tank Cable Management 10 pouch (for all my random photo & computer accessories, mobile phone chargers, CF card reader, thumb-drive, etc, etc), Energizer rapid "AA" battery charger
- The Correspondent
(In The 'Cube') : Canon 5D w/BG-E4 grip; Canon 20D w/BG-E2 grip; Canon 16-35f2.8L; Canon 70-200f2.8L; Canon 24f1.4L; Canon 50f1.4; Canon EF-12II extension tube; Canon 580ex; Think Tank PeeWee Pocket Rocket (CF Card Wallet) ; two spare "AA" packs of rechargeable batteries, two spare BP-511 batteries; Canon ETTL Cord; Ilford Anti-Stat cloth
(In The Pocket Intended For A Laptop & Magazines): two button down folded shirts (folded and inside the laptop sleeve), 2 pairs of a socks, 2 pairs of boxers, belt.
(In The Inside Flap Clear Pockets) Hefty 1-quart (TSA Approved) bag with toiletries, stick of deodorant , two Canon battery chargers for the BP-511 batteries.
(In The Main Compartment): one pair of folded pants (placed above 'The Cube' behind The Tour)
With all of my gear with me, set up in easy to access and configured in a way that is easy to both unpack and repack, I am able to get to work easily. Once I am ready to get to work I remove the gear I'll be shooting with and set up my Mountainsmith Tour pack. Generally I'll head out with a 16-35f2.8 attached to my 5D and a 50f1.4 on my 20D, leaving the 24f1.4 & 70-200f2.8 in The Tour, along with a Canon 580ex, spare batteries, a Think Tank PeeWee Pocket Rocket and an ETTL cord.
The items that were in The Tour get transferred to 'The Cube' and off I go.
I have now traveled with this kit of three transcontinental trips to shoot projects and weddings and the set up has been perfect. The size and weight are easy to handle, the design function of all three items are ideal for traveling fast and light, while allowing me to carry everything I need to make sure I arrive with everything I need to do my job.
Overall, as I have mentioned time-and-time again, I trust my Mountainsmith products (they even make my mobile phone belt holster for my Razr and iPhone, the Mountainsmith Amp). The products Mountainsmith makes are reliable and durable, the space is ample, the bright yellow interior of the waist packs are easy to work out of , the zippers are strong and at the end of the day I know their products will take anything I can throw at them (including being left at the stairs, loaded with my gear, when boarding a regional jet or turbo prop flight).
Next time you're looking for a complete carry-on solution think outside the box and make your own.........maybe also check out the Mountainsmith line of bags for your needs.
Below are two photos of my Mountainsmith kit
Happy Flying!
--Click Images To Enlarge--
22 September 2008
Leaving Your Bag At The Stairs On Regional Flights, AKA: Valet Check, Stair Check, Planeside Check
Web: www.thetravelstrategist.com -- E-Mail: fish@flyingwithfish.com
22/09/2008 – Leaving Your Bag At The Stairs On Regional Flights, AKA: Valet Check, Stair Check, Planeside Check
Not a day seems to pass where I don't get an e-mail or see an enquiry on some travel or photography message board regarding travelers being forced to leave their full-size roll-aboard bag at the stairs of a 'regional jet' or turbo-prop aircraft.
As more airlines reduce their mainline aircraft routes and increase their dependency on smaller regional jets and turbo-prop aircraft the question about leaving your bags plane side has moved from a problem faced only and smaller regional airports and moved into many mid-sized and larger regional airport routes.
Leaving your bag plane side, which has many names depending on the airline you're flying, is a significant concern for many travelers. The obvious concern involves damaging the contents of your bag. As a photographer who travels constantly, and who flies regional jets and turbo-props constantly, I have been dealing with these issues for quite a few years now.
As I have mentioned previously on Flying With Fish my home airport, New Haven (HVN), only have five flights per day, each of those flights is on a US Airways Express Dash-8 turbo-prop. My preferred airport, Providence (PVD), has seen a significant increase in regional jet usage, particularly on short routes I often fly to pick up medium-haul and long-haul flights.
Over the past few years I have only had my equipment damaged once when being forced to 'Valet Check' my bag. It was an isolated incident at Washington DC's Reagan National Airport (DCA) and I was lucky a ramp-supervisor witnessed the incident. A ramp handler from US Airways Express tool my well packed bag and threw it from the back of a regional jet completely missing the baggage loader truck.
Other than this once incident my Think Tank Airport Addicted backpack has flow hundreds of regional jet & turbo prop flights loaded with a minimum of two camera bodies, five lenses, two flashes and other gear and has never had any of the contents damaged. My Mountainsmith Correspondent, which I have recently begun to use, has now flown on dozens of regional flights, has also not had any gear damaged when left at the stairs of a flights.
What is the secret? Well there is no secret.
- First off if you have your laptop in your bag remove it! Do not ever have your laptop placed in the cargo hold, even for a short flight.
- When you chose your bag make sure it is semi-rigid or hard sided. Make sure the interior of the bag has padding, preferably multiple layers of padding, around your equipment.
- Make sure the padding in your bag is secure. You don't want the padding shifting around in the bag so it no longer protects the contents.
- If you have fragile contents in your bag do not be afraid to label the bag as such. My Think Tank Airport Addicted has strips of white duct tape on it with "FRAGILE" written in big bright red block letters on it with a permanent magic marker. My Mountainsmith Correspondent has bright pink duct tape strips on it with "FRAGILE” written on it in big bold black lettering with permanent magic marker.
- When you pack your bag make sure your fragile items are secure. You want in them in place and not shifting around. Damage comes from not only impact but also movement. You can have some 'give room' but not so your items are sliding. For photogs who stack lenses, place something between the lenses. I use the 'orange' Ilford anti-stat cloths, but I have also used a sock and a small face cloth. This is just to reduce things from scraping together; it won't protect your gear from a 15-foot drop (then again a Pelican case probably won't protect your gear from impact damage if it took a 15 foot straight drop).
- If you can hand your bag to a human, rather than just leave it at the stairs, and tell them the contents are fragile it can also be helpful. I know many flyers think the ramp agents damage bags just for fun, but most of them in my experience are nice folks and will take care with your bag if you ask.
I know leaving your bag at the mercy of the 'Valet Check’ is never ideal, but with some careful planning, and knowing if you'll need to leave your bag at the stairs (check your flights before hand to find out the type of aircraft you'll be flying on), can minimize the risk in leaving your bags and potentially fragile equipments at the bottom of the stairs.
For those of you where the term I often use "Valet Check" comes from, it comes from American Airlines' "Valet plane-side baggage check for carry-on bags"
Below is a photo of my Mountainsmith Correspondent on the ramp outside PHL's Terminal F, waiting to be placed under a US Airways Express Dash-8 turbo-prop for the quick flight up to HVN
Happy Flying!
--Click Image To Enlarge--
22/09/2008 – Leaving Your Bag At The Stairs On Regional Flights, AKA: Valet Check, Stair Check, Planeside Check
Not a day seems to pass where I don't get an e-mail or see an enquiry on some travel or photography message board regarding travelers being forced to leave their full-size roll-aboard bag at the stairs of a 'regional jet' or turbo-prop aircraft.
As more airlines reduce their mainline aircraft routes and increase their dependency on smaller regional jets and turbo-prop aircraft the question about leaving your bags plane side has moved from a problem faced only and smaller regional airports and moved into many mid-sized and larger regional airport routes.
Leaving your bag plane side, which has many names depending on the airline you're flying, is a significant concern for many travelers. The obvious concern involves damaging the contents of your bag. As a photographer who travels constantly, and who flies regional jets and turbo-props constantly, I have been dealing with these issues for quite a few years now.
As I have mentioned previously on Flying With Fish my home airport, New Haven (HVN), only have five flights per day, each of those flights is on a US Airways Express Dash-8 turbo-prop. My preferred airport, Providence (PVD), has seen a significant increase in regional jet usage, particularly on short routes I often fly to pick up medium-haul and long-haul flights.
Over the past few years I have only had my equipment damaged once when being forced to 'Valet Check' my bag. It was an isolated incident at Washington DC's Reagan National Airport (DCA) and I was lucky a ramp-supervisor witnessed the incident. A ramp handler from US Airways Express tool my well packed bag and threw it from the back of a regional jet completely missing the baggage loader truck.
Other than this once incident my Think Tank Airport Addicted backpack has flow hundreds of regional jet & turbo prop flights loaded with a minimum of two camera bodies, five lenses, two flashes and other gear and has never had any of the contents damaged. My Mountainsmith Correspondent, which I have recently begun to use, has now flown on dozens of regional flights, has also not had any gear damaged when left at the stairs of a flights.
What is the secret? Well there is no secret.
- First off if you have your laptop in your bag remove it! Do not ever have your laptop placed in the cargo hold, even for a short flight.
- When you chose your bag make sure it is semi-rigid or hard sided. Make sure the interior of the bag has padding, preferably multiple layers of padding, around your equipment.
- Make sure the padding in your bag is secure. You don't want the padding shifting around in the bag so it no longer protects the contents.
- If you have fragile contents in your bag do not be afraid to label the bag as such. My Think Tank Airport Addicted has strips of white duct tape on it with "FRAGILE" written in big bright red block letters on it with a permanent magic marker. My Mountainsmith Correspondent has bright pink duct tape strips on it with "FRAGILE” written on it in big bold black lettering with permanent magic marker.
- When you pack your bag make sure your fragile items are secure. You want in them in place and not shifting around. Damage comes from not only impact but also movement. You can have some 'give room' but not so your items are sliding. For photogs who stack lenses, place something between the lenses. I use the 'orange' Ilford anti-stat cloths, but I have also used a sock and a small face cloth. This is just to reduce things from scraping together; it won't protect your gear from a 15-foot drop (then again a Pelican case probably won't protect your gear from impact damage if it took a 15 foot straight drop).
- If you can hand your bag to a human, rather than just leave it at the stairs, and tell them the contents are fragile it can also be helpful. I know many flyers think the ramp agents damage bags just for fun, but most of them in my experience are nice folks and will take care with your bag if you ask.
I know leaving your bag at the mercy of the 'Valet Check’ is never ideal, but with some careful planning, and knowing if you'll need to leave your bag at the stairs (check your flights before hand to find out the type of aircraft you'll be flying on), can minimize the risk in leaving your bags and potentially fragile equipments at the bottom of the stairs.
For those of you where the term I often use "Valet Check" comes from, it comes from American Airlines' "Valet plane-side baggage check for carry-on bags"
Below is a photo of my Mountainsmith Correspondent on the ramp outside PHL's Terminal F, waiting to be placed under a US Airways Express Dash-8 turbo-prop for the quick flight up to HVN
Happy Flying!
--Click Image To Enlarge--
16 September 2008
Packing Your Cameras & Lenses Properly : Do Not Attach Your Camera & Lens
Web: www.fishfotoworldwide.com -- E-Mail: fish@flyingwithfish.com
16/09/2008 – Packing Your Cameras & Lenses Properly : Do Not Attach Your Camera & Lens
For some reason photographers like to pack their lenses attached to their camera bodies. For some even stranger reason photographers seem to pack their longer, heavier, lenses attached to their camera bodies. Why do photographers pack this way? I have no idea.
When you pack your equipment you should think of Sir Isaac Newton and his theory that an object in motion will remain in motion until something stops the motion. Another way to look at this is that that a force of impact on your camera will need to dissipate that force.
Newton's theory looks something like this:
So what does this mean for photographers when they pack their 70-200f2.8 attached to their Nikon D700 body? It means that if your bag should sustain an impact the force through your camera, or through your lens, will transfer from one object to the next, often damaging the weakest link. What is usually the weakest link between a camera and a lens? The mount!
If your bag is dropped, knocked, hit, or otherwise 'whacked' your camera body can be spun one way while your lens is spun another way. The result of this impact is you torquing the two mounts significantly damaging both your camera and your lens.
If you pack your body and your lens separately the twisting motion of the camera body and the lens are only felt by the body and the lens individually. The impact dissipates into the padding of the bag. Since neither your camera body or your lens is attached to the bag there is no damage to either the camera or the lens.
I have heard many photographers say, "If my camera is attached to my lens then I can act faster to capture the photo." I have news for you, if you need to put your backpack down, open the flap and remove your camera and lens kit..........you've already 'missed the moment.'
I have spent years covering news and fast paced situations and I can't think of a single moment where I thought, "if only my camera and lens were attached in my bag I might have captured that image."
Fleeting moments happen non-stop. You'll see photos all day long if you're looking, and if that is your intention you need to travel with your cameras out, on your shoulders, ready to shoot.
When you pack your equipment you need to pack it securely. Pack your gear relatively snug so it does not bounce. You need to maximize your space in small area of a bag, backpack or rolling case.
Not only does traveling with your lens attached to your camera significantly increase the chances of damaging your camera equipment while traveling, but it also decreases your packing flexibility. When you pack your camera body and your lenses detached from each other you increase the space in your bag to pack more effectively. By having each item separate you are no longer packing 'around a camera-lens combo,' you are free to stand lenses up, stack lenses, lay lenses down, adjust the location of our camera body within the bag.
All of these elements make for a safer and more practical way to pack your equipment.
Happy Flying!
16/09/2008 – Packing Your Cameras & Lenses Properly : Do Not Attach Your Camera & Lens
For some reason photographers like to pack their lenses attached to their camera bodies. For some even stranger reason photographers seem to pack their longer, heavier, lenses attached to their camera bodies. Why do photographers pack this way? I have no idea.
When you pack your equipment you should think of Sir Isaac Newton and his theory that an object in motion will remain in motion until something stops the motion. Another way to look at this is that that a force of impact on your camera will need to dissipate that force.
Newton's theory looks something like this:
So what does this mean for photographers when they pack their 70-200f2.8 attached to their Nikon D700 body? It means that if your bag should sustain an impact the force through your camera, or through your lens, will transfer from one object to the next, often damaging the weakest link. What is usually the weakest link between a camera and a lens? The mount!
If your bag is dropped, knocked, hit, or otherwise 'whacked' your camera body can be spun one way while your lens is spun another way. The result of this impact is you torquing the two mounts significantly damaging both your camera and your lens.
If you pack your body and your lens separately the twisting motion of the camera body and the lens are only felt by the body and the lens individually. The impact dissipates into the padding of the bag. Since neither your camera body or your lens is attached to the bag there is no damage to either the camera or the lens.
I have heard many photographers say, "If my camera is attached to my lens then I can act faster to capture the photo." I have news for you, if you need to put your backpack down, open the flap and remove your camera and lens kit..........you've already 'missed the moment.'
I have spent years covering news and fast paced situations and I can't think of a single moment where I thought, "if only my camera and lens were attached in my bag I might have captured that image."
Fleeting moments happen non-stop. You'll see photos all day long if you're looking, and if that is your intention you need to travel with your cameras out, on your shoulders, ready to shoot.
When you pack your equipment you need to pack it securely. Pack your gear relatively snug so it does not bounce. You need to maximize your space in small area of a bag, backpack or rolling case.
Not only does traveling with your lens attached to your camera significantly increase the chances of damaging your camera equipment while traveling, but it also decreases your packing flexibility. When you pack your camera body and your lenses detached from each other you increase the space in your bag to pack more effectively. By having each item separate you are no longer packing 'around a camera-lens combo,' you are free to stand lenses up, stack lenses, lay lenses down, adjust the location of our camera body within the bag.
All of these elements make for a safer and more practical way to pack your equipment.
Happy Flying!
26 August 2008
Choosing Your Cameras For Traveling
Web: www.fishfotoworldwide.com -- E-Mail: fish@flyingwithfish.com
26/08/2008 - Choosing Your Cameras For Traveling
This week should be a 'light week' for posting on Flying With Fish and somehow this is my third post for the week. This post is also the second installment of Flying With Fish Video.
In this installment of Flying With Fish Video I discuss choosing your camera body selection for traveling. Many photographers purchase mismatched, or incompatible, camera bodies which forces them to pack excess weight and use valuable space in their bags, while traveling. In this video I'll go through choosing 'matched cameras' to add to save you space and weight while also making your experience in the field with your cameras easier.
Happy Flying!
--Click Image Below To Play Video--
26/08/2008 - Choosing Your Cameras For Traveling
This week should be a 'light week' for posting on Flying With Fish and somehow this is my third post for the week. This post is also the second installment of Flying With Fish Video.
In this installment of Flying With Fish Video I discuss choosing your camera body selection for traveling. Many photographers purchase mismatched, or incompatible, camera bodies which forces them to pack excess weight and use valuable space in their bags, while traveling. In this video I'll go through choosing 'matched cameras' to add to save you space and weight while also making your experience in the field with your cameras easier.
Happy Flying!
--Click Image Below To Play Video--
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
