Gearing up for traveling to location shoots, Part I

I've been fortunate enough to have been asked to do several shoots in different parts of the country; I just got back from several days in Texas, am heading down to Oregon in a short while, and then it's off to the East Coast after that.

Traveling is always exciting and fun, but traveling as a working photographer adds a lot of logistics that need careful consideration.

Working locally, most of my camera equipment fits in one Pelican 1600 case, which is handy when shooting interiors as all my stuff is visible at once, yet the case stacks nicely on my cart with my other Pelican cases and soft-sided bags (those are full of lighting gear; an explanation of that stuff will be in a future post). It's easy to move everything around on the cart at once, especially when I'm working solo.

When the shoot is close enough that I can drive in less than five hours, everything goes into the car, as five hours seems to be the rational cutoff for driving vs. flying: it's still cheaper and faster to drive five hours than deal with getting through airport security, dealing with all the additional stowed baggage, etc., as all that takes up about four-ish hours, so it's better to simply toss it in the car and have a mini road trip. Besides, I'm almost always able to work in a side trip and shoot some stock along the way. Driving also allows me to take along extra gear that would be impossible to deal with when flying, such as a stack of 3' x 4' foam core sheets to add bounce fill or to create a light baffle around a strobe head, or a couple of heavy-duty steel C-stands for positioning lights outside second-story windows.

The Pelican cases were spendy, but worth every cent, as they're pretty much indestructible, stack nicely, and really protect my expensive gear. Hell, they'll even float when loaded, which is comforting when I'm wheeling everything onto a dock to photograph people working on a dam or to photograph a yacht.

I also take along a Crumpler Karachi Outpost camera backpack, which allows me flexibility to pack the basics into the bag, sling it over my shoulder, grab a tripod, and be lots more mobile, which is handy when going up in a lift or a crane basket to get a higher perspective.

Part II will deal with the pared-down kit for flying; part III will cover lighting equipment.