Land Of Marvels

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What To Carry In Your Camera Bag for Travel Photography

My husband Nick is a great self-taught photographer and he’s been able to capture some really incredible travel photography over the years of us traveling around the world.  He often gets asked what’s in his travel bag, how much gear does he take and how does he pack it for travel. Traveling with photo gear adds a bit of complication to your trip, so having a plan for your gear will make a big difference and today he’s sharing his thoughts and strategy below for what to carry in your camera bag for travel photography!

All of Nick’s Tips for What To Carry In Your Camera Bag for Travel Photography

First off, I will be the first person to tell you I pack a little too much gear. I like to prepare myself for anything and there have been many times I’ve gone to a location planning to use one lens (see his favorite lenses here!) and ended up using an entirely different one. How do I handle all this gear? I use what I like to call the 2-Bag system. One bag is the kitchen sink full of gear and accessories and another much smaller bag with only the essentials for a day of shooting. 

Bag 1:
My main bag is full of all the gear for the trip, usually a backpack but sometimes I use a medium sized messenger bag. Everything goes in this bag: camera, laptop, lenses, accessories, etc… The main bag stays in the hotel or rental car and only comes out with me when I’m doing photo specific outings where the sole purpose is to take photos.  When I’m not leaving the main bag at the hotel I lock it up to prevent people from walking away with it. 

Bag 2:
I have a small shoulder bag that I can fit a couple of lenses in and a few accessories. This is the bag I take out during a day of exploring. It only fits a few items that I will need during the day and no extras. Being that it’s light, it’s easy on my back, I can move through crowds easily and doesn’t look inconspicuous for pick pockets. This is great when we are shooting on the streets, exploring attractions like museums or out for an evening stroll. 

Below are all the items I use and travel with for great travel photography!

 
1.  Thinktank Airport Essentials. I love this bag because it fits a ton of gear but still can fit under the seat on most airplanes.
2.  Lowpro shoulder bag.  This bag is great for a day’s worth of gear and is easy to carry around.

3.  Canon 5D Mark III. This is my workhorse camera that I use on most shoots.
4.  Sigma 35mm Lens. This is my favorite lens right now. It’s really versatile on the street and crazy sharp.
5.  Canon 70-200 f/4.  I love the 70-200, it’s great for portraits and taking close up shots on the street. I prefer the f/4 for travel because it’s quite a bit smaller and cheaper than its f/2.8 cousin but still really sharp. I’m testing out the rubber lens hood in the picture. Because it’s rubber it can collapse down to a small size and takes up a lot less room in my bag then the normal plastic lens hood. 
6.  Canon 17-40 F/4.  I have a love/hate relationship with this lens. Some of my favorite images have come out of this wide angle lens but the corners are really soft which drives me crazy!
7.  50mm F/1.8.  This is a great lens to keep around because it’s so small and cheap. Sometimes when I just want to be really light and mobile, I’ll just take my camera with this lens. 
8.  Lumix Gx8.  This is one of my favorites cameras that Casey and I share but that she usually carries around when traveling. It’s mirrorless, so it’s quite a bit smaller than my Canon. Mostly on trips Casey is using this camera but at home I take it out for errands and or quick outings. My favorite thing about this camera is the wifi: when we are traveling I can connect my phone and post images taken on this camera on Instagram.  While they don’t make the GX8 anymore, here is something similar that’s new!
9. Godox Wireless Master/Slaver Flash & Receiver with Remote Trigger. I don’t do a ton of flash photography on our trips but there are the few occasions that it’s nice to have. I love these because they are really rugged for travel. 
10.  Cord Tacos.  These are my new favorite obsession and I love being organized with these leather cord holders to keep my cords from getting tangled and knotted and easy to access.
11.  Accessory Pouches.  I use these pouches to keep all sorts of things organized: batteries, chargers, cables, etc… I have one pouch dedicated to my flash accessories and one pouch with all the rest of my items.
12.  Lens Cloth.  It’s always a good idea to have a microfiber cloth for your lenses. I bought a bulk pack from Amazon and throw them in the pockets of all of my bags. 
13.  Small Reflector Dish. I use this a lot for food photos but it’s also great for portraits. It unfolds into a 12” dish and is great to add a little bit of light to a plate of food or to a person’s face. 
14.  Filters.  I use two different filters with my photography: I will sometimes use a circular polarizer to cut through the glare and saturate the colors in my landscape images and I also use a 10+ neutral density filter. This is great for waterfalls, streams, etc… when you want to keep the shutter open for longer amounts of time. 
15.  Garmin GPS.  I like to try and geotag my images with the GPS location and this works great for that. It’s just a fun way to keep track of all the places I’ve shot images. 
16.  Gorilla pod.  I love my Joby Gorilla Pod. It can roll up and fit in my gray shoulder bag when we are walking around. It’s nice to have in case something comes up that I wasn’t expecting. I have attached it too all sorts of things to take images like fences, branches, walls, fire hydrants, poles, etc.
17.  Induro Tripod.  When I really want to take serious images, nothing beats a good tripod. For travel I will take the head off, which make it easier to fit in my carry on bag. 

18.  Gaffers tape.  You never know when it will come in handy. I roll about 2 feet of gaffers tape around a small golf pencil so I always have a little bit handy. 

19. Ziplock bags. I keep a couple of ziplock bags with me in case it rains, I can throw my camera into the bag and protect it a little better. When I shoot in the rain, I will sometimes cut a hole in the bag and poke the lens out to be able to keep shooting.
20. Business cards. It’s always a good ideas to have a few handy to give out.
21.  Memory Card Wallet.  I love this memory card wallet by Think Tank I got a few years ago to hold all of my memory cards while on the go.
22. iPad.  I love my iPad, it’s great for flights and getting work done on the go. I use services like Evernote and Dropbox to keep my information available on my iPad no matter where I am. 

Comments

  4. To be honest my eyes are glazing at all your camera gear. 😉 But then again, I guess if I set all mine out maybe it would be just as mind boggling! I for sure need to get a new camera bag…mine is so unsightly and really weird to carry around. Hoping This Is Ground will come out with a sweet bag soon! Love their products!

  5. WOW you have some awesome gear and I love the detail in this post, I have to pin this so I can refer to it as I buy my own gear. Can I ask what lens is best (or you use) for fast action shot or even movement shots like the Orca jumping out of the ocean?

    • For action shots I tend to use the 70–200. It’s not so much for the speed but because I want to zoom in as far as I can to get right into the action. If I happened to be closer to the action I probably would use my 35mm

  8. Any suggestions on a good camera for a budget traveler? Headed to Europe in a few weeks on a travel grant. Going to use the pictures in my kindergarten classroom as well as for personal use. I have been doing a lot of research but with the point and shoot (with some manual controls) it’s so hard because you seem to be sacrificing something. I would love a view finder if possible because sometimes it’s hard to take pictures with just the screen. I am looking for something lightweight and preferably under $300 but may go a little over. Would love to spend more but it’s not possible! Thanks for your help!

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