Look for your thoughts

[Hank Popik]

I am looking for opinions, suggestions and any helpful advice, I am going on my first and probable only trip to Alaska. I will be there the end of July, I already have a 6 hour boat tour out of Steward.

 

Taking my Canon 5D mark3, 100-400mm, and my 17-40mm with a mono pod my tripod is to heavy to pack in my checked bag and my travel tripod won’t hold this gear. If I have room an extender in case of some wildlife at a distance.

[Rob Wood (Admin)]

Seems like a reasonable amount of stuff, Hank. I would probably be pretty worried about extra batteries and certainly about extra memory cards. Batteries don’t work well in the cold so make sure you’ve got plenty.

 

Personally, I’d also be taking an ND grad but I am a landscape tragic.

That 40 to 100 range does seem a little bit worrying to me for my personal preferences in subject matter but it kind of depends on what type of shooter you are and what you plan to shoot.

[Robert Apple]

Take what your most familiar with and can squeeze off shots quickly,  and pratice setting it up so you get fast with it and store it as muscle  memory.

[Hank Popik]

@admin-2

I have the batteries and cards covered, I have been going back and forth on taking my 28-70 that’s the lens, that lives on my camera, but it an old f2.8 and it’s heavy beast of a lens.

taking a polarizer filter, but the  ND grad is a good idea since I would be shooting up at the mountains.

my main worry is getting past the TSA taking a hard case with my gear as a carry on.

 

[Rob Wood (Admin)]

@hank – this might give you some ideas. https://www.lightstalking.com/air-travel-camera-gear/

[Anne Hornsby]

@hank    When going on trips, I wear my camera body and longest lens on a halter that hangs on my front. It’s a great way to save weight in luggage.  I love my halter. I’ve never had anyone challenge this. Of course, I also wear it when hiking somewhere I want to take photos, with extra lenses & gear in backback with my water and protein bar.

Robert’s advice is important – practice setting up quickly.  I don’t know if you’re hiking in back country there, but being quick to shoot plus keep up with others is good.    One thing I really messed up on my journey to Svalbard was my ISO settings.  I found shooting ice and snow difficult. So, I’m going to practice my timing on changing that and other settings really quickly for an upcoming trip to ice.   But I think snow is all melted in Alaska end of July.

I wouldn’t worry about TSA.  They don’t care if your case is hard. You’ll open it, maybe have to turn a camera on, then done.  Worse case is they pull you over to go through all ther gear, but they’ve always been very professional and polite when I’ve done that.  Have fun!!

[Hank Popik]

@(Admin)

thanks didn’t know there was a weight limit on carry on

have to check into that,

[Rob Wood (Admin)]

@hank So imagine you’re moving your entire life between countries and when you think you’ve packed up everything you get to the airport and you have quite a lot of luggage and carry-on but you think you’re going to make it through and then you get up to the person to let you on the plane and they point blank refuse. Then you’re in the middle of an airport trying to repack every bit of your life into the stowaway luggage and trying to repack the other part of your life into your inside coat pockets – yeah that was me a few years back when I discovered it for myself.

[Author]

Posts