Over the last 25 years or so as a professional travel photographer I have traveled to some 87 countries. I have snowmobiled in the Arctic, trekked in the Sahara, swum with sharks and photographed the largest gathering of humans ever on the planet. I have worked in sweltering rainforests, ancient cities, amidst breathtaking mountains and even hanging out of planes.
Travel photography suits my low boredom threshold. One minute I can be a landscape photographer, the next a documentary photographer. In the same day I can be shooting wildlife, portraits, architecture, interiors, macro, documentary, food, action and even underwater.
So much of travel photography revolves around getting to your destination with the equipment you need. There is a fine line between having enough equipment and too much. Airlines have restrictions on both checked and carry-on luggage luggage, and once on location, you'll actually have to be able to carry all of this gear.
Over the years I have settled on a standard (and fairly comprehensive) kit with which to shoot. I might supplement this with a few things - a more powerful telephoto for wildlife or an underwater kit for diving. If I have to use smaller planes or anticipate more difficult shooting conditions I will pare things down accordingly.
With regard to cameras and lenses, there is little that you can do about weight. Professional gear is bulky and heavy, and I always bring backup equipment. That means at least two camera bodies and a range of lenses (in duplicate) covering wide, middle and telephoto focal lengths. If this seems excessive, it's not. Theft, damage or mechanical failure can all render you incapable of taking pictures.
In fact, if I come back from a trip having used only half of what I have taken, I consider that a good thing. It means I haven't lost or broken the other half!
My lenses range from a 10.5mm fish-eye through to a 300mm f4. Most are Nikon pro-zooms: 14-24mm, 17-35mm, 24-70mm and 70-200mm. I also carry a 60mm micro, a 50mm 1.8 for low light and 1.4x and 2x tele convertors. All the lenses have B+W UV filters and lens hoods attached. I also carry a Lastolite reflector, flash and sometimes a ring-flash adapter, which is perfect for fill-in flash.
The gear is transported in a Lowe-Pro Phototrekker AWII. This conforms to most airlines' carry on restrictions. If there is a problem with carry on weight, then I always have a Domke photographers vest which is perfect for stuffing heavy gear in at check-in. After all, as I have pointed out to a few check-in clerks, nowhere does it say that they can weigh my pockets!
When I arrive on location, I typically use a smaller Domke Original canvas bag for shooting, leaving my spare gear back at the hotel room for safety. One drawback with pro zooms is that they tend to have a more limited focal length range than their consumer counterparts. I find this a worthwhile sacrifice for the image quality, but it does mean I have to change lenses more often. So I also use a couple of ThinkTank modular system lens pouches to speed up the process of changing lenses.
All of my electrical gear is fitted with the Euro-style 2 pin plugs. These are far lighter than the bulky 3 pin UK versions, and more universal than US fittings. A Euro 3-way adapter is small, and hardly weighs a thing. I have the camera charger, laptop charger, battery charger for the flash and flashlight and an adapter the the backup drive fitted with them. I also have two fast card readers, a GPS unit for tagging images, B+W polarizing filters, wireless and wired remote releases, four spare camera batteries, spare batteries for everything else, a fused travel adapter with spare fuse, an Xrite Colorchecker
Passport, spare lens caps and a comprehensive cleaning kit.
Equipment is only a means to an end. The ultimate aim is to capture images that convey the emotion you experienced. The first time you see the Taj Mahal, for example, it's all too easy to get excited by the ambience and snap away. But remember, you have the adrenaline rush and sensory overload of actually being there; an advantage that friends back home looking at your pictures won't have. It is a bit like the bottle of local booze that you bring back from your travels. It tasted great when you were on the road, but like washing up liquid once you're back at home!
