Posts Tagged ‘tamrac’
Travel photography packing
So the time has finally come. The house is packed up and my wife and I are almost ready to leave on our big adventure. If you don’t already know about it where have you been!?! If you do then you’ll no doubt know how excited we are and how we’ve spent the last 8 months preparing for this life changing moment.
One of those preparations has of course been my photography business and gearing up (quite literally) for our travels. Documentary photography, unless undertaken on your doorstep or nearby town, is something that you need to prepare well for. There are many methods, 2 cents worth of advice and all sorts of ideals you can work to. There’s loads of blogs already on this subject, some mentioned in my “Ultimate Online Guide to Photography“. I’m not here to give you advice this time, merely share my preparations.
So firstly the bag. Who would take a camera without a good quality camera bag? The emphasis here really is on quality. I made sure I got the best quality bag that i could trust. It needs to be relatively weather proof and very well padded for all that delicate equipment. I chose the Tamrac Adventure 9. It’s a full ruck-sack style bag with lots of compartments, very well organised and well thought out zips and fastenings to keep the weather out and the gear in. It’s very comfortable and I love it. It’s not cheap but well worth looking in to. I’d definitely recommend it to others.
As much as i trust my bag I have tested it’s weather-proofing abilities. I was stuck out in a torrential downpour with it once and while it did protect my gear the inside was noticeably damp when i got home. The gear was dry and would have survived longer I’m sure but I decided to investigate further weather proofing. I found a great solution in the Exped Dry Bags. These little fellas are fantastic. You just fold the top over 3 times and click the strap in. The 100% 
waterproof material does the job. I tested this by filling one with toilet paper and running it under the tap for over 4 minutes. Most likely the worst conditions they’ll ever face. The paper came out completely dry. I have a couple of extra small and one small Exped Dry Bag. I keep them inside my camera bag so i know my gear will always be dry and safe.
I’m not the kind of guy to travel light. Some photographers say just take the one lens, one camera. If you can’t create great work with just that then you’re no decent photographer. I don’t believe this at all. I say take what you feel comfortable carrying. Take what YOU want and what will make you happy. I have 3 lenses, one SLR, one High def video camera and my Manfrotto tripod. No doubt I wont take it all out every day but I’ve been working out at the gym especially for carrying this camera bag so I’m prepared to take my gear where-ever it needs carrying.
Gear wise, I bought my Canon 5D Mark II specifically for this trip. It’s weather proof house, very robust design and staggering beautiful quality is worth every penny. I’ll also be taking my new love, my Canon 24-105 F4 L IS, an amazingly good lens, also my wonderful little 50mm 1.8F and the rock solid all weather 70-200 F4 L. It’s not light to carry but I know it’ll be worth it.
Insurance is of course vitally important. I’ve gone with the very helpful Photoguard. They give the most coverage and understand the needs of travel photographers. Their price was very reasonable and I feel more secure now that I have that insurance. As a friend said, go with the premise that at some point your gear will be stolen. Be prepared for it. So when it does you can start sorting out what needs to be done instantly. Of course hopefully it wont happen but that will be a bonus!
Of course my trusty laptop will be coming with me. There’s space in my rucksack for that too. What would we do without our digital dark rooms these days eh?
If you’ve got any advice or techniques you’d like to share with me and others reading this blog then be sure to post now. It’s always good to share!
My portable dark room
In the days of film photography you went into a darkroom to develop your photos. If you weren’t that rich you just took your film to the nearest photo-lab and had them develop your images.
Since the digital age took over we now carry our dark rooms around with us in small plastic boxes. Clicking our way through our prints, removing the sub-standard, tweaking the best.We’ve come along way baby!
I was a Windows man, like so many others, for far too long. Back in 2007 i made the switch to Apple Macs and my working life has been enriched ever since. Yes i sound like one of those smug “Apple lovers“. That’s because I am one. I’ve yet to meet a “Microsoft Lover”. I adore Macs. They work so well, are jammed full of helpful tools and features that make your workflow faster and easier. I first had a Mac Mini, quickly followed by a Macbook which served me well for a good while.
Earlier this year I upgraded my Camera to the wonderful Canon 5D Mark II. Before that day my Macbook was happy dealing with the 6.5 Megapixel RAW images coming out of my trusty (if a little worn) Canon 300D. It was however not quite so nimble with the massive 21.1 Megapixel RAW files it had to now contend with. Lightroom was doing it’s best to keep up but it was soon clear that I really needed more speed, more memory and more storage!
With our massive traveling plans it was also clear I’d need something I could afford, something portable and something that would make work on the road easy.
It was then that I discovered Apple’s business leasing which meant I could get all the speed I needed in one of Apple’s gorgeous new unibody Macbook Pros and pay for it monthly, upgrading when I need to without the massive initial cost. Setting up the contract was quick and easy and my stunningly sexy new laptop arrived in days.
I have to say if you’re thinking of getting yourself a new laptop and you’re a photographer then I’d highly recommend a Macbook Pro. It can easily handly my 25MB RAW images that open up to 350MB TIFF files. I often have Lightroom, Photoshop, Mail, tiwtter, firefox, skype and more all running at the same time with no sign of slowing.The LED screen is stunningly bright and colourful and the backlit keyboard is more than just a gimmick. It definitely helps when working in dim surroundings like planes, trains, etc.
It’s 7 hour battery life sounds impressive but with real world usage you’re more likely to get 4 hours. My workflow includes 2 hardrives, one for primary image storage and one for backup. It’s great to be able to handle my demanding workflow all from one portable computer that has way more power than any other computer I’ve owned, desktop or otherwise.
And the best bit. It weighs the same as my old Macbook and fits neatly in my Tamrac Adventure 6 backpack.
Tamrac Camera Bag Review
With travel in mind (and lots of it) my choice of camera bag was very important to me. This isn’t just a bag to keep my camera safe, it needed to be something I could happily carry for hours every day in 30C heat. Something that could accommodate everything I’d want to take with me on my travels whilst being comfortable.
After a fair bit of review reading and scouting around I decided upon the Tamrac Adventure 9 camera bag.
Ruck Sack Style
I chose a ruck sack rather than a shoulder bag because i want to evenly distribute the weight across my shoulders. Having the weight of a camera plus lenses, etc on one shoulder for hours a day is not a good idea. It can seriously effect your general posture, cause back and shoulder pains. It would also mean a smaller bag so I would be limited to what I could fit in.
Compartment Size
One very important thing for me was being able to fit all my gear in. There’s a wide range of ruck sack style camera bags out there and the size of each compartment varies massively. The Tamrac Adventure 9 has ample space for my Canon 5D Mark II, my 70-200mm F4 and my 24-105 F4. It also has a slot against the back for a 15″ laptop and another compartment for cables, snacks, whatever else you need for the day.
It also has a large number of pouches, zip up areas, and slots to put all manner of accessories in. Memory cards, filters, spare batteries, etc. All of which can fit in the main camera compartment which flips open easily to allow access to everything quickly.
Weather Proof
While I’ve not tested it in Monsoon like conditions, I’m pretty confident it’ll keep all my gear dry even in big downpours. All the zips are waterproofed including the more exposed laptop slot zip. Other zips have fold over flaps and the camera compartment has 3 extra straps for tightly fastening down the flap to stop wind lifting it or rain getting in. To be on the safe side I plan to purchase some resealable plastic bags to put my gear in. I’ll no doubt report more on it’s performance once I’m in Vietnam!
Attaching Extra Gear
The Tamrac Adventure 9 has a whole bunch of straps and fasteners on the outside so if you want to quickly attach something to it for easy access, you can. It also has two net style pouches on either side, perfect for a drinks bottle or a flash if you need easy access. I’ve even put a monopod in there and it’s held it in place no problem.
The bag also has 2 slots underneath it. I purchased some attachment straps and now strap my lightweight tripod to the bottom of my bag easily. Having it horizontally underneath helps spread the weight evenly which is best when carrying.
Very Happy
All in all I’m very happy with my bag. It wasn’t cheap but it’s very comprehensive in it’s features and abilities. It’s always comfortable to wear. It Does a great job of evenly distributing weight. Has easy access compartments and the extra straps give it more flexibility. I feel confident it will serve me well as i trek through Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia.
UPDATE
It DID serve me well! In fact even better than I expected! Treking up and down mountains, through dense rainforest and on many a train, bus and dodgy taxi. It was comfortable, protected my gear perfectly and gave me confidence to bring my gear to places I wouldn’t trust any other bag! Well worth it.
Worth reading
Check out this great blog on how to pack your camera bag! very important!
Your experience
As ever your thoughts and comments are welcome. What bag do you own and why?