Member-only story
How to Use the Two-Bag System for Efficient Travel Photography
Bring everything, but carry only what you need
Adventure photography requires substantially more gear than family vacation trips. You typically need at least one long lens for wildlife, a wide angle for landscape, a fast aperture for low-light situations, and a macro lens for close-ups. Plus, if you don’t like changing lenses in the field, add two camera bodies.
All this stuff must accompany you on the plane. Never check photography gear in your luggage. (It’s much cheaper to buy new sneakers than to replace a camera.) Once you arrive, all you have to do is get your suitcase and camera bag to the hotel; then you can take a deep breath.
The first part of the journey, going from point A to point B, is where you bring everything you need to establish a new home base. The second part is different. This is when you decide what gear you need for each particular shoot and only bring those items.
It’s one thing to lug all of your belongings through an airport, but it’s another to carry those cameras and lenses on your back while climbing a mountain. Do you really need to schlep all of your worldly possessions up that hill?
I’m advocating that you do not. And if you employ the two-backpack system, you won’t need to.