Sunday, January 13, 2013

Asia bound! What's in my pack?



I'm at the airport waiting for my flight to Vietnam. The next three weeks will be jam packed with hard-core shooting..... Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Our itinerary will keep us very busy! For an overseas trip, I'm traveling very light this time.... mainly because we'll be photographing more cultural scenes and landscapes then wildlife. Nevertheless, I always travel with 3 bags: 

1) The large MEC duffle bag at my feet goes into checked baggage. It contains my tripods, heads, miscellaneous accessories and clothing. Typically I have so much stuff in this bag that it's overweight. That's why I use a duffle bag - the bag itself is very light compared to a standard suitcase. I use my clothing as padding to protect the gear.

2) The pack on the right is a Gura Gear "Bataflae" 18L. Normally I use a Gura Gear 32L pack, but on this trip I'm not taking a huge telephoto lens. This bag is my my primary carry-on and contains all of the expensive, fragile stuff. See the photo below to see what's in it.

3) On my other shoulder is a small North Face day pack which is my 'personal' item for carry-on. It contains my laptop, binoculars and reading material for the long plane flight!



This is traveling light for me! The Gura Gear "Bataflae" 18L is amazingly spacious for its size and weight. What's in the bag for my Asia trip? Going clockwise from the top left: Canon 24/1.4 (Canon 1.4x II TC underneath), Sigma 15/2.8 fisheye (Canon 2x II TC underneath) , Canon 17-40/4, Sigma 24-70/2.8, Canon 70-300/4-5.6, Canon 1D mk IV body, Canon 5d mk II body, Canon 300/2.8. I also have a Canon 580 EX II flash that sneaks in next to the 300mm lens, but I took it out for this shot so you could see the glass.

Happy shooting!
Ethan

Wednesday, January 09, 2013

Canon G15 - my new point & shoot camera


Above Photo: That's my setup for behind-the-scenes photos... a Canon G15, Joby GorillaPod and Really Right stuff BH-30 ballhead.

I carry a point and shoot camera with me everywhere I go, especially when I'm traveling or out on photo shoots. The convenience of a p&s allows me to shoot candid pics and behind-the-scenes photos/video for presentations and articles. My choice for years has been the Canon G-series.... I've gone through the lineup with a G2, G6, G9, G10, G11, G12 and I just picked up the latest G15 today. A bunch of things appeal to me about the G-series cameras: build quality, image quality (quite good for a p&s), intuitive controls and optional manual function (although I usually just shoot in auto mode!). As a bonus, Canon makes relatively inexpensive underwater housings for the G-series cameras.... which I use for creative perspectives when shooting canoe or kayak photos, and when I'm snorkeling. 

I'm packing right now for a trip to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia... the above rig will be at my side so I can capture all kinds of fun photos!