Chase Jarvis TECH: Packing Photography Gear

PROBLEM: Traveling with cameras, lenses, lights, computers and all the rest of the gear that us photographers use these days can be a serious challenge. After all, this stuff is spendy and breakable, yet it needs to travel to the same places that photographers do to make great pictures. From urban jungles like the Big Apple to the real jungles of Zimbabwe, traveling with photography equipment requires some special know-how.

SOLUTION: With a bit of savvy, some organization, and some of the right packs, bags, boxes, and cases for the job, your gear can travel safely and efficiently almost anywhere in the world. I figured I’d whip together a couple videos that might shed some light on this murky subject. Whether you’re packing around a dSLR and a couple of lenses OR a ton of cameras, lighting kits, and all the trimmings to shoot a large ad campaign, there are tips in here for every level of shooter. Thus, the following two videos illustrate how we go about schlepping our stuff via plane, train, automobile, foot, -hell- even donkey, on assignment all over the world.

http://www.viddler.com/player/5b02ecbf/

This first video, above, Chase Jarvis TECH: Packing Photography Gear (Advanced) runs at 30 minutes and focuses on the big picture. It details packing and traveling domestically and internationally with dSLR kits, medium-format digital rigs, video cameras, lighting and accessories, tripods and stands, computer equipment, radios, and various other production equipment. Insider tips, resources about airlines, shippers, expediters, strategy, theory and lots of other information is abound.

The second vid, Chase Jarvis TECH: Packing Photography Gear (Basic) runs at 10 minutes and is a trimmed version of Advanced. It highlights packing and traveling with a dSLR kit, light-duty flash photography accessories, and essential computer equipment. It also touches on air travel rules and regs, keeping a low profile, and working in extreme weather or location conditions:

Finally, keep in mind that no video or even some kooky week-long seminar could address ALL the ins and outs of packing and traveling with photo gear. These vids are meant to highlight what works for us. There’s a million other details we couldn’t include, but the magic is this: No doubt you have other ideas and techniques too! Please share your packing secrets, tips, thoughts, and experiences in the comments below. So much of the value of this blog is directly a result of your participation and the ideas of this community. I’d love to learn a thing or two about your favorite way to get your gear from here to there. Let’s make this entry another killer resource like a few others we’ve done in the past.

[NOTE: In case you missed our last post, Chase Jarvis Videos on iTunes, we’re happy to report that we’ve now got a great iTunes Video Podcast going. Every video on this blog is available for FREE at iTunes in two resolutions, iPhone/iPod (lower res) and AppleTV (higher res). We’ve posted both of today’s videos there, however it takes about a day to post/propogate through the iTunes system. Check over there soon to put ’em in your pocket or on your boob tube].

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