Kenya bound...

My bags are packed and off to the airport in a half hour en route to Kenya for a couple weeks of photography. Here's what I travel with (above).... 

Bag 1 (left) Carry-on is a Gura Kiboko bag with all the really expensive, fragile stuff (bodies, lenses, filters). Gura is the best bag for traveling with a ton of gear! I've got a 500/4, 300/2.8, 70-200/4, 24-70/2.8, 24TSE, 17-40/4, 1DS mark III and 5D mark II in there... amazing that it all fits! 

2) Personal item (second carry-on) has laptop, documents, point and shoot, etc.

3) Checked bag is a large MEC duffle bag (very little weight in the bag iteself) with tripods, heads, reflectors, chargers all padded with underwear, t-shirts, pants, etc!

Dust is always a problem for me on photo shoots and I expect it to be bad in the dry African savannah ecosystems. Dust is especially problematic for shooting video with tee 5D mark II.... it's a serious pain to remove dust spots from HD video! To save me the agony, I'm now using a product called Dust-Shield, which is an optical quality thin plastic film that seals the camera chamber and prevents dust from getting on the sensor. I just had my camera cleaned and put a fresh dust shield on... see next two photos. It works great and makes life so much easier! 


The next photo is the most important item I'll be traveling... Imodium! In foreign countries, you're exposed to a range of 'bugs' that will inevitably result in gastro-intestinal distress. Imodium has saved me on many trips, so I could keep photographing and spent less time in agony in third-world washrooms! 

Be sure to follow the blog and my facebook page over the next couple weeks to see the photos and hear the stories from the trip!

Photo Van conversion - phase 1 (screens)

I had been contemplating a new vehicle for a long time, something that could meet all of my needs -  short distance travel (grocery store, etc), plenty of room for photo gear and ability to live out of it on  extended road trips. I settled on a 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan, with tons of space and the magical stow-and-go seating system. Never thought I'd be a mini-van owner.... this is an image killer for my bachelor lifestyle!

I'm in the process of customizing the van and the first step was to have screens made for the windows and doors. Good ventilation is critical to camping out in a vehicle, both to prevent moisture buildup and to stay cool in hot weather. But most importantly, screens keep out the bugs!

I had a local upholstery shop (Grey Bruce Upholstery in Wiarton, Ontario) custom make screens for the back hatch, side doors and front windows. The screens attach by velcro and/or sleeves that fit over the door frame. The cost was about $625 plus tax.... well worth it for good sleeps!

Stay tuned to the blog for more details as I continue to trick out the van for photo travel....  

Countdown to Panama!

I'm packed and ready to catch a few hours sleep before my early morning flight to Panama. It's stressful traveling as a photographer these days.... so much gear to worry about with new security procedures and baggage regulations. Here's what's going with me:

In the first photo....
The large black dufflebag on the left is my checked luggage which contains clothing, tripod & heads, some camera accessories. The bag is durable, light and fully packed I'm able to just squeeze in under the weight restriction! I use clothes and spare shoes as padding to protect the tripod & other gear.

The black camera pack on the right is my carry-on containing all of my lenses, bodies, binoculars, etc. This is a new pack I just bought this past week - a Gura Gear "Kiboko" bag, which is large enough to fit all of my  basic camera gear (including my 500/4 lens)  yet extremely light so the pack doesn't add much weight. I love this bag! See second and third photos below for closeups of how the camera gear is packed in it.

The third bag (blue daypack) contains my laptop and a few basic travel items(chewing gum, magazine, Blackberry). This  my 'personal item' allowed for carry-on.

I'm off to bed for a short sleep. Check back in a couple of days to see some photos of Panama birds, wildlife and landscapes!

A full year on the road!

Today marks a full year of traveling since hitting the road last autumn. What a wild trip it has been.... many miles, incredible places and experiences..... and more photos than I probably know what to do with.  After such a long time living wanderlust, I've decided to settle back down in Ontario for the foreseeable future. Life on the road is grand, but a year is a long time to live in a van (especially by yourself!) ..... so I'm looking forward to being in one place for a while. I've rented a beautiful house near Georgian Bay and will be working on some cool projects,  getting my new photos into circulation and recharging my bank account (van repairs were damn expensive!). I'm particularly going to enjoy regular showers, home-cooked food and an indoor plumbing (versus always having to pee behind trees)!  

Thought you might be interested in a few basic trip stats from the year....
- 78,500 km driven
-  1,020 km waked carrying my camera gear
- 87,000 photos taken
- $16,500 spent on van repairs/maintenance
- 433 bird species seen
- favorite place: giant redwood forests of northern California
- 19,000 different blog visitors

If you've been following the blog, you'll be pleased to know that I did not break my 6 day record of wearing the same t-shirt. And I only ate 3 bags of Oreos during the entire trip!

How about my favorite photos from the past year? Here are a few that stand out in my mind:

Above photo: Star trails over Jumbo Rocks, Joshua Tree National Park, California

Above photo: The Subway canyon in Zion National Park.

Above photo: Salt Creek cracked mud, Death Valley National Park, California

Above photo: American White Pelican landing, Salton Sea, California

Above photo: Painted Bunting, central Texas coast.

So what are my next big trips? Aside from some shorter trips within North America, my top destinations are Madagascar and Australia. Those are fairly expensive destinations, so I'll be saving my cash for a while.... even if it requires surviving on dried cat food and cheap wine.

6 month trip update

Laughing Gull pair courting
EOS 50D; 500/4 IS & 1.4x TC
ISO 200; 1/500 @ f/8

As of today, I've been on the road for 6 months. What a blast the trip has been with many extraordinary experiences, interesting people, and some of the best photos I’ve ever shot. I thought you might like to hear some stats and stories from along the way.

Before I get into it, let me say a huge thanks to all of you for checking out the blog…. and especially those who've taken time to post or send a comment. THANKS!

Stats since I started the trip on October 20, 2008:

• 40,190 km driven
• 45,500 photos taken
• 558 km walked carrying my camera gear
• 2-3 days – average time between showers
• 6 days - longest time wearing the same t-shirt
• 358 species of birds seen
• 8,174 different blog visitors
• climbing a landslide: most dangerous thing I've done (aside from driving)
• $141/gallon – cheapest gas I found (Tucson in December)
• favorite towns: Portal, Arizona and Mendocino, California
• favorite spots: giant redwood forests of northern California & Death Valley, California
• top trip songs: The Unforgettable Fire (U2), Big Casino (Jimmy Eat World)
• trip album: Viva la Vida (Coldplay)
• worst sleep: Radisson Hotel, Phoenix (domestic dispute outside my room; they set off the fire alarm at 2:30am)
• best park staff: South Llano River State Park, Texas
• cheapest bottle of wine consumed: Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon ($2)
• celebrity encounters: Hulk Hogan passed me while driving
• 1 camera destroyed to get Canvasback duck photo (Canon G9)
• Sierra Nevada Pale Ale - best beer

I'll be back in Ontario in just over a week and look forward to touching bases with friends and family, as well as shooting on my home turf, as the journey continues.