Travel Organization

I've been hoping to spend more time in 2012 traveling by bicycle. As an adult, I haven't spent much time on a bike, so the process of relearning it all has been interesting. My hope is to build a touring bike that allows me to carry photography gear large distances on small Pacific Northwest roads.

This month, I added some wooden fenders, which were made by Cody at Woody's Fenders in Bend. In anticipation of a good year of travel, I thought I'd share my bike before my year of alternative travel begins.

The area around Moab, with its diverse and iconic scenes, attracts a lot of photographers. I had a chance to meet several travel photographers, peek at their equipment, and got a glimpse at how they packed.

How I pack for active travel is so important to my fate as a traveler. For as many years as I've been writing for this site, I have experimented with dozens of different ways to pack. While I have always sought that one combination of bags that solves every travel problem, I've learned its better to have flexibility with a small quiver of bags and backpacks. While I don't profess to be being able to tell you how to pack for the type of travel you do, I thought you my be interested in how I have learned to pack for a variety of situations.

I carry a large format 4x5 camera system whenever I travel. For most of the 12 years of Notes from the Road, I have used an ice climbing pack to carry my gear. These packs tend to have a very solid, water-resisent exterior, but are also very light. Without extra pockets, you can shape your gear into the shape of the backpack.

This has been a vital difference in how I've been packing my backpack versus a lot of other travel photographers. There are a lot of travel photography-specific packs, such as this LowePro NatureTrekker, pictured below. The pack appeals to photographers because it is designed to protect important camera gear, which it does admirably.

However, a pack like this weighs about 14 pounds on its own, without any gear. That may not feel like a lot of weight on its own, but when you are packing 20-30 pounds of metal on your back, that extra 14 pounds is a dealbreaker.

Another problem with these photography packs is that they are so rigid in their structure, that they simply can't hold the gear of photographers whose gear falls out of the classic SLR structure of a long lens, a couple SLRs and a couple smaller lenses.

The idea for me has always been to find light, but resilient climbing packs with narrow profiles that can hold camera gear tightly against my back. If packed correctly, the way each piece fits together provides the support that keeps everything safe. This has always allowed me to carry much more gear than my travel photographer friends, because, the surprise is that the cumulative weight of gear protection, containers and padding adds up very quickly.

More recently, I realized I needed a different solution - these days, I usually need to carry a laptop, a telephoto digital system, as well as a telephoto macro system. The weight of all these items is nearly equal to the large format system.

Also, I am getting more and more trouble from airlines for carrying a large carry-on. This is especially true on small puddle-jumpers, which demand your carry-ons go in the hull of the plane. I have been lucky to convince the pilot each time to stash my photo pack in the Captain's closet, but that luck will run out eventually.

I found this Patagonia Atacama pack on sale for $45. Its much smaller than the ice-climbing packs I've used in the past, more like a large daypack. It fits the large format camera, the digital camera, and two lenses in the main compartment, along with the laptop and cord.

I am able to fit 20 sheets of film, the light meter and the film back in a separate pouch. Tripod fits snugly on the skateboard ties. Extra large format film, telephoto lens and macro system fit vertically in a travel satchel, which is small enough to fit under my seat in any airline.

If the airline attendents get fussy about sending gear down below, I can switch the most sensitive items to the travel satchel. The key with this setup is that there is still no photographer's padding, and so the weight stays down.

I use another backpack as padding within the satchel. Its a very small one-strap sling backpack, also by Patagonia. You can stow your larger backpack and fit a telephoto lens, a pair of binoculars, a travel umbrella and a bottle of water in this tiny pack. Again, the way you pack the pieces together allows you to keep a padding-free gear pack. I use this setup when I want to shoot macros or telephotos, but need a lot of mobility.

While having a light pack is important, some packs just don't work well for this type of packing system. I am a big fan of GoLite, the lightpacking products for ultralight backpacking. But this type of ultralight backpack doesn't have a rigid back, which is necessary for that type of packing system. Without a rigid pack, heavy gear can't sit in one place:

Always curious to learn more about how other people pack. Join me at my Facebook Page and chime in.

Last fall, I showed you a simple way to keep your field bag light with a simple colored pencil holder. Here is another solution that works well.

This is a small, compact and waterproof watercolor pallette. Although you can carry a small amount of watercolors in any size container - an altoids tin, for example, a waterproof pallette can't be beat because you can open and close it anywhere, and not worry about spilled paint.

Also, I collect different sizes of drinking straws, which are great in protecting your brushes in travel. I keep the brushes right in the pallette to shave weight and space, and I seek out shorter brushes, which are easier to stow while traveling. While I was in the Alvord Desert, I used a single brush for all my notes.

What's in your field bag?

Although I carry a daypack with my large format camera system and some other travel necessities, I also usually keep a smaller bag, which I call my field bag. This is a small, lightweight collection of my essentials - whether I'm traveling by plane, in a city cafe, or in the field.

Here are the essentials of my field bag:

- A lightweight and waterproof Nike 10x25 binoculars, with the strap removed and replaced with much longer Domke straps. This allows me to wear the binoculars around my back.

- Moleskine sketchbook, where I keep all of my travel plans, confirmations, notes, interviews, maps & directions, sketches.

- A small leather case by Global Art, which houses 24 watercolor pencils, a pencil sharpener, 3 Copic pens and 3 watercolor brushes.

- A field guide if necessary.

What to carry in the field bag is one of my favorite subjects. Email me your thoughts about your field bag.

I'm headed to the tropics, and I have been spending some time trying different ways to pack a longboard skateboard.

On small islands, who needs a car, anyways? And wouldn't you rather be self-propelled than sit around in a golf cart? I found the solution at a sporting goods store. Longboard skateboards won't make it on as a carry-on, and at 44 inches or longer, longboards won't fit in even the most gigantic luggage. The solution? Find a kid's snowboard bag. I found a snowboard bag for $35, made by Burton and designed for smaller snowboards. I packed my clothes in Eagle Creek Pack-It cubes, and the longboard is nicely protected.

Traveling by peddle, paddle, push or sail gives you momentum and thrill, while also letting you see the world you're traveling through in a much more intimate way. As the conversation about alternative transportation heats up around the world, I thought it'd be good to make this the year of exploring different ways to travel without an engine.

I will cover stories of slow travel in the regular Notes from the Road travel photography blog regions. But here, I'll write about the gear, the customs, what I learn, and the mistakes I learn from. I'll also try to feature blogs and websites that have been covering this topic much longer than I.