Traveling with photo equipment on your diving vacation may be as simple as tucking your camera in your pocket or may be more like taking an extra person with you. The more equipment you have to take on your trip, the larger your travel bags need to be. Like any commercial photographer, an underwater photographer will have multiple lighting sources, spare parts and possibly even spare cameras and lenses. With new airline luggage regulations, getting all of your equipment to your destination may be a challenge.
Once you get it there, you need to be able to use it effectively. You probably wont need to carry all of those spare parts with you on your daily shoots but you do want to carry what you will need.
Your underwater camera, once it is assembled, usually requires no special carrying case to transport it to and from the dive destination. However, if you plan on taking above the water shots or go touring while on your diving trip, you may need a bag or two to help you transport your equipment.
Transporting Your Equipment on Airlines
Today, the airline luggage regulations can impact your trip and your budget. Most airlines are now charging for bags, charging for heavy bags and limiting carry on bags. Dealing with all of these ever changing regulations can be a challenge. Small underwater camera systems, can be easily carried in your standard luggage. However, a specialized bag like a photographic equipment backpack or roller will give you more protection.
With the advent of digital photography, gone are the lead lined film bags and plastic film cans. However, these have been replaced by laptop computers, portable hard drives and cables for everything. This means that an effective photographic equipment bag must also provide storage for these items. Additionally, since laptop computers must be scanned separately from the remainder of the bag, having an easy access pocket for the computer is helpful.
International airlines tend to be stricter with carry-on bags. Many allow for a maximum length of 20 inches rather than 22 inches for US airlines (see Continental Airlines), and generally they have more restrictive weights. For example, Continental Airlines allows carry-on bags to weigh 40 pounds, while Singapore Airlines is 22 pounds and Air Lingus is even lower with 15 pounds. To make matters even tougher, many of the international carriers have scales at the check-in counter and require passengers to weigh their bags.
Keeping your photographic equipment with you is the best option. However, larger underwater camera systems will not generally fit in these carry-on cases. In the past, photographers used ice chests to transport their camera equipment but airline regulations will not pay for anything damaged in these “unapproved” suit cases. A better option is a Pelican hard plastic case. I am fond of the 1620 case with photo inserts. This allows me to organize my underwater housing, electronic strobes, cables, mounting arms, batteries, chargers, spare parts, etc.
The Pelican cases protect your photo equipment and make it easier to organize your equipment. By keeping it organized, you can easily review your stock of spare parts before a trip and have easy, fast access to your equipment during a trip.
The downside of this organization is that it makes it more organized for thieves. In an article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal online, Delta Airlines found a number of employees stealing from patron’s bags. As divers we have often been warned about flying through Miami and Los Angeles, both known for problems with luggage being lost and items stolen.
Having been the victim of such theft, Ann now zips the trays in plastic blanket storage covers which have clear tops that allow TSA and other security personnel to look inside the case but makes it difficult for the items to “fall out.” You could also use mesh bags which allow the agents to look through the mesh at your equipment.
An added problem with these cases is the weight. The Pelican 1620 weighs in at 21 pounds empty. This leaves you 29 to 49 pounds for your photographic equipment, depending if the airline allows 50 or 70 pounds.
With most airlines charging for checked luggage and overweight luggage, consolidating camera equipment, clothing and dive equipment is important. Ann is fond of putting clothing and other travel essentials in her photo case and minimizing her carry-on weight. This is important for her especially on trips involving multiple plane changes.
This brings up another point; it is important that you have a method of moving all of your equipment, photo and diving, as well as your clothing, easily. I am an advocate of diving with dollars, meaning that there is usually someone at a destination who will carry your bags for a small fee. But the operative word is “usually.” There are some locations where porters have disappeared (e.g. Cozumel, Mexico) and you will be moving your own luggage. Because of this, wheels are important as are straps designed to turn your luggage into a caravan if necessary.
Carrying Your Photographic Equipment on Location
Diving
Once you arrive at the destination and your equipment is safely stored in your room or cabin you can abandon your traveling bags. After your system is assembled, you are the mule to transport it back and forth to the dive site. For some people, carrying their camera systems is awkward. By adding a padded food carrier to your equipment, you now have both a carrier and your own “rinse tank.”
Non-Diving Activities
For many, meeting and photographing the areas and people we meet is just as important as the diving. But these non-diving activities mean carrying photo equipment away from the boat or resort. Dealing with your camera and the related equipment means you may need something other than the bag you use to travel with.
Where you are taking photographs and the related activities will have an impact on the way you carry your camera, lenses, strobes and accessories. In urban settings, you may not want to advertise that you are loaded down with expensive camera equipment. Here a nondescript bag like ThinkTank’s Urban Disguise or a small backpack may be a better choice. These systems appear more like common bags or briefcases while providing protection for your equipment. One feature of many high end camera bags is a custom designed rain cover to help keep things fry in a wet environment.
Many nature photographers, sports photographers and travel photographers use a modular bag system that fits on a belt. Often termed, speed belt mounting, these systems provide easy access to equipment and allow you to change lenses quickly and easily without having to take a pack off and dig inside.
Sporting events are constantly moving so you may need more mobility and lower concentration on keeping up with a bag. This can also be important on nature hikes where the animals won’t wait for you to change lenses.
A speed belt system also places the weight of your equipment on your hips rather than on your shoulders. The better units also include rain protection for the holsters.
A photographer’s vest is another option for carrying equipment. Like its equivalents in the hunting and fishing sports, it has large pockets that allow you to carry your equipment in the vest. These tend to work well in temperate climates but less so in cold climes because of other outer-wear. In extremely warm conditions, they also tend to be warm.
Selecting an Equipment Bag System
Like the selection of your diving equipment, what type of bag scheme you choose for your camera system depends a lot on the quantity and size of your system as well as the destination. Before purchasing a bag or a system of bags you need to ask yourself the following questions:
- How much equipment do I need to carry?
- Can I carry it on the plane with me or will I need to check some or all of it?
- How many bags am I willing to check?
- Where will I be using it?
- Is security or protection from pick-pockets or other thieves an?
- How much walking will I be doing while taking photographs?
- How fast do I need access to the camera, lenses, strobes or other accessories?
- How much weight am I willing to carry?
Answering these questions will help you select the system that works for you on a given trip. Remember, the system that works for one trip may not be the ideal for another trip.
—– Eric V. Keibler
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