Foreseeing the foreseeable

There is nothing worse than planning the photographic trip of a lifetime, often at considerable expense, and having it ruined, partially or totally, by some foreseeable circumstance. It is bad enough if it goes wrong for some unforeseeable circumstance but at least, in that case, you can console yourself with the thought that you probably couldn't have done anything to prevent it. The foreseeable circumstances, however, are usually, to some extent or other, under your own control and you will have only yourself to blame if they occur. No doubt one or two of your acquaintances, when your long planned trip goes belly up, will offer that ridiculous platitude of “Well I believe everything happens for a reason” as if that makes your holiday ruin whole again. Of course it happened for a reason – you forgot or overlooked something!!

I do not pretend to have a magic answer but for those with a less than perfect memory or no sense of planning I set out below the steps I take to circumvent, as far as possible, any one of a number of potential disasters.

First and foremost I am one of the worst in the world for making lists. However, in the case of foreign, or even extended UK based, travel I have been known to capitulate. It is courting disaster to leave packing to a last minute dash. In the excitement of finally setting off on your trip of a lifetime there is no way that the average humble brain can remember the contents of your extensive list of essential requirements - let alone where you last put them all.

Better to start a list some time in advance and select a place or a container to gradually accumulate those items that are not in everyday use. Then, when the time comes, you have just to grab the receptacle concerned and your only worries will be how to fit a quart into the pint pot of your luggage. If you are travelling solo then yours are the only items to be accommodated and you have only yourself with whom to argue. If you are travelling with partner and sharing luggage allowances then be well prepared with valid arguments to convince him/her that your extra camera body weighing at least four woollies, three sets of underwear and a bag of cosmetics, is actually completely essential to the continued well being of your body and soul and quality of life and that, without it, the whole trip would be meaningless!

Since the earlier days of film I have always been loathe to risk any of my essential gear in the hold. Apart from the vagaries of the performance of scanners, especially in obscure locations, I will always remember coming back from an exotic location and seeing the first two dozen or so cases onto the carousel spewing forth their contents from where, presumably at point of embarkation, they had been neatly slit along their zipper lines.

In days of old I also carried my tripod with me since, in many locations, there is absolutely no chance of replacing such an item should your hold baggage fail to arrive in the same place as you. However, a change in regulations some time ago decided that a collapsed carbon fibre tripod and a deadly weapon were one and the same thing.

Thereafter it either had to go in your hold luggage or into a special bag in the care of the captain. Whether he sat on it or not I have no idea but wondering exactly where it was caused me endless worry, particularly on trips to such as the Falklands where the aircraft on which you arrive at destination can be two or three times removed from the aircraft on which you originally embarked. The only saving grace if you fell foul of this regulation was that the bag in which your Weapon of Mass Destruction was incarcerated for the journey was a wonderfully large thick yellow thing with a stout drawstring, which could be inestimably useful thereafter for wet landings, or in rainforest settings, to prevent the elements wreaking havoc with your gear.

Many flights now have relaxed the weight limits on cabin baggage, though normally size limits remain due to the need for hand luggage to physically fit in the overhead lockers, and this has made life a little easier. However for those flights where you are restricted not only by size but also to only 5 or 6 kilos of weight then my modus operandi is as follows:-
Firstly I make sure that my main camera carrying bag falls within the allowed size limits. I then pack it with everything that I want with me other than what I normally carry in my pockets. This ensures that it all fits, regardless of weight, in the carrying bag you will be using abroad if you can only get it there. I then don two lightweight photographic jackets with at least some of the pockets large enough to take a camera body or a decent lens. From the bag I then set aside a camera body and my largest lens, which is only of an 80/400 zoom size, since it normally seems permissible to carry a camera round your neck on a strap without it being weighed, and then unload the bag into my pockets until it comes down to the proscribed weight limits and, Voila!, we're ready to roll! Once through check in and security you can reload your bag and shed your Michelin Man image as you're not likely to be weighed again. Due to its weight the tripod head now accompanies me whereas the tripod body is consigned within my hold luggage wrapped up in socks and underwear. Make sure that there is enough room to pack away the camera you are wearing after security otherwise you will have to babysit an unprotected camera for the whole trip. Just imagine someone's steel toecaps resting on it when you are told, in no uncertain terms, to put it under the seat for landing!

I hardly ever keep a diary of a trip, and then spend years thereafter wishing that I had done. My advice is that if you can then do so. If you never have to refer to it again then so be it, it cost you nothing. However if you ever want to make a return trip, or advise someone else of where to go and what to do, it could be invaluable. However brilliant you think your memory is I can assure you that, once back in your normal surroundings, many details of the wheres and whens of it will fade into the sunset with little chance of recall.

I realise that everyone will, no doubt, have their own tried and tested routines but I take the liberty of detailing below those items which appear on my list, which is far from perfect, on the off chance that it may prompt one or two to add or remember items that may otherwise have been overlooked. I will not be so presumptuous as to list items that no doubt form part of your everyday photographic kit as you will be well aware of what they are and they will, no doubt, be ready to hand due to their frequent use. The items are listed in no particular order other than the haphazard one in which they come to mind:-
1. Lens cleaning gear, especially a good “puffer” to cope with frequently hot and dusty conditions.
2. A decent manageable sized torch. Don’t skimp on this and make sure you get one that takes conventional sized batteries.
3. Enough battery power for all gadgetry. Try to acquire as many of your items as you can with a common battery size such as AA’s. If you use rechargeables then carry 2 or 3 spare sets of Lithiums in case you cannot connect to the mains for a period.
4. Sufficient memory cards and other backup facilities to fulfil way beyond your wildest dreams – just in case they do become fulfilled. Certainly have enough memory card capacity to carry you right through the day to avoid having to take time out to make hasty, and sometimes later regretted, deletions in the field.
5. Waterproofing for self, camera and equipment bags (see more under article on Trip Photography).
6. Put clearly printed Home Address labels inside all containers so that there is at least an outside chance that any lost bags or containers may get returned to you.
7. Spare bootlaces for tying back and 101 other jobs.
8. Try to carry a spare camera body, or even just a point and shoot, over and above whatever you feel is the minimum requirement for recording your photographic brilliance.
9. A travel type mozzy net for relevant areas. Even if you are not going to a malaria area biting insects can become a nightmare in many places. In addition have plenty of insect repellent wherever you are going. Most destinations have some form of biters or stingers and, especially near water or out in the country, you could well meet most of them.
10. Your inoculation card with an attached note, clearly printed in block capitals, detailing any allergies or medical conditions that you may suffer from in case you are rendered unconscious or cannot communicate in dire circumstance.
11. Passport and tickets of course and then give serious thought to what form of currency you want to take. Consider carefully, in the light of your particular destination, whether you really want to risk using a Credit Card, especially if you are on an all expenses paid trip. If taking travellers cheques make sure you record the numbers and keep the list somewhere other than your wallet. If you are relying on good, old fashioned, cash then make sure that whatever currency you take it in is readily acceptable in whichever country you are visiting. Invest in a comfortable body belt to carry the bulk of it and only have in your wallet what you feel you may need to use that day. This way if you are mugged or pickpocketed there is a good chance they will miss your main stash as long as your wallet contains a sum reasonable enough to satisfy them.
12. Decent soap. Especially in hot climes a change in soap can be enough to trigger a number of skin conditions. I try to take dettol soap as it discourages a plethora of skin complaints, insect bite infections and parasitic invasions by such as ticks. In addition to this some form of medical kit is a good idea.(More of this under the article on trip Photography)
13. A travel dictionary if you feel that you will need it. I never bother since I can get by in English, French, Spanish and one or two African dialects but what is more to the point is that, these days, I can never remember newly learnt phrases anyway. I can learn several words and phrases each evening but can also guarantee to have forgotten all of them, plus a couple more besides, by morning! The more that you travel then the more that you will be happy to rely on a lingua franca of arm waving, pointing, miming and grunting and you will be amazed how many other people speak the same language! As Brits we are often embarrassed to “have a go” and this is our downfall. My advice is to get stuck in and see how you get on.
14. I always take a few plastic carrier bags and bin liners. You will be surprised at just how useful they can prove to be and you cannot rely on being to obtain them locally in many foreign climes.
15. Footwear is normally too heavy to consider carrying spares just for the sake of it, especially walking boots. However make sure that the boots you are taking are worn-in but relatively new and not on their last legs. Cobblers are often few and far between and a separated sole early on in your trip can play hell up with your ability to scale the highest peaks.
16. Some kind of travel wash can help maintain appearances. Not all locations offer a laundry service and you may find that you have to rinse your smalls by hand every so often. If you are going to risk your general clothing to whatever laundry facility is on offer then take the trouble to identity mark your items. This often means that you stand a chance of getting a higher percentage of your own stuff back.
17. If you are on an organised trip make sure that the leaders have details of who you would like to be contacted in the event of a mishap. If you are travelling solo make sure that you stick a piece of paper with the same info on in your passport and write clearly in capital letters. Again for solo travellers make sure that someone at home has as much detail as you can provide in advance of your proposed itinerary just in case you fail to show and someone has to instigate a search. I am, myself, very lax in this regard and so it is a case of do as I say and not as I do. Again, to conclude the section for solo travellers it may be a good idea, albeit a pain in the backside, to arrange to check in with someone, somewhere at some kind of pre determined intervals.
18. On organised trips especially, a travel alarm clock or some means of being woken up is not a bad idea. Early morning sorties are often on offer and it would be a shame to miss an opportunity just because the local vintage the night before packed a heavier punch than you are used to.
19. If you are lucky enough to be going somewhere exotic like the Galapagos, where beach landings from inflatables are the order of the day, then I would advise two things. The first is a waterproof bag large enough to stuff all your gear in other than your tripod. There are two kinds of landings – dry and wet. The dry ones are where you will be able to tie up alongside some kind of landing facility and you should be able to disembark with dry feet.

Sometimes, though, there are no such facilities or the swell is too much and you have to resort to a wet landing. This is where the boat just pulls onto a beach and you leap over the side into whatever level of surf is prevailing at the time. This can be a messy business with arms, legs, bodies and equipment flying in all directions. No one else will be much worried about your gear and so its wellbeing is down to you. Have a waterproof bag (just a heavy duty plastic bag such as the tripod bags mentioned above will do) with a drawstring or roll over top and stuff all your gear into this before you disembark from your main boat and then you need have no worries from spray or surf and are free to join the melee of the landing with all the rest.

The second thing is a pair of sandals that you don't mind getting wet. You may be promised a landing on sand but sod's law is that the only stony outcrop on the beach will be right where you need to put your foot. You also have to remember that whilst you may land on sand your round the island walk may take place on volcanic or coral outcrop and bare feet are not too bright an idea.

20. Reference books. I seldom bother with these as they can account for so large a part of a precious baggage allowance. If you are on an organised trip your leaders will have suitable reference books to look at and if you’re going it alone you might be better advised to wait till you get home to identify those species that you are not sure of. Just make sure that your photos include all the salient points that will be needed to make an identification! Of course there is no real problem with one or two small field guides but unless you suffer from tunnel vision there is such a diversity of subject matter on a foreign trip that to try to cover all your options with reference works is somewhat over ambitious. Take the picture and worry about what it is later!!
21. Specific Travel Insurance for your gear need not cost the earth. Look into it well before you go. In any event take identity numbers of all your major items just in case of loss or theft.

----------------------------------------------

I cannot promise that the above constitutes a foolproof list and should you feel there are items that I have failed to include then let me know and I will add them on. Neither do I wish to appear alarmist with some of the suggestions but I have seen most scenarios unfold in this respect and it is always traumatic for those on the receiving end especially when just a little fore thought could have made life so much easier. Far and away the majority of trippers have a wonderful time without mishap (but we seldom hear about them). With this article I would just hope that I might have helped one or two of you avoid becoming one of the few unfortunates that we all read about.

Have a good trip!

Brian Pettit