Summer is finally here and it's the perfect time to embark on your next photography adventure. You've meticulously scouted the locations, carefully booked your overnight stays and secured that reliable rental car. But have you honestly thought about all the essential equipment to make your photography adventure an exciting success?
Summer means hot days, ice cream and pool time. But for us photographers, it’s also road trip season! I recently embarked on the ultimate ten-day American road trip, Route 66. This road trip was a true adventure spanning over 2,400 miles across eight states. Over the past two years, I have taken several weekend trips, including visits to White Sands National Park and Zion National Park. I also took the road twice last year, driving through Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota. I packed the car and headed to Colorado to visit Great Sand Dunes National Park and Mesa Verde National Park.
Every road trip had challenges, from maximizing space in limited luggage to the luxury of nearly unlimited space in a rental car. But I was determined to overcome them, and here is the equipment that helped me overcome these challenges and reassured me of its adaptability in various situations!
Several years ago, a sales representative who visited the camera store where I worked introduced me to the Hanual Procube charger. This piqued my interest. For one, it can charge two batteries at once. I don't like having to charge one battery at a time, because I want to finish the most work quickly. It's a worthy friend on a road trip because of its quick and fast charging capabilities, USB port, and ultimately, it includes a 12V car cable. Now you can plug it into your vehicle and charge the batteries while hitting the road. I placed it on the dashboard of the Nissan Rogue and made it easy to access while working from the vehicle.
Introducing the most convenient battery ever, the Promaster USB-C Rechargeable Battery. These days, almost every vehicle has a USB-C port somewhere. Sometimes it would be better to have a simple and convenient way to charge the battery on the road or while taking a walk when your Hanual Procube fully charges two batteries. You plug it in with the included USB-A to USB-C cable and charge it directly from a power bank or port in your vehicle. I have to admit that it's not the quickest way to charge the battery, as it takes about four and a half hours, but in a pinch, it's a lifesaver!
There never seems to be enough power on the road between trying to charge batteries, laptops, and whatever other gear you have. This is especially true when you need a place to plug in your laptop while saving images on the go. My vehicle is my office and my home on the road. I sleep in the back of an SUV and have the passenger seat with my laptop every night. It allows me unlimited power for my computer while charging my iPhone via one of the USB-C or USB-A ports.
This bag is my go-to bag, whether in flight or on the road. Space is no problem for holding all my essential gear, from camera, lenses, filters, batteries and more. You could say I'm trying to fit fifty pounds of potatoes into a five pound bag! The biggest issue when flying is overhead bin space, as I fly through many regional airports that accommodate much smaller jets! The bag fits in all the overhead compartments or usually under the seat if I don't stuff it and has withstood the rigors of airport security.
When traveling, I don't use conventional luggage. How many times have you seen relatively new luggage on the bag carousel, clothes falling off, or luggage wrapped in plastic wrap or tape? This bag serves two purposes. First, I pack my tripod, hygiene products and clothes to check in at the airline counter. Second, it's a second camera bag. If I'm going on a long hike to a certain location, I can use this bag to carry all my camera and non-camera gear in one bag. This makes for a much more comfortable experience for long hikes and easy access to my gear thanks to the integrated waist pack that rotates forward for easy access. Talk about a beast of a bag because of the quality. He endured numerous trips via multiple airlines and baggage transfers and resisted endlessly in preparation for retirement.
Small cables and accessories are the bane of any photographer's existence. I have all three sizes of EDC pouches. These will keep you organized on the road. I use them to house my portable hard drives, cables, charging bricks, business cards, phone and computer chargers, and a light meter. All of this will fit in my camera bag, keeping it organized. It also saves money in the unlikely event that I lose my gear by simply throwing it in a car seat!
It wouldn’t be a road trip without snacks! Long-haul highways and Organizer cubes are essential items for any road trip, long or short. From organizing the snack to the clothes! I used the larger Longhaul 50 with the organizer cubes to store clothes. Most of the time I use them as my go-to bags for all those miscellaneous items. Everything from snacks to an atlas, and it's pretty much a tote bag! When I arrive at a hotel, I grab and go and I only carry less than three bags!
Do not mistake yourself ; I love having the GPS connected to Apple CarPlay. But we all know that GPS isn't always correct or sometimes takes us off the beaten path, and sometimes it just doesn't work without cell reception! I always carry the Rand McNally Motor Carrier Atlas with me. This trumps paper maps if you can find one. Overall, it's definitely more detailed, has a spiral binding and laminated pages, and, over time, holds up better. Above all, it's a lifesaver in case the GPS breaks or it has no idea where you are!
These are just a few items you can take on your next photography trip. The biggest challenges you will face while traveling are power and space to store all your items. As photographers, we have a good idea of the time of day, composition, exposure, and the equipment we use to create our photographs. However, we don't always take into account all the non-photographic elements because we tend to focus on the photographic aspect of our trip. Ultimately, I pack several essential pieces of gear before any road trip! What are your road trip essentials?
