Nathan wrote:
> Actually, travelling is where digital has made the biggest difference.
> No more worry about film being zapped or exposed to heat, much less
> bulk in the bag etc. With my Leica outfit I carry 2 SD cards and two
> spare batteries (pretty small) and a compact travel charger. That's
> it. Much less bulk and much more convenient than when I was trekking
> around with 10 or 20 rolls of film in the bag as well.
>
If I was still traveling like I used to, I'd be hard pressed to shoot film
too. The moment you factor in airline travel then film is immediately at a
disadvantage. However, for a driving trip, it's no big deal.
As I am road-tripping, here is an example of how I pack and operate:
The majority of the kit will reside in a backpack style bag. Next month, it
will either be the Canon bag or the Slingshot. Both have the same interior
space, but are configured completely differently. I'm partial to the Canon
bag for film use, the Slingshot for digital. So, I'll probably be taking the
Canon bag. A second, bag is the vehicle-only bag and will contain big glass,
flash gear and accessories. All film is stored in a small 6-pack sized
cooler.
Film is transferred from the cooler to an old plastic box which a roll of
36-exposure slides came back from the lab in. This plastic box holds four
rolls of film. Unexposed rolls are loaded in this box top side up, exposed
rolls are placed top side down. The entire box is perfectly sized to slip
into a pocket or easily placed in the bag. It is a rare moment when I need
more than four rolls of spare film (plus the two already in the cameras), so
every time I will be away from the vehicle for a while I will make sure that
the box has all new rolls and the exposed rolls are back in the cooler.
These white plastic boxes stopped being used somewhere around 1995 so mine
are getting pretty bad now. Had I known that the labs would have
discontinued using them and going totally to paper-cardboard boxes, I would
have kept a stash of a couple hundred of them for ebaying and lifetime
spares. I'm down to my final two boxes.
Back in the day when I was going nuts shooting thousands of pictures (it's a
numbers game, right?), I'd have three of those boxes loaded (12 rolls total)
and with me all the time.
When packed this way, film takes up nearly no space whatsoever. Three boxes
of film (12 rolls) takes up about the same space as an OM body and can be
poked into normally unused spaces.
The biggest challenge for me is to be selective about the equipment I'm
taking. It's tempting to just take everything. But does one really need
three lenses covering 35mm? Does one pack for convenience or perfection?
Here is my lens choices--what would YOU pack?
24/2.8
35/2.8
35/shift
35-80/2.8
50/3.5
100/2.8
200/4
300/4.5
100-300/4 (Tokina AT-X)
When packing for event shoots, I've got it down to the 24/2.8, 35-80/2.8 and
the 100-300/4. Three lenses, that's it. But for a trip to the Great
American West, where camping gear takes up nearly every inch of storage, you
can't take everything.
In the past, my bag would contain two bodies, the 24/2.8, 35/shift, 50/3.5,
100/2.8 and 200/4. I didn't have the 300/4.5 or the zooms.
So far, what I've figured is that my "go bag" will have two bodies (the
OM-3Ti and OM-4T) while the OM-2S will hold down the fort in the bag that
stays in the Jeep. The 24/2.8, 35/shift, 100/2.8 are the only lenses I KNOW
will go in the backpack. The rest are fighting for inclusion. No matter
what, the 300/4.5 is coming, but may or may not reside in the backpack. The
35-80 should be a shoe in, but size and weight as well as different
filter-ring sizes may preclude it's inclusion in the backpack because with
the exception of the 300/4.5, everything takes 49 or 55mm filters.
However....
I am considering the possibility of the 35-80 being mounted on the OM-2S and
using that for general purpose grab shots--the type of pictures I used to
use the IS-3 for. I have a small belt-bag that holds a setup like that very
easily.
Honestly, I'm not too excited about a second Jeep-only bag as space is so
limited, so I may still end up with just the backpack and cooler. That would
mean no flash gear. However, by not taking computers along, I should be
gaining enough volume to allow for the second bag. Also, we'll be taking the
older Jeep (2004 Grand Cherokee) which has substantially more cargo area
than the new Grand Cherokee. But we're taking the mountain bikes, so we are
also losing space to helmets, gloves, shoes, tools and the airpump. Oh
well....
It's kinda fun, really. I've been to this dance many times, but by
"forcing" myself to a retro kit (film, no digital) it changes the dynamics
quite substantially. I've been thinking "digital" long enough that there is
actually just a touch of fear and trepidation (believe it or not) in
limiting myself to "old-school" equipment. LOL, I'll get over it.
AG
--
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