Getting Acclimated

Jet lag can have it’s advantages; learn your mates sleeping habits and you could find yourself with a few extra photos taken at the time of day YOU want to shoot.

A light load is a dream for most people. Here I kept my computer, clothing, and camera gear to a minimum.

I have arrived! Before we get to the tips of the day, I thought you might like to see my gear load. My wife took this photo of me at Dulles International Airport just before we placed our suitcases on the belt.

• Hat: Tilly ventilated hat with two straps so it doesn’t blow off in the wind
• Big-Ass-Watch: with compass (when iPhone doesn’t work or runs out of battery power; like I’m really going to need that)
• Camera Gear: Nikon D300, 15mm, 24-85mm, 135mm, 2x converter, electronic cable release, some small stuff like allen wrench for tripod head, coin for screwing in tripod plate, bubble level etc. And a pouch with cleaning cloth
• Computer Gear: Laptop, extra hard drives, headphones, Zoom H2n Microphone, JBL mini speaker, 80 – 400mm VR,

The bag that my camera gear is made by EURO. It has 3 large pockets, two of them are big enough for 72mm diameter lenses and a some other handy tiny zippered pockets. It is not a camera bag; it is a messenger bag. I purchased it for $7 at a local thrift store. The computer bag is a Targus, also purchased for $7 at the same store.

So that’s my setup.

Learning Your Mate’s Sleeping Habits

Ok, so yea it was the first day and everyone has jetlag but I found myself waking up at 5AM and my wife didn’t even think about getting out of bed until 9AM. What this means is, if I pack up my gear then night before, have my clothing layed out where I can find it in the dark, I could get dressed and out the door to photograph some kind of location during sunrise. What’s even better is after that is done, I can probably get back in time to take a nap before the Mrs. wakes up.