Engine and Wing, Southwest Airlines
In a couple of days, I going to start, what may be, a trip of a lifetime. I’m going to travel internationally and in the US for the next two weeks. I’m very excited and a bit anxious. You see, it’s been a while since I did a real international trip and it’s the first time I’m going to a developing country (not including 4 hours in Mexico). For now, I’m not going to say where I’m going but I’m hoping to make a lot of great photographs. There should be a lot of architecture involved, along with street photography, photographic observations and possibly the occasional portrait. In other words, more of the same kind of things I typically shoot, except it will be different, because it will be from countries on the other side of the world. For me, it would certainly feel exotic. I’m not entirely sure how it’s going to turn out, which I guess is part of the fun.
In addition to the images, I’m also hoping that there will be interesting stories that I can blog about. I’ll also have a lot to say about the trip preparations that I’m doing. What cameras do I bring? How do I take a full range of gear without weighing myself down? Do I take the Canon 7D, the Olympus E-PL1s or the Sony NEX-5? Should I bring a tripod? I’ve thought a lot about this and I will see how my preparations turn out. There is almost an overwhelming amount of choices but a limited amount of practical space. Sure the photography will be fun, but I don’t want to be miserable touring around with a lot of gear. I also don’t want to stick out even more than the obvious tourist that I will be. So expect to see upcoming posts of how I decided what to bring and if my gear decisions worked out.
I’m not sure how good my internet access will be for part of the trip. I also don’t know how much free time I’ll have so I’m assuming I won’t be doing much blogging. If lucky, I may be able to post some images to mostlyfotos, my one image per day blog. I’ll preset mostlyfotos to post photographs from my library but I’ll also see if I can inject some images from my trip abroad. So check out mostlyfotos during my absence for some clues about my trip destinations. And see you in about 2 – 3 weeks for more updates to this blog.
Take care and keep shooting.
Read part 2, Around the world in 11 days.
atmtx photo blog 
Good luck and be careful!
Thank you, Marilyn.
Love the composition & saturation on the photo… happy travels 🙂
Hi,
Last May I did the “trip of a lifetime” to Japan to visit my son for a couple of weeks. Although I took a small photo backpack full of equipment, I found myself usually just taking my smallish dslr (Pentax Kr) with a mid range zoom and a 35mm prime with me each day. Don’t underestimate the hassle factor (particularly if you are traveling with other non-photographer people) and the exhaustion factor. There were only a few occasions when I regretted not having something with me.
Rene, thanks for the visit and comment. Though I would love to have my family along, I’m going by myself which would make it easier for the photography. Yes, I agree, that extra bit of weight gets really heavy at the end of the day.
Thank you, 2 Rivers Photos.
Andy,
Have a great time seeing how people live in different culture and setting. I have always had trouble deciding what to bring on trips overseas, and ended up using the more portable ones most. The Olympus EP may turn out to be your more useful tool due to its light weight. I also have had trouble deciding about tripod or not, and which one. A 4 segment carbon fiber tripod always wins, especially when your specialty is “the blue hours”.
Best,
have fun Andy and enjoy!!