Recently, I went on a trip to Aruba.  It was a vacation but as many of you must experience as well, I had a really tough time not bringing as much gear with me as possible.  I ended up bringing a ton.  I still haven’t really gone on vacation enough to fully refine my essential list of what to bring so I tend to bring some extra just-in-case equipment.  Here’s a video of what I took with me:

The problem with packing equipment when you’re not going to a job is that you really don’t know what you might come across.  Especially on vacation to an island you’ve never been to.  My approach was to do a bit of research; check for photos online, view maps of the island and terrain, talk to anyone you know who’s been there before (if applicable).  Basically get as much of idea as you can for figuring out what sort of gear you may need.  Climate of course also plays a big factor since when I say “gear” I also mean any person affects that I may require to produce a shot.  Gloves, jackets, hats, pants.. all these things may be necessary for shooting even though they’re not camera related directly.  You’d need a lot of different items if you’re vacationing in Whistler compared to a trip to Aruba.

It’s also always important to pack the things you may need over the course of a week that you really can’t live without if you don’t have one.  Like a rocket blower or sensor cleaning kit or 3rd or 4th extra battery.  Sometimes things fail for no reason and I know I’d be fairly upset if I was in the middle of rocky trails and hiking paths without a functioning memory card.  And it also helps to keep track of what you didn’t use at all at the end of your trip, as I do, in order to further refine that list of things you can’t live without – or so you may think at the moment.

So pack as light as you can, make note of what you need and most of all – take plenty of pics!

Thanks for reading!

David Dvir