The flying photographer
I certainly don't mix my lenses with my socks when I travel. Here's how I travel as a wedding photographer. I'm also endorsing ThinkTANK because they really rock when it comes to photography gear.
ThinkTank Airport Security. retractable stroller handle so you don't get stuck carrying through the airport.
ThinkTank Airport Security. plenty of space to fit my 200mm 1.8, two bodies, 4 other lenses, two flashes and tons of batteries and accessories and laptop.
usually one body and 3 or 4 lenses and a flash. Also has room for a 15inch macbook
smaller things like cables and usb devices in here
This keeps my macbooks cables organized in my bag and easy to get to.
No this is not a blog about drones even though I may have link-bated you. This could either be about drones or a magical flying photographer or X-Men based sort of mutant who can take photos while flying. I just wanted to write a little bit about my experience traveling as a photographer.
So traveling as a photographer can be a bit difficult. I'm not traveling with a few thousand dollars worth of gear, usually it's tens of thousands of dollars worth of gear; hope you liked that humble brag. This means that i'm not checking my gear, we've all seen those videos of luggage handlers tossing and pitching suitcases into and out of planes. This is my exact nightmare, having someone toss a case or bag filled with two bodies and several lenses with accessories into a mishmash of storage space that is being optimized for space which means fitting and squishing into place when applicable.
When you travel somewhere as a photographer you really don't want to leave that one tool home that you realize later you needed. So this means we will often bring everything and the kitchen sink. I regularly will travel with around eight lenses, a few flashes and two bodies as well as batteries and everything else.
The next nightmare is for a TSA employee somewhere along the lines to inspect my gear and pull out the smallest maybe unnoticeable item somewhere along the lines. Even when I don't have anything important in my checked bags I regularly get luggage back with either one or two locks missing or telltale signs of rummaging. How easy would it be for any of them to simply place an object into their pocketbook or vest pocket. I may arrive at my location and notice I don't have an adapter or lens and now I'm questioning if I even packed it or maybe it fell out when I was retrieving my car charger for my phone at the airport. It may be a week or two before I can verify a stolen item and the amount of baggage handlers could very well mean than I cannot narrow down a point where it was taken.
So how I treat my equipment is having it with me on a carry on bag. This is the stuff that cannot be stolen, it's with me; the guard. On most flights you are allowed a carry on, a backpack and a small item. The carry on size is different between international and continental USA. I do have both sizes of carry on for my camera equipment. I have bags from ThinkTANK and highly suggest them. I have the ThinkTANK commuter, airport security v2, airport international v3 and the retrospective 30 and 10 shoulder bags. One of the neat things as well is the similar bag shapes which mean they look awesome when they are all put away. They are boxy, padded and have all the right features that you need. Order on Amazon and check one out or take a trip to B&H in NYC and get hands on with it. I've had a bag collection for many years and this past year i've actually started to thin out my stash because I fell in love.
Screenshot from TSA website. In the past three years I have had four locks DISAPPEAR and have never received an inspection notice.
So when traveling with your gear, keep it with you. If you get the ThinkTANK bags they mostly all include a cable that is attached to the bag that you simply have to loop to any pole, seat or other stationary objects to secure as well as zippers than can be locked into a stationary lock.
ThinkTank Airport commuter. solid bag that fits enough gear for a wedding
Thinktank Airport commuter. great for a carry on and durable enough for hiking.
Somewhat disposable TSA locks (They like to throw them away)
Keep alot of my chargers in here when i travel
I accidentally went on vacation.
I went to Hawaii for work and I accidentally went on vacation. It's a slippery slope to relaxing when you're out here. Wanted to write a little bit about my journey even though I still have a tad bit of jet lag. Feel free to leave comments.
Black Sand beach via my magical flying powers
Okay, this isn't my best writing. I just got home yesterday but wanted to take this time to get back to work and that's meetings and writing and working on my website as well as blogs. This is all fresh in my mind and I wanted to get it out. I'm a little bit jet lagged and tired and malnourished (my version of malnourished is not enough salt, chocolate and fatty foods). Anyways here's a little bit about my latest exploits.
So I recently went to Hawaii for work. It wasn't a wedding, it wasn't a model and macadamia farms didn't hire me. I was actually working for the government, the Army in fact. I was there with Shawn Pacheco shooting a military ball with nearly a thousand people in attendance. So all I knew going into this was I was going to be shooting couples, the formal photos portion as Shawn made his rounds taking video of the event and ceremonies. The event was huge, I hoped I had brought enough equipment when I arrived there. I brought some Yongnuo flash guns and some compact Manfrotto nano stands in addition to some umbrella mounts and some Neweer modifiers for the lights. I had no idea if my luggage would get lost so in preparation for a few thousand lost in gear I opted for the cheaper gear. I purchased a nice grey and white backdrop from B&H which arrived just in time. To get everything out there cost a bit as well. I actually did a little research after talking for a friend and was able to create a media pass for my gear which dropped the price of the luggage to fifty dollars instead of a hundred dollars. Anyways the logistics of planning and implementing all this equipment to land alongside me in Hawaii was a little daunting.
So i'll jump ahead a few days into my trip when I'm actually doing work which is the real reason I was out there in Honolulu. We arrived at the Warrior's brigade ball at the Honolulu Convention Center and had the pick of where we would set up. Luckily the sun wasn't out and there was plenty of overcast which allowed me to get an amazing spot. I set up my backdrop stand and lights while couples approached me with the inquiry to be first for photos. I didn't have time to even do test shots on my friend Shawn to get everything tuned in. I immediately started doing photos as soon as everything was up, a line forming to my left. Each time I looked back I would see more and more couples until I realized I couldn't see the end of the line. I was sweating and not because of the pressure of performing at these high stakes, it happened to be eighty or so out which was giving me that sweat. Each couple got their own treatment and time with me. As long as the line was I was able to say hello to the couples and pose them a little bit, a little different each time. I shot for around two hours straight before the ceremonies began which offered me some down time. Each time I would turn someone away because the ceremonies would start I would reconsider, mostly because each person that came through looked like they outranked the last. I was later explained most of the ranks by Captain David Fowler.
Towards the end of the event I was beat and we packed up and headed out. Driving back to our host's home at Ewa (Pronounced Eva if I remember correctly) I already was receiving e-mails asking about the photos. The best part of doing these photos was giving some of the couples the chance to sneak in an engagement session or maternity photos or just to show off how good they looked that night. I did have to do some minimal corrections, a few of them had obviously worked hard a few days prior and had scratches on their faces. I got to meet a lot of nice men and women at this ball. Here's a few sample photos from the event, i've also provided a link below to check out all of the photos.
The video above is Shawn Pacheo's cinematography from the ball.
So here's where the story begins now that I prefaced it with work. Work work work, that's what i'm always doing, I don't mind it. In fact it's my natural state most of the time and it's pretty normal to me. I actually feel anxious or weird if i'm not working. Part of working for yourself means that if you're not working then you're not making money which is essential to surviving. So I was pulled apart from my documents, my computer most of the time and also put in places which I was not always taking photos so I actually was removed from most of the components that usually curtail me into productivity. So here's what I did instead of work, I relaxed. I hiked, swam, snorkeled, ate, flew my drone, ran, explored, saw lava.
It was lovely not working, our hosts David & Beth provided us with daily rituals of Mai Tais and healthy food. Shawn who brought me on this "vacation" was also into the healthy food and exercise, which I swayed him from by the end of the week. We spent a lot of time visiting waterfalls, exotic locations and checking out some pretty awesome spots for food. I highly suggest Monkey Pod, awesome food and desserts as well as a very modern atmosphere. We had our own room at their housing which happened to be a two minute walk from the beach. Our beach was actually on the backside of Pearl Harbor in Honolulu. One of the awesome benefits to our hosts and our housing was the inclusion of having a big dog named Girl. Girl was a pit bull that won me over. She loved treats, being lazy and was very attentive in exchange for some petting.
hiking to Manoa waterfalls
One day of our days we took a plane over to the Big Island where we visited where Captain Cook was murdered (turns out the locals who thought he was a god weren't convinced he was a god after giving the local ladies STDs). Our journey down to this location involved a two and a half mile hike down a mountain side to a small lagoon. We snorkeled there for awhile and fed many mongoose (I want to say mongeese). The waters where we swam contained lots of sea urchin within the coral and rocks which meant flippers were a necessity. The hike up the mountain was pretty tough, dry, arid weather in addition to loose gravelly trails. So David and Beth are both in the Army. Beth in the reserves and David full-time. Shawn is into MMA and has owned his own school and still trains people weekly. Myself, I like visiting places to get donuts, sandwiches or various meat dishes. The hike was tough for me but I couldn't really tap out so I had to take my time. Later that day we visited black sands beach, I can't recall the exact name of this beach. There are actually a few black sand beaches in Hawaii. These beaches have this soft black sand derived from the lava rocks being pulverized in the Hawaiian surf. The views at this beach were amazing and even more so from my drone. So currently we are at about five miles give or take for the day plus some swimming and snorkeling. We are heading south towards active lava fields. We start a five mile hike down a paved road and then a gravel road and finally onwards through a cooled lava field. Okay, the five miles actually ended before we hit the lava fields but because of a recent collapse of the cliffside and lava fields we had to trek around the active lava which was about a mile and a half. Oh yea, it's dark out too; in case I didn't mention that. We didn't know how long our walk across the lava fields would be, for all we knew it was a half hour. Each person we passed told us various distances and estimates as we conversed this sharp, treacherous path alongside a thick singular rope which stretched into the darkness. When we arrived at the final location it was raining and crowds dispersing. Our view wasn't as spectacular as previously observed by our hosts. Despite our current view we had an additional option of seeing a better view of the flow. On our trip back we stopped and set up the drone and managed to fly it within shouting distance of the red and orange stuff. We all had our iPhones out lighting our way back and I did take a nasty spill on the rocks but we made it back to the gravel road. We took this endless trip back to the car, each of us carrying out own burden of tiredness. We made it back to our hotel a few hours later and slept, only to wake up before any actual rest had occurred to fly back to Oahu. We did around eighteen miles that day and I will never ever forget it, because I'm out of shape and it's bragging rights for me ;).
This is David and Beth
So the rest of the trip we visited beaches, snorkeled, had close calls in the water between waves, water and snorkeling mishaps. My friend Shawn at one point swallowed a good deal of water a few hundred feet out and was towed in by the lifeguard. I was held down at one point around sixteen seconds in the surf of a big wave, go ahead and hold your breath for sixteen seconds now add getting rolled around while that's happening. We had an awesome time doing it all regardless of the danger. After a few days of this "vacation" I actually realized I was vacationing. I wasn't taking calls non stop and answering e-mails in a timely manner. I did however manage to book five meetings for when I returned home. Future Mike will appreciate past Mike's initiative.
We had many other days that are worth mentioning but sometimes it's nice to not share every little bit of my day. If I didn't do wedding photography or photography and didn't rely on attention then I would absolutely love being a bit more private. But honestly it's nice to share my travels with everyone too. I had an awesome vacation and it was nice to have the opportunity to shut down and enjoy the moments. I accidentally went on vacation and I liked it.
I do want to take a second to write about my experience with United airlines. I booked with them before their recent choices to overbook and literally drag a paying passenger over their plane. I was hoping that they would be over the top trying to win everyone over with service and maybe a little bit extra. It was a plain experience on this plane, cramped seats, no complimentary meal on our six hour flight from Honolulu to Denver. I only found out about paying for food as they went through the plane at that exact moment they were taking orders. There was also no display units on the back of the seats which meant all I had was my phone to watch movies after connecting to their wifi. I had enough battery to last me a movie and then I had to reserve my battery so I could call my ride when I reached my destination. I typically fly Delta because of their upgraded economy class and meals included. I won't be flying United again because of their treatment of this passenger and also it's nothing that stands out as far as service goes. I did however get a lot of suggestions of social media to try out JetBlue, so that's in the mix soon.
P.S the naked guy in the waterfall is me. Check that off my bucket list.
Europe - Barcelona for the day.
A full day in Barcelona with everyone's favorite wedding photographer Mike Hendrickson.
Spent most of the day shooting street photography and the sites. I'm exhausted but want to make sure I get this post and photos out before I leave tomorrow morning for Paris.
So i'm preemptively starting this blog to tell about my day.
So far i've woken up and decided yes, I want to leave the hostel and walk around.
My bunk mates are from France, China and Omaha Nebraska and we had fun conversations before bed, for some it was their first time in Europe.
So today it's a bit cloudy which is nice because it gets hot here and quick. I'm thinking about trying the bus system or just doing a lot of walking today. I don't know if i'll get to go swimming, I think I would rather a more relaxed beach scene than they have to offer. I hope that was the correct than,then?
I started the day by walking next door to the hostel to rent a bicycle for the entire day. After the lengthy contract process to borrow a $100 dollar bicycle I ventured off. I set up a mount for my iPhone so I could make a time lapse video, it worked and then failed. The mount for the iPhone felt a little too loose and then upon tightening it I was able to, with my super human strength pull the mount off. I checked directions on my Iphone so that I could head to the beach, I want to get some shots of all the people there. After a few hours and getting very close I gave up. I'll look up the directions tonight, it's very easy to get turned around on some of the side streets.
The traffic in this city is composed of bicycles, human traffic, scooters, car and truck and motorcycle. Everyone follows the walk, don't walk signs and all traffic. The city is consistently swept and cleaned and cleared of dead leaves and trash from what I could tell daily.
So I took a shower when I got back to my hostel today and then headed out with the Sigma 150-500. My aim for today was to get some really stunning photos of the people of Barcelona and some of the sights. I couldn't be happier with what I got. This lens is amazing for street photography. So with street photography it's best not to be seen I believe so that you can maintain those moments of spontaneity between people. I set up all my shots, crossed streets, hid, pretended to be shooting past people and at other things. When I had the subject completely unaware that's when I would strike. I cannot wait to show everyone my photos from today. I plan on doing this style of shooting even more when I hit Paris in a day or so. I do need to find a lighter, smaller bag to travel with while on bike or foot.
Now i'm back at the hostel and i've decided to call it a night. Just some snacks from the vending machine and maybe a soda before bed. Last night I was the first person in the room to come home and go to bed which meant I was the first to get woken up and the first to wake up in the morning. I have to return the bicycle I rented by 10am tomorrow morning. Going to try and take the Canon EOS M and a bike ride around the city when I wake up. I'm all ready packed up for the most part, can't open all my stuff around everyone at the hostel and pack properly. While i'm writing this there is a table of hot German girls talking and drinking.
So now I am going to finish working on my photos and present them at the bottom of the page. That part will be added in post though, for now you will have to just read.
Europe - Airport and on my way
Sitting in an airport is kinda boring, unless you're with me and I have my phone, iPad and macbook. Killing time is easy now here in the future. My flying car still isn't here though.
So I'm at Logan International Airport right now. I'm tired from running around and getting everything situated and ready for my trip. I have that groggy, might be on the verge of a cold feeling. I happen to get sick before, during any trip I ever take. I don't know if by saying this out loud is some sort of willing it upon myself, but it happens regardless. I get excited, I get anxious, I get sick.
So far I've had some Chinese food, replaced my watch band and discovered that good internet wifi costs you $7.95. I'm currently making a time lapse of the tarmac and about to crack open a new magazine. The next leg of my journey is to JFK International Airport in NJ and then onwards to Rome, Italy. I'm sure i'll have plenty of photos soon enough to start posting, but most likely not in the airport. It's not that I'm shy, it's just my bag is really packed and hard to zip up.
Stay tuned.
Europe, me, camera, car
Mike, camera, car, Europe, 2 weeks. What could go wrong.
Traveling alone everywhere I can via car in Europe. Exploring and taking photos. I'll be documenting as much as I can via Iphone, Canon 5d and regular uploads to my blog. 12 countries in under 2 weeks sounds pretty damn awesome to me for a vacation.
I bought a plane ticket.
Flying to Italy (July 28th)
Picking up a car.
Driving all over Europe. (Italy, Switzerland, France, Portugal, Spain, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Germany, Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Slovakia and any other place I can squeeze in.
Taking photos everywhere. (I'm even tempted with a Ukraine selfie)
Flying home (August 11th).
So now the logistics of what I'm going to do. Everyone keeps saying that this is a bit mental. But what better way to showcase that I'm a destination wedding photographer than to visit all the places I want to shoot at. How can I visit so many places in such a short amount of time.. and alone! I'm planning on doing a bit of driving and enjoying some alone time. Some places in Europe only take an hour or several to get to, Amsterdam to Brussels is under an hour and you can drive from Paris to Germany in under 5 hours. I've been researching a route to take and I plan on make a small route of my trip before I go so everyone can follow me on here. Some places are 5-7 hours apart which sounds like a lot, but consider this. Imagine driving from Worcester to Boston, not bad right. Now drive to Providence, not the worse right; hop out and explore a bit for a few hours. Next would be Hartford CT. So you arrive and now you've been driving for a few hours and the end of the world didn't happen. Even though the places are many hours apart that won't mean that I have to stay in the car and on route. This trip is all about stops, detours and taking it in.
I've also been to Europe before, several times. I rock.
I plan to blog everything while i'm there, videos, pictures and audio. Unlocking my AT&T Iphone to be a bit more compatible with VodaPhone and purchasing a prepaid card. I also plan on visiting many Starbucks and internet cafes. I'll have my MacBook with me and be uploading photos and videos daily.
So I can't possibly enjoy my time because it's going to take so long driving and finding hostels, hotels or bed and breakfasts. I found an easier way and much more economical way to explore Europe. By sleeping in the backseat of my rental i'll be able to cut out many hours of checking in and out and making sure I didn't lose anything. I do plan on staying a few nights in a hotel (A man's gotta shower). By not doing a hotel it will also save me countless dollars which can better be spent on gas and delicious meals.
If I find that I love Portugal or Slovakia and i'm having a blast there then i'll stay longer. My goal though is to experience as much as I can in a short amount of time. (My part time job is being awesome and allowing me to take 2 weeks off this summer for this trip as well as 17 dates for weddings and other shoots).
I'll be traveling with two Pelican cases. One will be full of camera equipment, planning on bringing my Canon 16-35 and 24-70, 70-200 and a 50mm to compliment my 5d MKII. I'll also have my Canon EOS M in tow. I've actually already started to assemble some of what i'm bringing. I famously get sick before any big trip because I worry about mis-packing equipment. I'll be using a power inverter so I can charge everything that I need to in the car and negate any power adapters or need to stop moving.
