Trip to Europe and Egypt

[jarrydbekker]

In just under 6 weeks i'll be flying first to Egypt, then to Italy

(Venice... Rome... Florence...), then to France ( Paris... ) then to

Austria, then finally Germany. I have a Pentax K1000, with a 50mm

Prime and 35-200mm zoom. What other equipment and film do you

suggest? I'd like to take some long exposures in venice and plenty

of architecture. Thanks!

[david_a._wong]

Sounds like you've got a great trip ahead of you, Jarryd. Well, for long exposures, you will definately need a sturdy tripod (beware lots of cheap and shakey ones) and a good cable release. I would say that these are your "MUST HAVES" for what you are looking to do. If you have the space, a polarizer is also a good idea and does not up much room. If you're going to do any landscape shots, neutral density (ND) graduated filters may be a good idea. I like to have a 2x and 2x in my kit.

 

I'm sure you already know that architecture is not as easy as it sounds. Make sure that the plane of your film is exactly parallel to the subject building. Otherwise, you get some pretty odd looking slants (i.e. the sides of the buildings will look like they are tilting inwards) in your images. If you have one, a tilt-pan lens is fantastic. But this is an expensive alternative. If I remember correctly, there is a good article on this subject somewhere in the Photo.net archive.

 

Film will be a personal choice. And this will depend on what you will ultimately do with your final product. Me personally, I like slide film (Fuji Velvia 50) so I can see what I REALLY got in my camera, vs. how the photo printer "interpreted" my image. Ask 10 other people and they may give you 10 different answers.

 

Have a great trip. Rome is great. Don't plan to spend too much time in Venice and Florence. Paris is nice, but watch out for LOTS of doggie poo all over the city streets and sidewalks. Austria is great. If you have time, check out the lake-side town of Hallstadd.

 

Safe journies.

 

David.

[Jim_Tardio]

You could use a wide angle lens. A 24mm would go nicely with what you have...especially if you want to shoot lots of architecture. I'd also carry a polarizing filter and some ND grads.

[jarrydbekker]

Thanx guys!!! It should be a blast

[mark pav]

You've already got good advice above and I definitely echo what was said about the tripod, ND filters and polarisers. In addition make sure you take some faster film (ISO 200+ slide or 400 print) for indoor shots where you won't be allowed to use a flash or the tripod. You might get away with a monopod too; I can't remember. Oh, speaking of a flash, you might find one useful at some point--for fill-in portraits, mostly.