Guess what I forgot to pack for my trip to Spain and France

[johnelstad]

I should preface by saying this is technically a MF-related issue.

However, since this is the forum in which I reside I thought I'd share

it with you all as it still applies and you guys are more fun.

 

So, in anticipation of a ten-day trip to Spain and France in which I

would bring my Fuji GW690 I attempted to take every conceivable

precaution. I purchased all the film I would need well in advance, I

packed extra batteries for my light meter, and I created a

comprehensive cheat sheet to handle any odd situation. I thought I

had everything covered. So, what did I realize I had forgotten to

pack as I was approaching the airport? My tripod!

 

I wound up buying a cheapo Slik U5500 in Spain. It�s light (about 1.

3lbs including head), but about as steady as a bowl of oatmeal. I�ll

be dropping the film off today for processing, so I should soon find

out if it was of any use at all.

 

On the bright side, the lack of a reliable tripod forced me to be

creative in my approach to taking pictures. I wound up using a lot of

walls, trees, and light posts as well as faster shutter speeds to

minimize shake.

 

Oh, I also assumed (incorrectly) that I�d be able to easily find a

220-to-110 adapter for my flash battery charger. No luck on that and

hence no flash photography on my trip.

 

As a result of all of this I resolved to make a packing list and

include every conceivable item regardless of how obvious it might be.

 

So, now that you know my sad story, what key items have you forgotten

on your excursions, what have you done to remedy the situation, and

what did you learn from the experience?

[ed_skibeki]

Not directly on point, but I'm constantly forgetting to re-adjust my ISO setting on the light meter...

[edward_burlew]

I went from Toronto to San Francisco and I took an old meter and it was two stops off sort of. I bought the film at Calumet and did a test roll then got the New Lab to develop. Shock!!! So I went to Calumet and got a new spot meter. I suggest that you do a test roll on arrival wherever to be sure you equipmet is OK.

[ralph_barker]

Don't feel bad, John. Most of us have forgotten some major item, and often more than once. I've done the tripod-at-home thing, as well as forgetting to put the 4 boxes of Fuji Provia QuickLoads in the ice chest as I left on a month-long road trip. Check lists are great - if you remember to check them. ;-)

[gene m]

I forgot my condoms one night in Hanoi, but that's a long (ugly) story.

[alec1]

Daddy!!!!! I've found you at last. <g>

[sjixxxy]

Most I ever forgot was my composition card. Nothing a trip to a small hardware store and some dumpster diving couldn't fix. Course I ended up losing the replacement I made a day or two later.

 

Better of piece of used cardboard then a tri-pod.

[jim_rice3]

Ernie,

 

I shot a wedding on ISO 200 (whatever the kodak stuff at the time was) print film. Unfortunately my ever trusty Sekonic was set on ISO 40 for Velvia. I haven't forgotten that since.

 

-j

[jim h1664876971]

Ernie- ouch! I dont have that problem the ISO dial on my sekonic is constantly sliding

out of the correct setting, I have to check it for almost every reading.

[patrick_ingram]

A have a field camera now, but I used to load a monorail in a backpack, which required removing the standards from the rail. I went on a nice long hike one day (a few hours drive from home) and, when it came time to take my first photo of the day, realized that I had left the rail at home. Needless to say I felt like an ass, especially as I was now hiking with tens of pounds of dead weight, but luckily it was only a day trip.

[wayne_crider4]

Since I move the small stuff between 3 camera bags I am constantly forgetting

something, and when I try to make a point to remember all of it I forget the big

stuff like a tripod. Of course forgetting what film is loaded in what so I can set

my meter properly is by biggest and most often mistake.

[david_littleboy__tokyo__ja]

"I'm constantly forgetting to re-adjust my ISO setting on the light meter..."

 

That's why the new Velvia 100F is so wonderful: between Velvia 100F, Astia 100F, and Reala, my meter settings never change. And Plus-X can stand 1/3 stop overexposure.

[lars ake vinberg]

It's a good idea to try to always get auto-switching power adapters if possible, even if you have no travel plans at the moment. Those converters are usually cheap heavy transformers that will burn easily. Well, perhaps not easily but my girlfirend used a 50w transformer for a hairdryer. Radioshack in the U.S. has a series of switching adapters with any thinkable plug, I got one for my 4x5" light table.

 

Now speaking of forgetting things, after two months in the Southwest this spring I was at the LAX airport, ridiculously early for my flight back to Europe. To make the time pass I stopped at the phone booths in the gate area, made some last calls to local friends.

 

Later, after half an hour of reading in the gate waiting area, I sensed that something was wrong. I couldn't find the bag that I carried all my developed film in - two months of 8x10 color photography missing!

 

I ran back to the phone booth - and the bag was still sitting on the floor where I left it! I just could not believe my eyes, this was at LAX in April, in the middle of the SARS panic and everything else going on in the world and the airport security lets a bag sit for half an hour? Clearly my lucky day, I'll buy lottery tickets April 7th from now on.

[sk_arts]

Me and a couple buddies went for a hike at a park in maine.

 

When I got to the lake I thought I'd take pictures of cracks in the ice to get warmed up. I pulled out my camera and found that the magazine I loaded was not attached to the camera! Turned out I left it IN the loading room!

 

Common enough, right? Well the thing is the only two tripods I had were a light weight velbon, and a very heavy weight majestic with the classic majestic gear head!

 

I spent the entire day dragging that thing through the snow and not had one picture to show for it! It weighed about 23 lbs and was designed for 35mm motion picture cameras! After that i decided the Majestic was not a very practicle tripod and I now have a manfrotto, which isn't nearly as stable, it also weighs much, much less.

[emrys]

I actually forgot my camera once. I'd been cleaning it the night before and in the morning I picked up my rucksack and headed off. Sans camera.

 

Mike

[greg_pratt4]

Depends on ones speed of learning, but to date I've so far only forgotten one item. The inconvenience and eventual embarrassment in front of my peers at the lab and studio have ensured that these mistakes are avoided. I had been accustomed to assembling the ensemble to the last detail the day/night before and packing it all up to go. This time old smart arse thought he could mentally assemble the accoutrements and so to work. Ho hum. Never again. I always pre-assemble now, no matter how simplistic the outfit may seem at the time and experience has proven this technique. And the item forgotten, the Metz flash to camera mounting plate for an evening wedding 1/4 hr. away that I arrived at early sitting in my car wondering how to fill the next hour.

 

Ever tried to arrange the folk, compose the shot, hand hold a CT60 flash and shoot whilst doing ones best to look altogether.

[michael_kravit]

I was shooting with a buddy several months back. It is truly amazing what one will forget. The light was changing and we were rushing to get to a spot we had seen earlier in the day.

 

As we were leaving the site, my friend put the truck in reverse and we heard this gut wrenching crunch. We both looked at each other and at the same time siad "Shit, not another light meter!"

 

That's how it goes, some things you forget cost you more than others.

[brian_kennedy]

Sometimes I forget to pull out the Quickload envelope before carefully timing an exposure. And I, too, go through spells where I forget to check the ISO on the light meter. I eventually put a sticker at the top of the meter, by where you read the dial, that says "CHECK ISO!" I forget to look at the sticker.

 

So far, the only equipment I've forgotten is my loupe, and I made do without it.

[alpshiker]

All right, all right... tripod, light meter, cable release, films: I forgot them all, and more... But one day, I took my Technika out in the mountains and after an honest walk I decided to set it and to take a shot. Surprise when I opened the drop bed: There was no ground glass!!! I remembered then that I had taken the Bosscreen off some days earlier to test it on the Toyo... and it was in the car. Nevertheless, I stretched a piece of my picnic plastic bag as a fortune ground glass, focussed the image and took a shot. I just stumbled over the slide now as I was sorting my drawers, which made me think of telling the little story. And the slide is sharp!

[george_nedleman]

Forget Hah! 1) I left my tripod leaning against a wall in Ios Gr.while checking out the view through my viewing card. An hour later I found it in a grocery store next to the wall when I went in to ask of its whereabouts.-Lucky 2) I left my Masi bike leaning against my van, went in the side door, changed my shoes and shirt, got in the van and drove off leaving the ($1000)bike there. not surprisingly it wasn't there 5 days later. The good news is, my new 1 grand bike is much better.

George

[garrett_kwakkestein]

On a backpacking trip here recently, I had both my light meter battery and my 35mm battery go dead at nearly the same time. That will never happen again as I now carry three (3) replacement sets for each on every trip! ...In addition to a nickel taped to the batteries so I could actually get to them in the device. The other consistent stupid mistake that gets me 5% of the time is forgetting to close the shutter 'before' pulling the quickload open! Well as Ansel probably (never) said "film makes good fire starter".

[andrew_ito]

I've hiked to Devil's Postpile and Rainbow falls with a big Sinar monorail, heavy tripod

and more only to find that i forgot the tripod adapter bushing to convert the 1/4"

thread to the 3/16" thread or whatever it is. I still took a few shots that actually came

out ok, but handholding and focusing a big Sinar without a tripod is a major pain in

the A$$.

 

Along with the others I've forgotten to change my ISO from 40 to 100 and vice versa.