Travelling with Cameras

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If you are anything like me, the hardest part about planning a trip is deciding what cameras to bring and how to pack them. Whenever I travel, I usually have an assortment of cameras with me to document my journey, so it’s always a struggle to figure out the best solution for travelling light.

If you are just travelling for pleasure, I would consider the type of adventure you’re taking and whether or not you’re going to be able to physically lug (and I mean LUG) around that beast you call a DSLR. I’ve gotten to the point where carrying a big camera around whilst travelling is too much of a burden and I now really think about what kind of experience I want to have before I leave.

I generally try to limit myself to a few kinds of cameras. In the past I would bring the DSLR, a 35mm, a couple of Polaroids and any number of other quirky cameras like the Holga or Fuji Instax. After years of breaking my back lugging cameras through airports and dealing with the ordeal that is airport security, I’ve realised it really isn’t worth the stress on my shoulders and brain. And yes, I deal with airport security because I never check my cameras- they always come on board with me, no matter what. I’ve seen how baggage handlers “handle” luggage and there is no way I’m ever putting a camera in my checked luggage. EVER!

I now bring one 35mm or medium format, one Polaroid camera and one point and shoot-either digital or film. Obviously if I’m travelling for a specific shooting purpose then I would have to bring the DSLR and lenses and a Polaroid- there’s always a Polaroid.

My recent trip to Morocco was rather difficult because I had the Polaroid cameras I needed to bring for the workshops plus other cameras I wanted to use to document my trip. I actually ended up leaving two Polaroid cameras at home simply because I couldn’t get them in the ONE on-board bag that stupid Easyjet allows. Not one bag and one personal item like every other airline–ONE BAG! My on-board bag is usually chosen on the basis of what cameras I’m bringing and how I can best fit them in.

On international flights, I will generally take a backpack for all my cameras and then a smaller handbag for my personal items. I’m yet to graduate to the hardcore photography case but that’s simply because I’m not transporting two DSLRs, various lenses and accessories. If this is something you do, then you may want to look into one of those or a professional carry-on like this one.

My backpack is just a regular one that I will outfit myself to store cameras. I pull the velcro inserts out of my old Crumpler and Lowepro camera cases to make some buffers between the cameras. I also wrap my cameras. These camera wraps are designed for that very thing. I actually wrap mine in a soft case that my Peter Alexander pyjamas came in! They are soft and have a ribbon that you can wrap around the camera to protect it whilst inside a bag. It’s totally dodgy but it works! I’ve used scarves in the past too.

On smaller trips where I don’t take as many cameras, I will usually take a tote or satchel that is big enough to house a few cameras and my personal items. This camera insert is a great idea when transporting cameras inside other bags that aren’t camera bags. I will also take a pouch or two for little odds and ends like memory cards, rolls of film etc. Of course, there are an array of gorgeous photography bags out there for women who want stylish cameras bags and many of these are great for travel. I’m rather fond of this one.

I always make sure to have my film in plastic zip-lock bags for airport security as I get them to hand check it. I never put my film in my checked baggage because those X Ray machines are a lot more powerful and dangerous to film than the ones we see at security. Film under 800 ISO is apparently able to go through the security machines, but when I’m doing various flights in a short period of time, I’d rather not take the risk. It shouldn’t go through continually.

You just ask one of the security agents to hand check your film and they are always happy to oblige. I’ve never had a problem. I usually have bigger problems with my SX70 or SLR680 because they lay flat and the security agents have no idea what they are- they don’t look like cameras when they are folded. So I often have to open them up and explain what they are. Most of the time I think they are just intrigued and want to know how these weird looking cameras work.

It takes a bit of time at the security check point to get everything arranged back in the backpack again but it’s worth the hassle. How do you travel with your gear? I’d love to know if there are any new bags out there that people are enjoying. I’m always on the hunt!

p.s. This ‘travel shot’ wasn’t taken on any of those cameras. Total iPhone shot!

An Instant Love Book and Camera Give Away!

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More Instant Love news today…

As I mentioned earlier in the week, Ryan Marshall video extraordinaire shot and produced the book trailer for Instant Love. To coincide with the book trailer release, we are having a fun give away. Head on over to Ryan’s blog for your chance to win a copy of Instant Love and a restored Polaroid land camera!

The wonderful Cory at Rare Medium in Seattle (one of our book retailers) and Land Cameras has been super awesome to provide the winner with the fabulous Polaroid land camera. It’s the type of camera that uses peel apart film (just like the image I shot for the book above) and has been completely refurbished. If you need your Polaroid camera fixed or refurbished, Cory and the team at Land Camera are the people to see!

To enter this fantastic give away, head over to Ryan’s blog and leave a comment. If you want a second entry, all you need to do is repost the trailer and post about the book on your own blog. The contest starts today and closes next Wednesday.

Once again, thank you to Cory at Rare Medium for helping out and giving away a camera to our lovely Polaroidy friends! You are awesome!

Pacing The Panic Room: Enter here! // Follow Ryan on instagram  @ _ryanmarshall

Rare Medium Store and Gallery // Land Cameras Repair Store // Follow Rare Medium on twitter

Instant Love:How to Make Magic and Memories with Polaroids Is Officially Released!

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This journey began in late 2009. It began with a rather long email that started as an intimate conversation between friends and turned into a plan to write a book together. And now the day is finally here- our book, Instant Love is done. It has pages and a spine and is sitting on book shelves. It feels so good to be able to look back and say, “we did this together.” We created something that we truly love and believe in and want to share with others.

We wrote this book for you- lovers of Polaroid who want to learn how to shoot dreamy photographs filled with light and possibility. We share all we know about crafting beautiful compositions, our lighting techniques and tips on portraits. Throughout the book you will find snippets about what we love about Polaroids, the joys this love has brought us and pieces of our lives as Polaroid photographers.

And today we are super excited to share the trailer for Instant Love. We are very happy to have collaborated with Ryan Marshall to create this gorgeous video. We hope you love it!

Thanks to the band Rabbit who provided the music. The awesome song is called “Camera” and it’s available here. And of course, to the amazingly talented Ryan Marshall of Pacing the Panic Room for shooting and producing the video. Thank you, Ryan!

I want to thank Jen and Susannah, our girl Amy Haney for her beautiful illustration, our awesome contributors Mia Moreno, Fernanda Montoro, Grant Hamilton, Matt Schwartz, Parul Arora, Leah Reich, and Lori Andrews, our wonderful editor Bridget, Matt, Brooke, Peter and Diane at Chronicle Books, all our models, The Impossible Project, my family and friends who have all been so supportive (like seriously amazing and out of this world supportive), and most especially my Sean who got me through those months of writing, shooting and editing without cursing at me once.

And of course, Dr Edwin Land and the original Polaroid company for giving us the opportunity to make art with these amazing cameras.

Check out the trailer and tell us what you think! You can of course find our book at Chronicle Books, Amazon, Urban Outfitters and many bookstores around the world!

p.s. If you already have Instant Love and enjoyed it, we would love it and be super thankful if you would share a review on Amazon. :)

Impossible PX70

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Friday brings some images from Impossible PX70 colour film shot in my Polaroid SX70.

I’m really liking the colours that you can achieve with this film. The blues and pinks are lovely. The reds are still coming out a little yellow but it’s such a great advance in colour from the original Impossible films. Those pesky leaks happened because the light managed to break through my mighty-impenetrable-defense-of-steel-shielding technique (aka flimsy card attached to camera with sticky tape). However, in these 2 shots, I quite like the glowing effect.

I’ve been waiting for the weather to clear in Vancouver to get out and shoot more with this film. I shot so much instant film while I was in Morocco and France and haven’t shot a lot since (apart from a sneaky little project I’m working on at the moment). Now that sunshine is here, my camera and I have a date this weekend. What are you doing with your two glorious days? Go shoot some instant film!

Polaroids from Instant Love

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It was a beautiful summer evening and the light was perfect- Polaroid perfect. It was the light I’d been chasing for our book. We wandered the path catching pebbles in our shoes and looked out to the ocean as it sparkled before us. I love those kinds of evenings best. Where the air is light and you can hear kids enjoying the water…summer sounds so happy to my ears. I ran my fingers lightly over the tops of the warmed grass as the path led us to the sea.

These Polaroids are a sneak peek at some of the images I shot for Instant Love. You can see them and many more in the book!

Do the Doing

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Being a creative person is a life fraught with emotion and wanting. Blessing or a curse? Dreamers, we imagine our lives fulfilled creatively, we see a life that is made up of pieces of a creativity puzzle that we are constantly craving. It’s that voice inside us that is constantly dissatisfied with the place in which we are standing, the lack of colour in our wardrobes, and that gaping hole in our portfolios. If I make this move, I will get this which will lead me to that. And then when I have that, I will be able to do this which will of course make me eternally happy. I will have arrived.

So often we are caught in the hustle, that we trip over our own expectations and find ourselves feeling overwhelmed beyond the point of no return. We are too focused on the end result, rather than the process. And in reality, the journey is actually the part that matters most- it’s where the doing transpires, where the learning takes place and the growing happens. Lately, I’ve been feeling a lot of the negative feelings attached to the seeking and haven’t been focused enough on the doing. It’s a bad place to be because in the end it just makes you feel like crap. What’s the point if you aren’t doing the doing… right? Isn’t that the reason we are here? To create?

In Shoot By Design, I share a lot about the journey and how finding your style comes through the doing. It comes from making mistakes and trying things out. It doesn’t come from looking at other people’s work and hoping that one day your work will magically be as awesome as theirs. It comes from doing the work and understanding that this is a process that takes time to unfold.

Do you get more out of the doing or the end result? I’d love to know your thoughts on this.

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The summer class of Shoot By Design runs from Monday June 4th to Friday July 13th. You can read information about the course here and registrations are open now. Register here.

Things I Noticed About Paris

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Things I noticed about Paris

// The light is soft and makes for beautiful, creamy tones in photographs.  All those white buildings help. I love that I could get gorgeous light shining in between them with every shot.

// Women really do have high end designer bags. In Canada and Australia, high end designer bags are coveted, but in Paris it appears that many (of those walking around the streets), have a Prada or a Louis Vuitton.

// There are discoveries around every corner. Detail and beauty is poured into everything and even the alley ways were inviting and pretty. I remember feeling this in Italy when I was there.

// Yes, Parisians are beautifully dressed. There were a lot of neutral colours and it made me want to throw out my whole wardrobe and start from scratch.

// The cafes are crowded. But it felt like everywhere in Paris was crowded. I feel bad for them. Living in a city that is constantly bombarded with tourists must get old fast. And the thing they say about waiters is true. But I don’t think that they’re rude. They’re just busy. Once you get their attention, they are attentive and accommodating.

// Paris is a town full of inspiration. From the art galleries to the buildings, the details, the people and fashion, food and architecture, there is no wonder that it is a city of artists. The way the city was built really makes you shake your head at how so much of the modern western world is so ugly. I really despise the “suburbifcation” of many places both in Sydney and Vancouver (and I’m sure is the same in many cities in the States and the UK)- you know the places, where everything looks the same and has has no thought of design put into the building and architecture whatsoever. Parisians know how to beautify their surrounds, I don’t see why the rest of us can’t.

All images were shot with my favourite film, Kodak Portra!

p.s. For those of you on tumblr, I am over there sharing photos and whatnot. You can follow me here.

Instant Love Retreat in Marrkech: Behind the Scenes

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Hello friends!

You’ve seen the Polaroids, the Impossible images, and the Fuji shots, but today I wanted to show you some of the behind the scenes fun that was had on the Instant Love Retreat in Marrakech this year. After all, this is what it was all about. The people, the fun that was had, the photo taking and most importantly, the eating!

In this little montage you can see from left to right in each row:

Line 1: Heidi, Amy and Briana at our group dinner one night in the Marrakech medina after a day of shooting and shopping in the souks; Susannah shooting Briana’s henna at the henna party at Peacock Pavilions; Jen shooting her Polaroid 180 in Essaouira

Line 2: all our Polaroid cameras on display at the Basics workshop in the tent at Peacock Pavilions; the Impossible shot that Susannah was taking of Brianna above; me holding a baby goat on the road to Essaouira

Line 3: Debra as shot by Susannah at Peacock Pavilions; Heidi as shot by Briana at Peacock Pavilions; Liz shooting a pile of Polaroids out at lunch at Terrace des Epices in the medina

Line 4: A group of Moroccan men in the medina as shot by Irene; the front door of Peacock Pavilions as shot by Debra; our yummy breakfast at PP

Line 5: Heidi shooting a self portrait at PP; Jen and Susannah looking at Polaroids at a cafe in Essaouira; Henna hands at the henna party

Line 6: Cocktails at PP; the group giggling and having fun at our wine tasting at PP- with wonderful host Chris leading; Helen as shot by Briana at PP

Line 7: Amy at our medina dinner as shot by Heidi; me and Heidi shooting in Essaouira; cocktails in beautiful evening light; the Atlas pavilion at PP – I stayed here with Irene, Debra, Briana and Helen.

Line 8: Jen, me, Amy and Susannah somewhere in Marrakech; Helen and Michelle at PP; Andrea and Liz at PP; Helen and Briana at PP

Line 9: Everyone at dinner in the cosy tent at Peacock Pavilions. We sat on the floor for our dinners here. In this shot taken by Irene, you can see Debra, Heidi, Amy, Susannah, Briana, Helen, myself, Jen, Andrea and Carol. Liz and Michelle must have been hiding.

As you can see much fun was had by all. This is just a sampling of the good times that were had. The retreat is a chance for you to get to learn more about your Polaroid camera, to learn about shooting instant from Polaroid photographers, to see an amazing part of the world and to experience an incredible culture, but it’s also about spending time with like minded people and making new friends. We had a blast- I know I will keep these memories with me forever.

We had so much fun that we are going back again next year. Jen and I will be running two  retreats over two weeks and we would love you to come join us! You can download our pdf brochure here. Once you’ve read the brochure, email us for a registration package. We would love to have you!

Check out more of the lovely ladies’ photographs of our time in Marrakech here, here, here and here!

Thank you to Briana Morrison, Debra Cowie, Irene Georgiou, Heidi Swanson, Amy Haney, Liz Manyan, Andrea Kuhn, Michelle McGee, Carole Gentry, Helen Agarwal, Susannah Conway and Jen Altman for the images.

Doesn’t it look like fun?