A Year in the Making, But Africa is Now a Green Light

kundalini · Mar 24, 2011

It's 13 months since the possible opportunity to travel to Africa again came about. My lady friend is the executive accountant for an NGO health foundation and received a promotion with her organization last year She has about 30 countries that report to her and half of them are African countries, the other majority is in Asia. They hold yearly meetings and this year they will be in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania and Accra, Ghana. Soooo, while she is giving presentations and bitching about their month end reports, I'll be out and about doing the local scene and making day trips.

We're undecided ATM, but it looks like we'll break the flight up with a layover in Amsterdam outbound, perhaps London on the return.

I think the only gear that I'm taking is the D700, the Holy Trinity, one flash, a CPL and a ND filter. I can get all that into carry on, either by myself or with a little help from my friend. I'll keep my fingers crossed for a cheap rental for some long glass, 400 to 600mm.

If any of you world travelers have any good tips for those two countries, please post it up.

Cheers.....

molested_cow · Mar 24, 2011

Congrats!

Don't forget the tripod.

AverageJoe · Mar 24, 2011

Sounds awesome. My past few trips to Europe I've stocked up on 32 GB CF cards.

Village Idiot · Mar 25, 2011

!!! Shoot through or two and a stand with umbrella adapter. You can find some small compact stands that you could fit into a bag. A few triggers would take up no space. If you're going to be interacting with people, you could probably get some awesome OCF portrait shots. Maybe even toss in a 2nd flash some where.

kundalini · Mar 25, 2011

molested_cow said:
Don't forget the tripod.

If I rent any long glass, then I'll rent a tripod also, otherwise I should be okay or have to make do.

AverageJoe said:
Sounds awesome. My past few trips to Europe I've stocked up on 32 GB CF cards.

I don't have large capacity cards, but have several to use nonetheless. We will also bring a laptop along, so I can dump the cards on it. Out of curiosity, I looked at the prices of the large capacity cards........ geez, I should be okay. Thanks.

Village Idiot said:
!!! Shoot through or two and a stand with umbrella adapter. You can find some small compact stands that you could fit into a bag. A few triggers would take up no space. If you're going to be interacting with people, you could probably get some awesome OCF portrait shots. Maybe even toss in a 2nd flash some where.

You know, I've been thinking along similar lines. I have a couple of small stands that collapse fairly small, but I was thinking about bringing my extension handle instead. It's much lighter, quicker to setup and will stow on the outside of my camera bag much easier than a light stand. I can hold it in one hand and shoot with the other, but even better would be to engage with the locals for assistance. I could even screw on my little swivel head and use it as a quasi-monopod. The second flash to be used as on-camera fill.

Forgot to add that departure will be May 13th and returning on the 30th.

Robin Usagani · Mar 25, 2011

Man.. dont go all out man. You still want to enjoy your trip. That would suck if you are hindered to do certain activity because you dont want to leave your bag full of expensive stuff laying around. Just saying....

kundalini · Mar 25, 2011

I appreciate the concern Schwetty and I know exactly what you mean, but this won't be my first rodeo. :lol:

Derrel · Mar 25, 2011

Sounds like a sweet deal! I wish you great light!

Robin Usagani · Mar 25, 2011

kundalini said:
I appreciate the concern Schwetty and I know exactly what you mean, but this won't be my first rodeo.

Hahah.. Then it sounds like you'll have a blast. You may want a cotton carrier

kundalini · Mar 25, 2011

Schwettylens said:
Hahah.. Then it sounds like you'll have a blast. You may want a cotton carrier

What..... and look like a tool? :biglaugh:

I've got the Black Rapids, thank you very much. :biggrin:

Thanks Derrel. If I remember correctly, the time of our trip will be out of the wet season, so good light might be there. It'll be kinda cool to see sunrises over the Indian ocean and sunsets over the Atlantic.

mwcfarms · Mar 25, 2011

Jealous, oh the people you will meet. Have an amazing time, stray off the beaten path, but not too far. Come back in one piece or we will miss your pearls of wisdom. I can not wait to see some pictures.

tirediron · Mar 25, 2011

Make sure you have an international voltage converter and never go anywhere without your own TP!

Hardrock · Mar 29, 2011

Congrats!!! Africa is definitly a dream for me. Can't wait to see some pics.

AmberNikol · Apr 1, 2011

Amazing, can't wait to see the pictures that you will post.

kundalini · Apr 1, 2011

Thanks Hardrock and Amber. I can only hope that I get a few keepers.

tirediron said:
......and never go anywhere without your own TP!

I'm sure you know the old saying John...... when you get to a certain age, never trust a fart. :shock: I usually keep a few folds in the camera bag. It's seldom mentioned in the "What's in your bag" threads, but a good idea anyway. :biggrin:

After receiving a Travel Advisory this morning with regard to personal security in Ghana, I've had another epiphany on what gear to take. Instead of the 14-24mm and 24-70mm, I think I'll take my primes instead (24, 35, 50, 85mm). They're much less conspicuous , far less weight, physical size and have larger apertures. Plus the cost of replacement is much, much less (and emotionally draining). However, I think the 70-200mm is still in the bag.