The Photographers
Tips & Tricks
How we pack film - 21 rolls per ZipLock |
How we package our film when we ship it back to the
States - Tupperware containers, 40 rolls per container, business
card taped inside, each roll of film labeled
|
The NRMA guides are extremely useful and reliable guides to accommodations
when there are no Big 4's available |
The Big 4 Holiday Parks in Australia are generally outstanding.
Each site is consistently rated from 2-4 stars, pick the 4-star
sites and you can't go wrong...camp sites, caravan parking, cabins |
Carry important papers all in one secure place,
and keep it within easy reach |
There are many natural history guides available; we
shipped several hundred back to the states for quick reference
|
Here are some more - we found them for all of the different species
that we encountered
|
We label front and rear lens caps with the focal length of the
lens. This saves time at the end of a hectic shooting day when
we are making sure that all the various caps are accounted for.
It is hard to replace these things in the States, let alone in
the Outback! |
Gaffer tape is an old stand by - we bring big rolls with us and
we carefully wrap all larger lens shades with gaffer tape to
help protect the surface of the shade from wear and tear in the
field |
Of course, not every single piece of gear is photographic… |
Carry eyeglasses in hard cases - these hard cases have saved
several pairs of ours from being fatally crunched during transport.
The cases were crunched to a degree but the glasses survived!
|
Same is true for software CD's - carry them in hard cases. It
is quite difficult to work Norton Utility's magic when the
CD is in shattered pieces |
Some 200 musical CD's saved us in the most rugged parts of the
Outback where the terrain for hundreds of kilometers is nothing
but flat flat flat. We brought along opera, jazz, Broadway, classical
-
you name it, we had it. |
Have a good field guide for birds with you,
this is an excellent one
|
In Australia, most internet cafes feature PCs, not Macs. Bring
IBM formatted floppies with you because Macs can read IBM floppies
but PCs cannot read Mac floppies. In the Outback you will not
find Iomega Zip drives - so stick to floppies
|
Your boots are your best friend in the Outback- bring along a
sturdy pair that wears well. These are Rockports, which are light,
mostly waterproof, ankle length - and good protection against
snakes. Note also the boot condoms, they protect you from the
thorny Spinafex grasses which are everywhere |
Ahhh, cable ties-they can fix anything in a pinch.
Don't leave home without them. Bring an array
of sizes with you |
Also bring along a supply of small, uniform-sized logbooks. We
kept notes about everything in these logbooks, which we labeled
and dated for easy information retrieval |
Don't count on getting a new supply of lithiums in the Outback.
Bring enough to last you. If you think they are expensive where
you live, try buying them on the fly in Australia
|
We can't say enough good things about
Eagle Creek bags - anything made by
Eagle Creek will stand the test of traveling.
This is a computer satchel - the best! All of
our luggage is made by Eagle Creek |
A good pair of binocs is essential in the Outback - be sure yours
can close-focus
|
The Lonely Planet series of guidebooks about the different Australia
states can't be beat. We relied on them throughout all of our
Aussie travels. No other guidebooks are so thorough or reliable.
Visit the Lonely Planet web site at www.lonelyplant.com for more
information about their publications |
Bring plenty of business cards with you with
all your contact information. If you don't have any, make some
up before you go
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