Traveling with a monorail

[Jennifer Waak]

I'm going to be taking my first trip with my monorail in a few weeks and am at a bit of a loss. I'm heading down to the Southwest US (Nevada, S. CA, Arizona, an d New Mexico) for a rather quick tour with some friends. My questions have to do with my best options for carrying the camera as well as film. I have researched extensively but still have some remaining questions.

I have an Arca-Swiss Discovery and have already accepted the fact that the camer a will NOT be able to go on the plane with me but will have to be checked. I hav e a non-photo backpack that I use when traveling by car and am wondering if putt ing that into a Pelican case will work if all lenses, meter, groundglass, etc ar e wrapped in neoprene wraps? My concern is that by not using a genuine photo cas e/backpack where everything is well-padded, that something will get damaged; but on the other hand it seems to me that most of this stuff is fairly sturdy. I wo uld stuff the empty spaces between the hard case and the backpack with clothes o r foam. Am I just being paranoid? I do want to have a backpack once I get there so I can comfortably walk a bit so simply using a padded case is not an option.

My second question deals with film. How much? I know this is a highly subjective question, but I really don't know. With my 35mm I usually guess what I'm going to take (assume 2-3 rolls/day) and then increase by 50%. That method has worked well for me over the years. I have 10 film holders for my B&W and a Fuji Quicklo ad for my Provia. I was simply going to assume one full set of holders/day and t hen probably half as many sheets of Provia. I am admittedly film-happy and will be experimenting a lot with filters in B&W.

I suspect that I have answered my own questions in my post, but would really lik e some additional opinions.

Thanks!

[jnorman]

jenn - i would not recommend checking your camera. find a good carry- on rollabout, break your camera down as far as you can, and pack it int there and carry it on with you. i have already done this a couple of times since 9-11 and it has not been a problem. for film and holders, you may want to try the kodak readyload system - it is a lightweight and convenient way to carry lots of film. i carry about 100-200 negs on my day trips for habs/haer work. i could never do that with regular film holders.

[Glenn Kroeger]

Jennifer:

I carry my Arca-Swiss on board all the time... it will fit in most carryon luggage. You could check lenses since they are pretty easy to wrap up in bubble wrap and/or styrofoam.

Have you considered buying film along the way. You can order from mail order shops if you are going to be at or near a delivery address for a day, or there are good large format suppliers in Phoenix, LA and Albuquerque.

[Ellis Vener]

Edward Weston was also a nudist and liked to dress up in Tina Modotti's clothes. Are those also good precedents to follow? Should one also suffer from Parkinson's as well in order to make a name for ones self?

[Jennifer Waak]

Glenn, can you suggest some LF suppliers on Phoenix and Albuquerque? Knowing I'll have 2 possible places to refill will help. Thanks!

[Ellis Vener]

In New mexico you might want to contact the Santa Fe Workshops and see what they recommend if they don't carry it at the workshop stores: http://www.santafeworkshops.com

[Allan Fontanilla.com]

Jennifer,

I backpacked with my Arca-Swiss Discovery to the Philippines in January along with other cameras. The way I packed mine was to separate the standards from the carrier and leaving the carriers on the rail. This leaves you with two packable pieces. The sandards/bellow/lens can be wrapped in a large lens wrap (Calumet 18".) The carriers and rail wrapped in another one. Any other lenses/boards can be wrapped individually also. I just packed them between some clothes in my backpack and check it in as luggage with no problems.

As for holders, I took just two and a changing bag. Although now I would probably take my Polaroid back and a bunch of Readyloads/Quickloads (Tmax now available also.)

Allan

[William Stone]

Jennifer - Your best bet here in Albuquerque for supplies is Camera and Darkroom (3225 Central Ave. NE; 505-255-1133) (this is a new location for them - they moved a few blocks this fall). They also have a shop in Santa Fe. They don't have real extensive large format inventory, but should have most films. It certainly wouldn't hurt to call ahead to check on stock/availability.

If you want to get some processing done here in town - my experience is with E-6...Carl's Darkroom and Camera Graphics seem to be the most widely used by pros.

Enjoy...Bill

[Jennifer Waak]

Thanks for the great suggestions, everyone. It seems that I may be able to do this without purchasing anything other than film (which is the right answer in the throes of the holiday season). Ellis, I will definitely stop in at PhotoMark.

-Jen

[Glenn Kroeger]

In addition to the other shops mentioned, Camera Graphics Lab in Albuquerque is both a Fuji Professional film dealer and a Fuji Labnet member. Their prices on Fuji Quickloads were very good.