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.

[M.]

Go ahead and check it, but be sure to insure it fully against loss or damage, and make sure it applies in a foreign country. If you put it into a backpack arrangement, ask the airline ticket agent to put it into one of their cardboard containers. It will protect it from knocks a little and from theives a lot. Edward Weston carried 10 double holders of 8x10 every day for his trip through California and the West -- that's 20 shots/day. Probably not a bad precident. Good Luck -- have fun.

[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?

[Michael Kelleghan]

I travel the SW with a Toyo 8x10 mono. On the plane, I pack as much as I can into a large Pelican, the backpack goes into a suitcase with my clothes. When I get to the destination I unload the Pelican and load the backpack. 8x10 Film is available in S.CA and Las Vegas, so you can buy it there if you don't mind the time, else just pack it away in the Pelican.

On the return trip I usually UPS the Pelican and exposed film to myself, fully insured. A little pricey, but it cuts down on the Tums intake while on the plane :-)

_All_ my camera equipment is insured thru my personal property insurance co. (Allstate) and I call them a day or two before I get on a plane just to make sure I'm paid up on the premiums.

How much film? Jeez, no matter how much you take there's never enough :-) Bryce alone can suck up 10 sheets of 8x10 per day. I've been known to fire off 3-4 rolls of 35mm on the tortoises in the preserve just west of Vegas. You're going to be experimenting with filters? then stock up on outdated Polaroid film for the test shots, it's pretty cheap nowadays.

There's intermitent rainstorms in the area, so stay out of slot canyons and other flash flood zones. OTOH, the sunsets are glorious with all the spotty clouds. Bring some heavy plastic bags (I use trash compactor bags) and lots of large, thick rubber bands to keep your gear dry.

[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]

Photomark in phoenix. http://www.photomark.com. If Rod Klukas is still he is a great walking resource of large format info. They are also one of the best Arca-Swiss dealers in the USA.

[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