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Author Topic: Iceland workshops  (Read 8340 times)

Ave

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Iceland workshops
« on: May 14, 2007, 04:59:03 pm »

Can anyone comment on the workshops with Daniel. I am scheduled to go this summer and just looking for some heads up ideas on prior participants photo gear -- like how much to bring? Traveling with a Mac and time to download files, versus taking something like a Jobo drive. Would you bring only rough and rugged gear, like a D2X, vs. a medium format digital back? Would travel with 1, 2, or 3 cameras for backup? Is the moisture a big issue? Is there adequate time to charge batteries, download, look at files, and or sleep? Would you cart more than one tripod?

If anyone has been, love to hear about your experience of the nuts and bolts stuff. Not to mention the overall time you had. Feel free to email with comments. I'm committed to going but just wanted a little more feedback from prior trips to help with my planning while not bugging the guide.

Thanks.
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davidh4976

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« Reply #1 on: May 14, 2007, 06:14:45 pm »

I had the pleasure of going on Daniel’s trip last year.  You are going to have a memorable time.

We had one participant who used a digital Hasselblad.  Almost everyone else had digital full-frame or smaller: Canon 5D seemed to be the most popular.  One fellow was shooting film, but by the end of the trip had decided to convert on getting back home.

The vehicle we used was a good sized 4WD bus.  There was an empty seat for every two filled seats.  You will not have enough room for two sets of camera gear (i.e. D2X AND medium format…take one or the other, not both, and only one tripod).  I had a 5D with a D60 as backup.  The D60 stayed in my luggage in the luggage compartment.  You should arrange your gear so that you only have the camera gear you need in the passenger area in one backpack/bag (hand carry the tripod).  Getting everyone on and off the bus quickly was sometimes an effort as the aisles are not all that wide.

Some of the locations required a moderate amount of walking, so equipment weight/volume could be a factor.  Lighter is better, but don’t scrimp on a good selection of glass.

Moisture was not an issue except when it rained!  You need a good rain suit.  I wore a rain proof hooded jacket with a fleece jacket underneath…a good combination.  I also wore poly thermal underwear.  It was below freezing at one point and only made it above 60F one day.  Your hiking boots should be waterproof, too.  A rain cover for your bag and for your camera will allow you to continue shooting when it does rain.

You will have enough time to charge batteries and download files.  I used a PC and made DVD copies.  Others used a PC and an external drive.  I would have liked to have had a standalone hard drive so I could have downloaded from the cards to it while going from location to location on the bus; I would have still downloaded to a PC at night for redundancy.

The days are long and it’s hard to get enough sleep.  You will trade off viewing/editing time for sleep!  My recommendation is sleep first, viewing/editing second.  Lack of sleep for the whole group kept us from getting out for as many early morning excursions as I would have preferred, but it’s hard to avoid.  Dawn comes really early there!

David
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Ave

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« Reply #2 on: May 14, 2007, 08:23:20 pm »

Thanks David,

That's really great info to have and gives me some perspective on packing and organization. I was in danger of mentally gearing up for too much gear (sorry). But your experience really will make me approach that aspect of the trip more reasonably.

Appreciate the tip on sleep. Between oggling the landscape and one's photos of it, I could see where sleep loses. Is a 200-400 F4 nikon too much glass, either in weight or utility?

I'm creating my own little manual on this trip with emails and posts I get in this thread, so much thanks. I got really good vibes from Daniel before I signed on (late - there was a cancellation), so I didn't do much pre-trip checking.

Ave
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davidh4976

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« Reply #3 on: May 15, 2007, 09:45:34 am »

Absolutely take your 200-400 F4.

I don't know the multiplier on your camera, but for my full frame Canon 5D, I used everything from 17 to 700. I did not use the wide end that much.  Canon lenses I took and am glad I did:

17-35 f/2.8 (I didn't use this very much)
28-70 f/2.8 (the workhorse)
100-400 f/4.5-5.6
500 f/4
1.4x teleconverter

A 500 or 700 full frame equivalent works well for the Puffins.  The 200-400 with your multiplier might be just right.

David
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Ave

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« Reply #4 on: May 15, 2007, 12:46:02 pm »

Thanks again David,

Appreciate you sharing the kit you took on the trip. That looks like about the selection I'll wind up with, Nikon version, which has a 1.5 multiplier. From reviewing the forum on bags, seems like a ThinkTank Acc is a good bet to haul everything in the cabin -- though there's a zillion opinions on bags.

Everything you've mentioned makes sense and confirms what I might have come up with (maybe) -- but your advice on climate, truck travel, sleep, and gear is really helpful for the unique Icelandic type of trip.

Thanks for taking the time to go into your experience in detail -- it will certainly make my trip better.

Ave
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Stephen Starkman

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Iceland workshops
« Reply #5 on: May 15, 2007, 01:02:28 pm »

The ThinkTank Airport International is what I'm considering bringing (I'm off to Iceland on one of Daniel's workshops this summer too). It's a roller, conforming to carry on size restrictions for Iceland Air (I think!). Trouble is that it's not a friendly bag to work out of in the field. So I'll bring a small pack (Airport Antidote, perhaps). A friend who is also attending the same workshop settled on a Tenba Shootout medium size backpack. This discussion is very helpful to me as well.
Stephen
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davidh4976

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« Reply #6 on: May 15, 2007, 01:55:07 pm »

Quote
The ThinkTank Airport International is what I'm considering bringing (I'm off to Iceland on one of Daniel's workshops this summer too). It's a roller, conforming to carry on size restrictions for Iceland Air (I think!). Trouble is that it's not a friendly bag to work out of in the field. So I'll bring a small pack (Airport Antidote, perhaps). A friend who is also attending the same workshop settled on a Tenba Shootout medium size backpack. This discussion is very helpful to me as well.
Stephen
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=117720\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Icelandair was very stringent about carry on. They would not allow my Think Tank Airporter. You might consider Michael's tips about using a vest to handle some carry on.

David
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Stephen Starkman

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Iceland workshops
« Reply #7 on: May 15, 2007, 02:57:19 pm »

David, thank you. Did they weigh the carry on, or was it a size restriction?
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davidh4976

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« Reply #8 on: May 15, 2007, 07:29:35 pm »

Quote
David, thank you. Did they weigh the carry on, or was it a size restriction?
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=117744\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

The check-in counter agent took one look at it and said 'no way'.  So, it was a size issue.
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Ave

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« Reply #9 on: May 16, 2007, 07:18:40 am »

David,

Not to turn this into a bag thread of which there are many, would you guess that the TT Addicted would "fly" as a carryon, and carry a shoulder bag in addition, like a smallish under seat briefcase. I've done a fair amount of International travel, but thought I'd run this by someone like you whose done it w/ this airline -- they're all so different, but Icelandic sounds more picky than others.

Also, just out of curiosity, what did you do when they rejected your carryon TT as too big? Lastly, I'm ashamed to ask, but can't find Michael's advice on vests as a carryon workaround -- can you point it out, and do they really let you bye with bulging pockets?

Just got some more info from Daniel, and am really looking forward to the trip. I'm not sweating the details, even though it sounds that way.

Thanks for your indulgence,
Ave
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davidh4976

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« Reply #10 on: May 16, 2007, 08:54:40 pm »

Ave,

No problem.  I'm happy to be of help.  

Look at this thread:
http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index....showtopic=11033

But, don't rely on the airline web site.  Icelandair's web site says that my bag should have been allowed as carry-on, but the agent decided something else.  I ended up checking my 500mm in the Airporter bag.  Fortunately, I had a spare collapsible bag that I was able to put the remainder into and carry on board.

I wouldn't begin to speak for Icelandair about the TT Addicted.  But, if you follow the advice in that thread (above) you'll be better prepared.

I haven't had to use my vest yet, but I'm now ready with it.  I don't want to ever have to check the 500mm again!

David
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Ave

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« Reply #11 on: May 16, 2007, 09:41:44 pm »

Thanks again David. Your comments and link have been most helpful and reassuring. Hope I can do as much for another forum member somewhere down the line.
Regards,
Ave
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