Dream with me: Alaska cruise, money is no object

[Anthony M]

Have mercy on him! It took me months to process my own 4000 Alaska cruise photos. I think my policy of "digital is cheap, so snap lots of shots" needs some revising. Digital may be cheap, but my time isn't...

It's fun to beat up on people for doing the same thing I'm guilty of!

What's worse is when you've got all this fancy equipment you get volunteered as the "official photographer", so a lot of the time I'm having to get pictures for other people before I ever see my stuff!

My Wife will be coming back with an unknown number of shots from Alaska in a couple of weeks, and then it's off to Hawaii for a combination of volunteer work (photography and video), vacation photos, and work photos. So I will have literally over a month of picture taking and video to go through!

I just ordered the Tamron 150-600 - I anguished over that or the Sigma 50/1.4 Art. I might still change my mind, as i could have the Sigma for my trip (but really don't need it that bad with a 24-70/2.8 II), or have something whale watching this fall.

The neatest thing?
B&H now takes multiple cards online so I could use my Canon rebate cards by using that super handy B&H "buy now >" button The Digital Picture so graciously includes on all their pages!

Oh, and I got a Vanguard Xcenior 48T rolling bag. I finally hit the limit with the audio equipment. This'll hold the laptop as well. Last time I had my laptop case and camera bag - and packed my tripod (probably still will this time). But I had my 6D, 70-200/2.8 (3 lbs. right there!), 24-105, 17-40, 50/1.4 2 speedlites, ipad, triggers, batteries, chargers etc all in a shoulder bag! Oh, and the D20 and GoPro Hero3 Black.

Here's a sample video - we swim with spinner dolphins every year, and most of the time we have pretty good luck. This is a quick snippit - I can only hold my breath for so long! http://youtu.be/JNRlegA_xy4

So when I get back I'll have a pocket review of the case. I'll post the gear I'll be hauling when I get closer to the date, but this time I'll have a lot of audio gear, and have to figure how much video support I'll take. Like fluid head, steady cam, etc. There's that fine line between fun and work!

[peety3]

Have mercy on him! It took me months to process my own 4000 Alaska cruise photos. I think my policy of "digital is cheap, so snap lots of shots" needs some revising. Digital may be cheap, but my time isn't...

With whales, they're too unpredictable, so shoot now and pick later is our approach. It becomes easy when you're sitting in front of the screen - my wife did "first cut" on 11k pictures in 5-6 hours, and I did "second cut" on 2200 pics in 2-3 hours.

I might be doing another Alaska cruise myself next year, and i'll probably be taking up something like this:
* A pair of Canon 6D bodies (still need to buy that second 6D).
* 24x105, or 24-70 f/4 IS (if i actually buy the 24-70 f/4).
* 16-35 f/4 IS (my most recent purchase).
* 70-300L
* 400mm f/5.6 (or maybe 100-400 MkII if it comes out and is good and i can afford it).
* 100mm L macro.
* Maybe a 135 f/2 or 200mm f/2.8 for clandestine shots of any show i'm unfortunate enough to find myself in.

Skip the 135/2 or 200/2.8. Either shoot the show with what you've got, leave the camera in the room and enjoy the show, or declare your independence and do something else. After that, you're still looking at 4-5 lenses, which is bordering on too many, though having matched cameras really helps. That said, you can probably choose between the longest lens and the macro on a per-adventure basis.

* A flash of some sort. Last year i took up my 580ex, but i only used it to snap shots of my cabin. Those cabins are tiny enough that a 90ex would've been fine...
* A light tripod (Gitzo 1542T with small ballhead) for panos and waterfalls.
* My Guragear Bataflea 32L for storing all the stuff in. And my little Lowepro PhotoSport 200AW pack for carrying a subset of stuff on excursions. They both worked pretty well last year.

We took one flash, and it got used on formal night for maybe 30 shots total, plus the final night for maybe 5 shots with our favorite waiters.

I strongly suggest you make sure you're ready to go trekking with whatever you assemble. I basically went everywhere with my "standard kit": 200-400/4 on a monopod, 70-200/4 OR Zeiss 15/2.8 hanging from my right shoulder (via BlackRapid Double strap), and 24-70/2.8 hanging from my left shoulder. That put either my secondary wildlife lens (70-200) or the manual-focus ultrawide (Z15) near my dominant hand, and the occasionally used 24-70 in a less-convenient but still ready-to-shoot position. A Utility Case on my right hip had spare battery, gloves, memory cards (in a ThinkTank Wallet, perhaps the Pixel Rocket, on a leash so it couldn't go missing), right where my hand could go fishing without looking. A LensExchange 200AW on my left side held the lens I wasn't using, and since it'd go on the camera hanging from my right shoulder it kept things separated and sane during (admittedly rare) lens changes.

* The idea of renting a BIG LENS is tempting too. Though i'd be scared or losing or water-damaging it. Renting's not cheap though. I was looking at LensRental prices, and it's approaching $1000 for a 500 or 200-400 with insurance. And i'm still out $1000 if it gets stolen, or $12,000 if it gets wet! I wonder how i'd carry the thing too. It's too big for my Lowepro, and my Bataflae is really too big & pretentious to be carrying around much. Need to buy another backpack? And i suppose i'd need a heavier tripod & head too.

See above, and come up with a mechanism that works. In my case, I had the convenience of three cameras, so I just left a camera on the bazooka. Regardless, GET (or rent) A MONOPOD. I can't believe how often I'll use the monopod (and sometimes for odd uses) when I wouldn't think of a tripod, and with practice you can get real good at tossing the monopod into your left elbow so you can grab another camera and shoot without putting down/inverting the monopod. In general, assume you aren't going to bag the bazooka once you're aboard ship. We also had a tripod with gimbal for the big gun, and I think it only got used for one wildlife viewing aboard the ship.

I also encourage you to think through what you'd use when, and make sure it all works together. For me, it worked because I could make the 200-400 my main lens (of sorts), while keeping a secondary handy, and lens changes were truly at off-peak times because of the range I was holding. Had a 100-400 Mk II been available to me somehow, I might have rented the 600/4 instead, and then I suspect I'd be doing a LOT of shooting with the 600 in my elbow and another camera/lens in my hand. That might have made things tougher all around.

We boarded the ship with essentially four gear bags: my normal camera backpack had three bodies and four lenses, her normal camera backpack had two bodies and four lenses, my laptop backpack had laptop and such, and a "rolling duffel" had two tripods (one with ballhead, one with rented gimbal), monopod, and the 200-400 wrapped in a warm coat. It was a lot, but still quite carryable.

[peety3]

Drum roll please...the pictures are posted! Visit https://www.flickr.com/photos/alibea...7646305661819/ to see the results. Pretty much across the board, if it was shot with a 1Dx or 1D Mark III, I shot it, whereas if it was shot with a 5D Mark III or 7D, my wife shot it. For reference, on page 2, shots BEFB and BEFC were taken seconds apart by "opposing cameras" so you can see our range. A different way to look at it on page 5 with shots BIBA (Zeiss 15/2.8) and BIBC (200-400/4 at 560mm).

You can see most of my "get-up" on page 4 in shot BGIB: vest and belt on me, BlackRapid Double strap "attached" to the vest, utility pouch on belt right side for memory card wallet, battery (gotta love commonality of batteries!), filters, cap set, LowePro Lens Exchange 200AW on the left side (that's what the MindSpring Contact Sheet is hanging from, via a red carabiner clip). Oddly I seem to have gotten my cameras "backwards" here, as I usually carried the 1Dx with either Zeiss 15 or 70-200/4L on the right side, and the 1D3 with 24-70/2.8 on the left side (which was handed to the tour guide for this shot), but the 70-200 is in the LensExchange case. Honestly it was extremely functional, but boy did people think I was shooting for NatGeo/BBC/etc. Everything was truly accessible without having to take a backpack off my back. I certainly couldn't run (and wouldn't), but as long as the monopod leg was extended I could shoot anything except the stowed lens in seconds. Since all of my cameras have RRS L-brackets, we've "standardized" that our straps are always attached via the RRS L-bracket - we have four RRS B2-FABNs with BlackRapid D-rings loctited on, and two RRS B2-FABNs with traditional neck straps attached (though we've never used them since going BlackRapid). It's been a bit of an adjustment to cameras that hang upside-down, particularly with learning how to find the lens release button without looking, but it works well for me.

[Busted Knuckles]

Wow, what a trip! Thanks for sharing. I imagine you get "vista fatigue" after awhile, "oh yea just another fantastic vista..." around every corner.

Really like the photos of the salmon in the river w/ the gulls. wondering where the bears were.......

RE: Gear, rather have too much than not enough. Enjoyed your comments on having consistent bodies and leaving the dominant lens attached. I am going to the Dalmatian Coast on a tall ship cruise in October and trying to configure my set up. Doubt there will be in wildlife outside of the bar, so more landscape/architectural type stuff.

Again, thanks so much for sharing your trip and photos w/ us.

[Kayaker72]

Great series Peety. I am only on my iPhone, but some really spectacular stuff.

Just looked up the Dalmatian coast. I have heard that area of Croatia is amazing. Ben Taylor (methodically muddled) spent some time there and the pics were amazing.

[Busted Knuckles]

Yep, unfortunately The lakes" are too far from our path for me to get to.

[peety3]

Wow, what a trip! Thanks for sharing. I imagine you get "vista fatigue" after awhile, "oh yea just another fantastic vista..." around every corner.

Not really - only a brief time on the small boat as we transited from Tracy Arm up to Juneau to rejoin the ship, but then the whale popped up. I ended up parking in the back left (port stern) corner, and every now and then there'd be this FLOOD of passengers running up to see something (I couldn't hear the guide with the engine noise and wind), so I'd just put my head on a swivel and figure out what we had.

The river adventure did end up being a bit fatiguing, so I put the two smaller cameras at my feet and shot a few things with the 200-400, reaching for something else as needed.

Really like the photos of the salmon in the river w/ the gulls. wondering where the bears were.......

Nowhere around. We were on the west side of the intersection of Egan Dr & Channel Dr in Juneau AK (the red roofed building is the radio station, and we parked there then walked out to the channel). Pretty much zero ability for the bears to get there. I think the salmon were farm-raised in that creek, and they were netted off to prevent them from mixing with the native species.

RE: Gear, rather have too much than not enough. Enjoyed your comments on having consistent bodies and leaving the dominant lens attached. I am going to the Dalmatian Coast on a tall ship cruise in October and trying to configure my set up.

I have mixed feelings on having too much gear. I weighed myself loaded & empty so I could tell the floatplane operator what I weighed (since the usual "add 10 for clothes" wouldn't apply); the full kit added 40 pounds. It was extremely comfortable (all on my waist or shoulders, essentially, as I'd carry the 200-400 on my shoulder while still on the monopod), but it was a noticeable burden nonetheless. I definitely would have struggled with the 200-400 AND 600 had I rented both - it'd be VERY hard to open doors with a bazooka on each shoulder. Now, I'm all OK with taking an assortment of gear and picking/choosing based on the day's agenda, but when some of the gear is rented and therefore unfamiliar, there's a comfort factor in at least having the same unfamiliar gear each day and in the same place.