Traveling with Photography Equipment

(Clouds – Nikon D200 with Nikkor 50mm, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO – 100. Clicked this photograph on a flight. The in-flight movies never interest me.)

Carry on luggage in domestic flights
This is the safest way to carry expensive camera equipment. All the carriers allow photography equipment in the cabin even though government regulations in various countries prohibit photography once inside. So pack your camera bag and carry it with you.
Do not carry excess equipment. Less is quite often more than required when it comes to photography.

• Pack your camera bag so that everything is snugly fit but without any undue stress on individual items. Double check the lens caps.
• Camera flash units are allowed in the flights but batteries are not. Nobody minds the batteries inside the camera bodies. In fact, sometimes, security guards have requested me to turn the camera on. I have been told once to empty my flash of batteries once when they happened to be inside the flash.
• Lenses are never a problem as long as they are not something like the Sigma 200-500 f/2.8 apo.
• Cleaning equipment including liquids like Eclipse or Zeiss lens cleaning fluid have also been allowed in the camera bag everytime I have had them. I usually do not carry them with me on short trips. 
• Let the camera bag with the memory cards pass through the X-Ray. The X-Rays are harmless for memory cards.
• Tripods and monopods are allowed as long as they can be stored in the overhead bin and are secured in a carrying bag of their own. I prefer to check them in with the baggage. It makes my journey comfortable.

Carry on luggage in international flights
Somehow the rules are stricter when it comes to international flights. The carry on weight permission is higher than domestic flights but the rules make it difficult to carry most of the stuff that can be carried in domestic flights. Bummer!

The regulations are same as for domestic flights but when it comes to implementation, these are the changed that I have observed-

• No cleaning liquids are allowed in any kind of packing. Not even a tiny-winy dropper with Eclipse even if it is the new version which is safe for flights.
• Tripods and monopods have to go in the checked-in luggage. Security guys believe that the passengers flying on international flights can get violent and use them as beating sticks… or maybe that is my perception. Anyway, what would you want to use them inside the cabin for?
• Another important aspect to international travel is the import/export of electronic goods. Every country has their own ‘form’ for this. Fill it before leaving your own country and get it properly stamped. A similar declaration form also has to be filled in the country of arrival. These two forms tell both the countries that the photography equipment with you is your own and for personal use, that you are carrying it with you with the intention to carry it back and therefore it is not exactly an import or export of consumer electronic goods. Even if the airport people seem disinterested in this, insist and get it properly done. It can save ‘duty’ on way back and a lot of unnecessary headache.
• Carry invoices and bills. Sometimes when the above formalities can not be completed for whatever reason, these proofs of purchase help.
• Memory cards and storage devices used to be a problem some years back but now everyone understands that data can easily be sent across places through internet so now memory cards don’t cause the airport security to see red.

Checked In Baggage
Tripods, monopods, and any other heavy or cumbersome equipment go into my checked baggage. Even small, inexpensive items like cables, filters, blower bulbs, and chargers are packed in the checked luggage. Every item adds weight, so I prefer to minimize what I carry, especially in the flight cabin.

As an amateur photographer, I don’t travel with an entire studio packed into suitcases. Therefore, Pelican cases designed for checked-in equipment aren’t necessary for me. They shout out loud, “Look, I am full of expensive electronic stuff”. Why would someone carry so much on a vacation?

(Farms visible just outside of New Delhi airport. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 50mm lens, f/5.6, 1/350)

Using camera in the flight?
Photography is generally prohibited inside airplane cabins on most flights, but that doesn’t deter me from bringing my camera. At the beginning of my trip, I review my settings, and on the way back, I enjoy looking at the photos I might have taken. While inside, there are often stunning photo opportunities outside the window, such as breathtaking skyscapes, clouds, sunrises, and sunsets. Although laws prohibit photography inside the plane, most airlines allow passengers to photograph the outside view through the window, provided the flash is off.

It’s important to note that photographing flight attendants, pilots, and other cabin crew is strictly off-limits, regardless of how friendly they may seem. Their friendliness is part of their job, but it does not grant the right to invade their personal space by taking pictures.

Additionally, be cautious when photographing at airports. Some countries have strict security regulations that prohibit photography in certain areas of airports. However, this trend is gradually diminishing, and more places are becoming accessible for photography.

Traveling by road, rail-road or water-ways
Not much of a problem when it comes to camera gear. However due to long duration of journey itself, the chances of damage to the equipment and thefts increase. Be careful through out the journey and not just the initial part.

Snugly packing everything is vital. Bumpy ride is as bad for the photography equipment as it is for your back.

To avoid theft 

• Carry photography items in not too flashy or new camera bag. Now a days many photographers carry bags that do not look like a conventional camera bag from any angle but then the moment camera is brought out from it or kept back, it becomes a potential target for thieves. The cover-up gets blown.
• If you are using a backpack, hang it on the front instead of back.
• Keep a list of your photography equipment with their serial numbers separately.
• Keep a backup of photographs you make on the trip. Usually it is the loss of photographs that pains more than the loss of equipment.
• Listen to your intuition. Do not let worry spoil your vacation but when intuition says that something is not right then surely something is not right.
• Use common sense. Will you step out all alone in your own city at night with your expensive camera? So, why do it in your holiday location?

This article, originally published on my photography site, is now archived here; while some details may have lost their original context over time, it hopefully still offers an intriguing read.
Complete list of archived content – Photography Articles