As we buy smaller and more compact camera bags to guarantee our entire camera kits make it on our flights as carry-ons, one has to wonder if we are affording enough padding and protection for these very valuable and sensitive items. Quite often I find it impossible to find  specific smaller bags for my camera bodies and lenses. That is until I discovered the Domke F34  protective wrap. As it is basically a padded square with four velcro corners, you can mold and fold them to fit almost any expensive or delicate photography item. It comes in 3 different sizes and a variety of colors.

I was introduced to the item by the Ken down at Bear Images as we were looking for a solution to protect my Broncolor A2R pack charger. I found I could use the same wrap to secure a Leica M9 or 24mm ASPH Summilux lens. You won’t find me leaving home without it.

Finding yourself in a foreign land and getting caught by a sudden deluge with your Leica M gear can take the wind out of the heartiest of sails due to the sensitivity of the camera’s electronics. Did you know that a solution could be found as close as your hotel bathroom? What I do is grab  the disposable shower cap, now found world wide, and place it in my camera bag.

The trick is to remove the “rain sock” once you are high and dry as to prevent any build up of condensation. You can typically place these back to back to protect the camera LCD as well.

First off: GIANTS!!!!!!! World Series Champs! (Uhummm….I am based out of San Francisco you know. )

When doing presentations or just talking to other photographers about street shooting in foreign countries I get asked quite often if I pay the subjects either before or after I take a picture. Short answer is pretty much never.

First of all, if I’m dolling out the local currency, the natural dynamic of the scene changes. You suddenly have numerous children rushing at you and grabbing for your hands, pockets and photo gear. Somewhat of a mob mentality as they know you probably have limited resources and they want their piece before you run out.

That being said, I think there are a few things that you can leave behind that doesn’t involve money. For example, taking the time to show your subjects their images on the back of your camera’s LCD screen goes a long ways towards establishing a laugh or a smile. In many cases, especially in more impoverished areas, it can be the first time they’ve ever seen a picture of themselves, let alone by a westerner (at least in my case).

Greet your subject eye to eye and say “Hello”, “Good Morning”, “Thank You” in their native language with a warm smile. Simple and effective.

After being haunted by children yelling after me about 14 years ago in Morocco and the Northern Sahara screaming “un stylo” (a pen) or “un crayon” (a pencil), my final trick in the hat (I mean bag) is to present, in the case of children and teenagers, a pen or pencil. First off, they are easy to stow in your luggage and then ultimately your camera bag or pocket of your cargo pants. They’re cheap, a recent box of 50 pens I bought at the US retail chain Target cost me about 4 cents per pen.

Finally, they love them. With every smile as I hand them out I can’t help wondering if one of them will go on to be the next James Joyce or Picasso.

When checking into a Hotel in a foreign country where English is not the first language, I always make a habit of asking the front desk person for a Hotel business card written in the native language so that I can hand it to a cab or tuk tuk driver when heading back to the hotel after a long day of shooting or at an evening dinner out. Typically, the cab and car operators do not speak English and only read the native language.

This is an absolute must especially in Tokyo where the street addresses can be a little funky (even for the locals) along with being written in kanji. But there it wouldn’t be the absolute end of the world as you could check into a local “Love Motel” (prices by the hour) until the sun rises and you can reset your bearings.

So here’s the scenario. You’re late for your flight and have to make it through the almost impenetrable barrier of the TSA scanners and X-ray machine. Shoes off and in one gray container (check), laptop out and in another (check), carry-on and laptop bags laid on their side and placed on the x-ray conveyor belt that always reminds me of a Luigi’s Brushless Car Wash. You walk forward and place your feet on the mat with the chalk outline of the shoe homicide and look forward at the agent on the other side of the metal framework. She waves you forward and the buzzer goes off like you’re the one-millionth customer at an Arby’s. Sure enough you left your cell phone in one pocket, your keys and loose change in another and what’s that bulge?…..they suspect your wallet is made of weapons grade plutonium. So back to the other side, place your items on more trays and send them through the conveyor belt as well. This time things go as planned, no onerous whistles or blinking lights and the TSA  agent waves you through like a 747 taxiing on the tarmac. But wait, now my stuff is scattered around the X-ray machine like the clothes rack at a  two dollar sale at Walmart.

Want to avoid all this?

Designate a Pocket! Simple, designate the front pocket of one of your carry-ons (in my case it’s an Urban Disguise Laptop bag made by Think Tank) which also carries various other photographic items and my iPad. Before stepping into the chaos of the TSA line, I place my wallet, watch, belt, loose change and iPhone in the front of the bag and zip it tight so I can forget about these items until I’m safely on the other side where I only have to gather my shoes, MacBook Pro and carry-ons. I then sit down at the first available seat and put everything in their rightful place or pocket. One less hassle to deal with…

With a simple photograph I’ll try to illustrate why the Apple iPad, in my mind, is an essential travel device. Between  iBooks, amazon.com, and borders.com there are no shortage of travel guides available to the eBook market.  Also, with Zinio, you can manage your magazine subscriptions so they are delivered as digital subscriptions every month (save a tree). With many airlines charging for each piece of luggage and every kilo over a certain limit, it makes more and more sense to put one of these babies in your carry-on. I don’t leave home without it!