Traveled For A Year With Only 2 Small Bags While Trading My Photography For A Bed And Food. Here’s What I Took With Me And Why!
For 365 days I lived from trading. In exchange for people providing me with a bed and food for a couple of days, I would thank them by photographing something for them, and capturing the experience along the way.
A question I got a lot was “what do you carry along during your project”? Especially when people saw me arrive with nothing more than a backpack and a small suitcase and learned that that was all I owned while traveling.
A lot of thought went into finding the best bags and what to leave behind. But, I think I succeeded in bringing everything I needed to cover almost every scenario I would encounter (heat, cold, rain, snow, a hurricane,…). Even better, I don’t think I’ve missed one thing along the way.
My upcoming book will also feature a whole chapter about what I took with me and why. It’s on Kickstarter now, you can find out more about it through the link below!
More info: foolswithdreams.com
1. F-Stop Guru. Perfect camera bag that doesn’t look like a camera bag. Waterproof, pockets and straps everywhere to store and attach stuff, and most important you can access your camera and lenses from the back.
2. Pacsafe Toursafe EXP21. Hand luggage size, big wheels and sturdy.
BAG 1 (F-Stop Guru)
This bag is mainly for all technology and other small camera related items I need to have quick access to.
1. A waterproof GoPro housing.
2. GoPro Hero 2. Old but still does the trick.
3. GoPro Flex arm.
4. Gopro Jaws. To attach a GoPro to almost anything.
5. Sennheiser earbuds. I have to buy a new pair almost every year because I really (ab)use them, but they are awesome. Perfect to keep noise out also, and put on some rain sounds when trying to sleep.
6. LensPen I always carry around in my bag. Small and light, but gets dust and fingerprints of my lenses when needed.
7.HAMA USB3 card reader. Eats up every time of card you throw at it (not really).
8.Flash stand, but also doubles as a stand for the GoPro.
9. Hotshoe mount for my GoPro, so I can film what I’m shooting.
10. Passport.
11. “Business” cards.
12. Protective case for my external HD.
13. Spare battery for my camera. Best. Investment. Ever.
14. Giotto Rocket Air Blaster. Blasts that dust on my lens in a heartbeat.
15. Hoya Circular Polarizer.
16. Eagle Creek Pack-It cube for all small USB cables and chargers.
17.WD My Passport 2TB external HD for all images. I always carry 2 around that are a mirror of each other as backup, and try to separate them as much as possible (the other one is in the other bag). Even with 2TB of space I have to buy a new pair every 100 days on average.
18. Nikon charger for the camera batteries.
19. ASUS Zenbook laptop.
20 Laptop charger.
21. Nikon 85mm 1.4G lens. Can you say Bokeehhhhh?
22. Nikon 24mm 2.8 lens.
23. Nikon 50mm 1.4G lens. This is what’s on my camera most of the time.
24. Nikon D800 camera.
25. Kenko macro extension tubes. Perfect for jewelry shots.
26. Nikon SB900 flash. For when you need a splash of light.
27. F-Stop Medium Internal Camera Unit (ICU). They sell these in different sizes and they fit in all F-Stop backpacks, so you can mix and match them to suit your needs, or remove them when you need the whole backpack.
BAG 2 (Pacsafe Toursafe)
Here you’ll find mostly clothing and other practical stuff. I really like the Pack-it cubes as it enables me to get everything I need without making a mess all the time. Pretty important when you’re on the move the whole time..
1. Laundry sack. As I often throw my laundry in the washing machine together with others, it’s easy to keep my stuff together this way.
2. Eagle Creek Pack-it cube with general stuff like tape, GoPro accessories, cables,..
3. Sunglasses.
4. Gloves. Because you can’t take pictures with frozen hands.
5. Lenses.
6. A lock to attach the bag to almost everything, for example in the train when you’re sleeping.
7. Candle. Got this from a good friend when I left, to use when I wanted to feel a little bit at home away from home.
8. Second batch of “business” cards.
9. Toilet bag.
10. Sleeping mask. You have no idea how many people don’t have blinds.
11. Ziplock bags.
12. MeFOTO Globetrotter travel tripod. Lightweight, folds almost completely flat and can be used as a monopod.
13. Packtowel. Just in case.
14. WOSS Resistance trainer. When I started I planned to keep doing my workouts during the project. But then life got in the way.
15. Kevin Murphy hair clay, to keep my hair stylish.
16. WD My Passport 2TB external HD backup.
17. Eagle Creek Pack-it cube with everything pants related: 6 boxer shorts, a jeans and 2 (swim) shorts.
18. Another Eagle Creek Pack-it cube for my shoes.
19. And another Eagle Creek Pack-it cube for socks.
20.You guessed it, an Eagle Creek Pack-it cube with T-shirts.
Not on the list:
As I was wearing clothes when I took these photos (phew!), some items are not on the lists above:
– Marmot PreCip rain jacket.
– Wool sweater to get me through the cold days and when I need to be stylish.
– Chrome Industries Merino Hoodie. Warm, practical and provides extra street cred in the hoods.
– Black jeans.
– Gray T-shirt.
– Nike sneakers. Red.
– Bank and other similar cards.
The book about my adventures is now on Kickstarter
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