On the Road Again – Well, Water This Time

As I write this, I am sitting in a stateroom aboard a 3,600 passenger cruise ship in the Caribbean Sea, visiting several islands in the Eastern Caribbean. This isn’t a photography trip, but I’m making it one, carrying my full sized camera with me everywhere, even on this city sized floating marvel.

Over the past two weeks, we have had absolutely abysmal weather in the Canadian east, with snow and temperatures that would make any northern location traumatized. I didn’t plan it this way, but it seems I picked the perfect time for a holiday to the warm south. But it is the trip that almost didn’t happen. More on that later, but this blog post is about the challenges of travelling as a senior with photography equipment and the unique things about cruising with that in mind.

The first consideration was deciding how to carry my camera equipment and what to pack. Like most serious hobbyists, I have quite the collection of gear. I wanted to bring all of it. That wasn’t going to happen. I had also recently replaced my larger backpack with a small daypack, still large enough to fit a body and lens, but not a full kit.

I went back and forth on this for a long time, eventually settling on my Canon R5, with only one lens. It would not be any of my L-series lenses, but instead, the 24-240 all in one utility lens. With only one checked bag and a need to carry all my electronics into the cabin, it was my only choice. It does say something though about the trust I place in this combination – that on a vacation as important as this, I would take a utility lens.

The day of departure was a mad scramble to adjust to a flight cancellation and rebooking that moved us 10 hours earlier. Our flight out was also the day of the “generational” storm that recently engulfed the eastern seaboard. We got out, but moving my stuff easily became even more important as we scrambled.

Long story short, we made it onto the ship and have enjoyed a break from the cold. But I’ve run into almost the opposite problem now – the heat (that’s degrees Celsius) makes it difficult to carry my equipment for any length of time and the various outings off the ship in small vehicles make it even more difficult for this senior photographer to easily stow and use that equipment as we journey. Most people on these outings use their cellphones only.

I’ve ended up with three decisions to make this easier:

1. I use a Cotton Carrier to carry my main camera in front where I can easily reach it.
2. I use a Peak Design strap attached to the case of my cellphone to be able to lift and release my cellphone easily.
3. I use a cross-body flat bag to carry my documents, wallet and other essentials that sits underneath the other two items.

With the above, everything is in front where I can see it and reach it. And nothing is hanging out the side possibly banging on the narrow doorways or narrow seating of any of the transportation I am on while away. I don’t actually carry a camera bag – that’s only for the main trip to and from the airport.

So far, so good.

I’ll be posting more about my adventures over the coming weeks, and will have more photos to show, but for this post, suffice it to say that it is possible to easily carry a proper camera, make it easily accessible for daily use and keep your hands free while travelling. All essential if you are a senior trying to stay mobile while on vacation.