How I Pack My Photography Gear and Life for 5 Months and 4 Seasons Abroad

How does one pack to lead three photography tours over the course of 5 months abroad, while photographing 4 countries on 3 continents, in climates ranging from +36°c to -30°c? And do it all in 37kg?

Think of it… Hot and humid days in Myanmar, to potential blizzard conditions during Ukraine’s freezing-cold winter nights in January. From sport sandals and light hikers, to winter boots. Two camera bodies and 5 lenses. A tripod, microphone, laptop…

Oh yeah, and some clothes.

Here’s how I do it, with all of the gear and the clothes broken down. And find out if I missed something (or if I overpacked…)

Itinerary Overview and Needs

While I plan for this to be a pretty generic packing job, and similar to what I normally pack for any multi-month journey abroad, I think it could be good to give some context.

Trip Stats

How I Move It Around:
My Carry-On and Checked Bags

osprey luggage.jpg

It’s not often that I travel with two checked bags, but for this trip, it was required. Here’s a rough breakdown of weight and my luggage.

  • Osprey Sojourn 60L Wheeled Luggage (19kg, Checked)

  • Osprey Ozone 46L Wheeled Luggage (10kg, Checked)

  • Deuter Crosscity Backpack (7kg, Carry-on)

  • My trusty blue Shan Bag (not pictured) (1kg, Carry-on)

Typically, I travel with the Osprey Sojourn 60L (left) when I’m doing a trip overseas. I use the Ozone 46L (right rear) for travel in North America as it meets carry-on standards there (but not necessarily elsewhere in the world). This trip, I needed both to cover the extra winter gear (boots, jackets, etc)

The backpack is a fairly generic but well-built Deuter bag. I prefer this backpack to a typical photographers backpack… because it doesn’t look like one. Photographer backpacks scream “I’m full of expensive stuff!” and I prefer my backpack to be nice and quiet. The backpack holds my camera bodies and lenses while I travel, as well as my laptop, journals, light jacket, and my most important chargers. Some people toss an extra pair of undies in their carry-on in case their luggage gets lost, but honestly you can buy a pair of underwear anywhere on this planet. Your laptop charger on the other hand…

Finally my Shan bag (not pictured). This is a Dustin Main staple, and I go everywhere with it. It’s a cross-body bag from Myanmar, modified to put a bit of padding in it to help protect my camera gear (typically one camera goes in here).

My Photography Gear

I travel with this equipment, basically packed into the Deuter backpack above. You can see the protective bags they are in, and also the lenses all naked and strutting their stuff to the world.

Camera Bodies:

Lenses (left to right):

You can read more about the gear I photograph with on my Guide To the Camera Gear I Travel With.

My paint brushes.

My paint brushes.

Lens Lineup, from itty-bity to “can hammer a nail in a pinch.”

Lens Lineup, from itty-bity to “can hammer a nail in a pinch.”

Bodies and lenses, all packed up.

Bodies and lenses, all packed up.

Photography Accessories and Other Tech

It isn’t the big stuff that is a challenge to manage, it’s the small stuff.

You can see how everything packs up, and what it looks like outside of its case.

Photography Accessories

Velbon UT-43D Tripod
- Small and light enough that it’s not a huge deal to carry it around, but still goes to nearly full-height. Perfect fit for the type of photography I do.

Arctic Butterfly Sensor Cleaning Brush
- Handy to get the dust specs that can find their way onto the sensor

RØDE VideoMicro Microphone

3x Circular polarizer filters

For light effects:
- Prism
- Piece of copper tube

I also have a spare battery for each camera body in there. They use different batteries… (inefficient!)

Photography extras.

Photography extras.

Photography accessories unwrapped

Photography accessories unwrapped

Adapters, adapters, adapters…

I keep all of my cables in two little bags: one that I use often, and one that is used rarely.

Cable Bag #1

The one I use the most often goes in the backpack and includes:

  • Wall Charger with USB C cable

    • This can charge my laptop, phone, and A7iii camera body

    • Also has a classic USB A jack to charge my A7ii camera body and bluetooth speaker

  • Kensington USB 3.1 SD Card reader

  • 128GB USB Stick

  • OnePlus Warp Speed Phone Charger

Cable Bag #2

Technology. Some are “needs” and others are “wants”

Technology. Some are “needs” and others are “wants”

Technology naked. Can’t live with it…

Technology naked. Can’t live with it…

Packing Clothes for Four Seasons of Photography

Up until now, this is pretty typical packing for my trips, but with this winter workshop in Ukraine, I needed to bring some of the big guns out. And by that, I mean big jackets and gloves.

Basically, 5 months of clothes.

Basically, 5 months of clothes.

Clothes: How much is too much?

You get to a point, usually after about a 2 week trip, where you hit a limit on the number of clothes you’ll need. Of course, there are some exceptions based on climate, or perhaps a fancy event. Realistically, traveling so much really dials you in to what’s really important… what your need.

All of my clothes fit in these packing cubes.

Cube #1

  • 5x Icebreaker lightweight, short-sleeved shirts

    • These are my go-to shirts. Lightweight, warm when wet. Don’t smell. Made of merino wool.

    • One of them is a button-down

Cube #2

  • 8 Pairs of Underwear

    • 4x Icebreaker (merino wool)

    • 4x BN3TH

  • 4x Pairs of socks

    • 2x lightweight merino wool

    • 2x middleweight merino wool

Cube #3

  • 3x Pairs of Arcteryx Pants

    • My go-to brand for pants, as they make a 28” waist. 🙏

    • 1x Arc'teryx Atlin Chino Pant (blue)

    • 1x Arc'teryx Men's Psiphon SL Pant (grey)

    • 1x Arc’teryx Pant (black)

    • 1x Pair of Swimming Trunks

    • 1x Pair of lightweight synthetic tights

Cube #4

  • 1x Libertad merino wool button-down travel shirt

    • This makes me presentable. Amazing shirt.

  • 1x Pair of Shorts

  • 1x MEC Ferrata Pants

    • Soft-shell pants that are particularly durable and snow resistant.

  • 1x Pair of heavyweight merino wool socks

Cube #5

  • 1x Indigo Longyi

    • aka my “Home” longyi

  • 1x Icebreaker middleweight top

  • 1x MEC Synthetic Base Layer Hooded Top

  • 1x MEC Synthetic Base Layer Bottoms

  • 1x Arc’teryx merino wool toque

  • 1x UV protection buff

All those clothes fit in here.

All those clothes fit in here.

Top view.

Top view.

Jackets For Any Weather

jackets! (Also a mild obsession)

jackets! (Also a mild obsession)

I typically pack three jackets that cover me for three seasons. This trip, I’ve packed a heavier winter jacket to go along with it.

  • Icebreaker Legend Long Sleeve Zip (green)

    • This is a looker, and it’s awesome. (320 weight). Not terribly packable.

  • Icebreaker Descender Long Sleeve Zip (grey with red zip)

    • My everyday jacket (200 weight). Very packable.

  • North Face Winter Jacket

    • This is from their higher end urban line of the late 2000’s (Premium City).

    • I’ve worn this to -50°c.

  • MEC Synergy Gore-Tex Jacket (orange)

    • Waterproof-breathable shell jacket. I’m easily spotted when wearing this one.

  • Mitts from The Heat Company

    • Shell and merino liner gloves.

    • Handy for operating my camera and phone in the cold.

    • Pockets for insertable hot packs to keep my digits from freezing

I’m not going to win any contests for stylish footwear.

I’m not going to win any contests for stylish footwear.

Footwear for Four Seasons

Typically I have a pair of light hiking boots and a pair of sport sandals, but this winter trip necessitated a pair for the snow and the cold.

And those last little bits

The little things that don’t quite fit anywhere else.

The little things that don’t quite fit anywhere else.

Finally, some last little things that make traveling a little easier.

Conclusion (and Notes) on Packing for 4 Seasons as a Photographer

There is my life in 5 months and covering me in potentially 65°c of temperature swings, and all manner of weather that Mother Nature could be throwing my way.

I think it was a pretty great packing job, and after 6 weeks on the road, I don’t think I’ve missed anything.

What is not shown?

  • My toiletries bag

    • Boring stuff like toothbrush and toothpaste

  • My sleep mask (essential)

  • One t-shirt, and one pair of underwear

  • A handful of Clif bars

How is this different than my usual packing?

Typically, I don’t have to worry about snow, and the associated clothing I need to survive that. Those times I wouldn’t pack:

  • North Face Winter Jacket

  • Winter Boots

  • Mitts from The Heat Company

  • MEC Ferrata Pants

  • MEC Synthetic Base Layer Hooded Top

  • MEC Synthetic Base Layer Bottoms

  • 1x paid of heavyweight merino wool socks

And the Osprey Ozone 46L luggage they are packed in. This is roughly 8kg I imagine.

Avoiding Too Many Adapters

I’m very particular about the little things that I travel with, and with so many electronics, I have to pay extra attention that I’m not packing a dozen cables and adapters.

All of my electronics can charge with one of two cables (USB C or Micro USB) and a single charger. I prioritize fast-charging devices.

Wheeled Luggage For The Win

I moved to wheeled luggage 4-5 years ago and it was an EXCELLENT decision. So much easier than packing a backpack, and the Osprey bags are quite durable and bright. The wheels are heavy duty, and I can pull them across gravel “roads” in Myanmar with no problem.

How I Choose What To Buy

I buy a lot of my clothing on sale / clearance from MEC, The Last Hunt, or Atmosphere. If you keep an eye out and you’re patient, you can score 30-50% off most things. It helps that I know the brands and sizes that fit me best by now. For example: Icebreaker tops (small), Arc’teryx pants (28” waist).

This is also why I have a bright orange MEC Gore-Tex shell jacket. I would have preferred black, but the orange color was $150 less on clearance.

My goal is always to buy quality gear that lasts a long time, but whose style won’t pass quickly. It means that I’m never the most stylishly dressed (to say the least), but I’m never not presentable. (that’s potentially debatable…)

I’ve worked in IT for many years, and so I’m quite particular about that gear and its size, weight, durability and reliability. I never cheap out on this gear as it’s important to the work that I do.

Did I Overpack?

I could have done with 1 less pair of Arc’Teryx pants, but I couldn’t choose when I was packing.

What do you think?

Was there anything in here that surprised you? Something that you’re surprised that I packed, or something you always take but I don’t? Let me know in the comments below.

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