Advertisement
Advertisement
Read Next

Curating Your Images Will Improve Your Photography. Here’s How
Curating your images well is a critical...
Watch What You Photograph!
Watch what you photograph! Here's why...
Close Encounter With Bear Gives Photographer A Jolt (& A Great Image)
Ever stumbled across an animal...
5 Ways to Create Stunning Photos Using New Angles
Even a small change in perspective can...Advertisement
Featured Articles

Read More
Revealing The Invisible
Infrared photography opens the door to a new way of seeing.

Read More
Organizing Your Photos, Part 2: Using Keywords
In part two of a four-part series on organizing your photo library, we talk about the importance of using keywords to find photos instantly.

Read More
Organizing Your Photos, Part 1: A Place For Everything
Use these tips to tame your photo library.

Read More
A Year Photographing The National Parks
Ten highlights from an epic tour photographing all of the U.S. national parks.

Read More
Dolly Sods
Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia.

Read More
California’s Eastern Sierra
Explore the many opportunities for dramatic landscape photography on the sunrise side of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
This is the 1st of your 3 free articles
Become a member for unlimited website access and more.
FREE TRIAL Available!
Learn More
Already a member? Sign in to continue reading
When You Need Three
November 19 , 2007
Q) The airline restrictions on carry-ons (one piece, plus a personal item) make it difficult to fly to a photo destination, especially when traveling with a photo backpack, a long lens and a computer. What do you recommend?
H. Kottlove
Los Angeles, California
A) The TSA does allow photographers who need to carry an additional bag of equipment onboard to do so; the policy is published online at www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/editorial_1248.shtm. The only time I’ve tried to use it, I got a lot of grief from a TSA supervisor on duty in Atlanta. I carry a copy of the directive with me and was allowed to continue after producing it at the security checkpoint. Even if you’re allowed to carry the three bags through the screening area, it’s up to the airlines to decide whether they’ll let you bring them all onboard. You can find yourself at the gate with an airline employee demanding that you gate-check a bag of expensive gear before boarding.
All of this adds up to an unacceptable level of risk—call it level red—for me. If I’m traveling alone with photo gear, I choose carefully what I must take onboard and check the rest in well-protected hard cases. You can be sure the TSA will open up your suitcase to look inside, and you just have to live with the uncertainty until you get where you’re going. The best solution is to travel with a companion willing to carry one of your equipment bags onboard and enjoy expanded carrying capacity along with the other benefits.
When I travel to a location like Florida where I need my long lens, the need for an additional carry-on becomes important. A camera backpack is one, a bag with my computer equipment is another, and finally a Lowepro Long Lens Bag with a 500mm and a Canon EOS-1D Mark III attached in the third bag. I don’t want to put any of these in the hole of the airplane.
George Lepp