Bagging Europe

Just got back from Europe last week. My wife and I flew into Paris, took trains to Heidelberg, Wurzburg, Rothenburg, Fussen, then flew out of Venice. Needless to say, it was quite a trip.

The photo above is the gear I took with me, which I took just before we left. I wish I had a before-and-after shot, but when you get back from three weeks on the go, you just kind of crash. I only got all my film mailed off to NCPS a couple days ago. That's for another blog post though. As I was putting the bag together, I kept my Notes from Rome post in mind. Here's the breakdown:

Hasselblad Xpan, because I just couldn't resist the urge to take it, even though it's really heavy.

Leica CL, because I wanted to take a Leica, and it's lighter than the M6.

Leica 90 f/2.8 Tele-Elmarit, for a little more reach, or in case someone needed a portrait taken (no one did).

Canon S95, for all the stoopid pictures in bad light, plus it can shoot video.

Polaris light meter, because camera light meters can't always be trusted.

Sea to Summit Soft Cell, otherwise known as the Xpan Go Bag. These days it's more organized thanks to the Tiffen filter case to the right.

Manhattan Portage Europa Medium Messenger Bag, because it's light weight, well made, looks sharp, and can swallow a ton of stuff when expanded. It even had room for a music box on the return trip.

Nine rolls of Kodak 400TX (Tri-X), which is my go to black and white film with lots of latitude.

Seven rolls of Kodak Portra 400, which I mainly planned to use in the Xpan. It turned out that Venice was very colorful though, so I did the unthinkable and put color film in the CL as well.

One roll of Fuji Pro 400H, which has been sitting around since before I switched to Portra.

One roll of Ilford FP4 125, in case I wanted to shoot some higher quality black and white.

Kalt Blower Brush, for the battle against dust. Thankfully there are no worries about dust on the sensor when you use film.

Garmin eTrex Venture HC, so I'd know where I'd been. It's also fun to post far-away places on Strava.

Extra pair of glasses (in the white case), so I'm not completely helpless if something happens to my main glasses. Really they're just the glasses from my previous prescription; better than nothing.

Toothbrush, because I'm paranoid like that.

Day to day on the trip I didn't lug all this gear around. Usually I'd carry either the CL or the Xpan, depending on what I was expecting to shoot. If I took both, then I just needed to remember to give my shoulder a rest now and then. The coffee shops of Europe make it very easy to take breaks.

I like the way the film and small-digital complimented each other on this trip. I could take all the touristy, I've-been-here shots with the S95, which let me conserve my film resources and be more considerate when I was in "real" photography mode. Having both also provided some insurance that all the shots from the trip would not be lost. In the end, I came back with about 10 rolls exposed, plus about 500 digital pictures from the point-and-shoot.

More to come when I get the film back...