Florida

My film finally came back from NCPS yesterday just before the snowstorm, so I've been busy posting pictures to flickr. We covered a lot of ground, including St. Augustine, Everglades National Park, and South Beach. I was somewhat underwhelmed by my DSLR pictures from the trip. My hit rate seems to be much higher with the Xpan, probably due to the extra time taken for Xpanomics. As such, I've pretty much decided that my Rome kit will consist of a nice P&S (S95, DMC-LX5, etc.) and the Xpan. I finally ordered the Xpan 90mm lens too. I think this will make for a nice, light travel kit. The Leica bug is still in my ear, but getting pictures like these helps me shew it away for a little longer.

Goin' to Miami

Tomorrow afternoon I depart for South Beach. Three nights and two shoots worth of gear in just two carry-on bags. I've even got my beach towel and sandals in there.

My bags of choice for this trip are the Think Tank Urban Disguise 60 and the Kelty Basalt. Both of these bags are deceptively small, which is exactly what you want these days with Revenue Control Agents and picky flight attendants lurking about.

Since it's such a short trip, and I have my iPod Touch with me, I won't be lugging a laptop. This not only saves weight, but also opens up the laptop slot for two shirts. If you think a little outside the box about the spaces in your bags, you will be amazed by the amount of stuff you can fit into a couple small bags.

And I'm not just being thrifty by using carry-on bags. Packing light puts you in a more agile mindset. Plans may change, but that's ok because there's no giant albatross to burden the journey. I also don't support the first checked bag fee that many airlines are starting to charge, so I'm trying to minimize their opportunity to implement that fee.

Anyway, as I look at the weather report now, it's 16 degrees here in Baltimore and 65 degrees in Miami Beach. I just can't get there fast enough.