Photo trip preparations- what to take and camera settings

iPhone photo

Heading up to Oregon on a family trip. The aim is to make the 10-hour trip in two days. Our intention was to stop first on the California Coast, via 299, and then head on 101 all the way to Florence on the Oregon Coast. We had to change that slightly due to the fires in Humboldt County. We are now heading up to Grants Pass, in Oregon, and will approach 101 from the North, via the Redwoods Highway. Too bad that it represents a detour of about 50 miles or so, but it will not be any good to hit the California Coast in smoke, possible road closures, and bad air.

Two years ago we drove from Lincoln City to Florence, and it was a beautiful trip. Now I want to see the Southern coast.

Too many times in the past I went out on family trips planning to take some nice photos just to realize that I had forgotten the camera, or that the battery was dead, the memory card was full or missing etc. These situations are easily avoided by maintaining a list of things to take. Below is mine (basically all the stuff that I owe):

CAMERA AND LENS

• DSLR;
• Wide-angle to normal lens;
• Normal-to-zoom lens;
• 35 mm prime;
  

  

  Iphone photo in light box

ACCESSORIES

• Battery and extra battery, charged;
• Battery charger;
• Memory card and extra memory cards;
• Lens-cleaning kit;

FILTERS

• Circular polarizer;

TRIPODS AND ACCESSORIES

• “Monster” tripod;
• Manfrotto mini-tripod with screw release;
• Shutter release.

CAMERA SETTINGS

Before leaving, I check that the lens is clean, that the memory card has plenty of space and is in the camera, that the battery is in and the sensor is clean.

To take snapshots on the road I like to leave my camera in automatic mode. I also make sure that my pictures will be taken the size I want (raw), that the metering is in matrix, that the white-balance is automatic and that the ISO is free to range in case I decide to dial in another mode.  

BOOKS

• Camera's manual;
• White-balance card.