After months of planning and waiting, I am about to leave the country for 23 days to cover the biggest sporting event in the world! The 2012 Summer Olympics in London!! To be honest I have been extremely nervous for months. I have left the country before, but only to Toronto, which doesn’t even feel like you’ve left the country.
This is the first time traveling overseas so I really don’t know what to expect. I filled out all of my customs paperwork to ensure I would be allowed into the country with all of my gear. From what other photographers who have already arrived in London have said getting through customs is pretty easy. I was extremely relieved to hear that.
To get the packing started I headed to Walmart to pick up ibuprofen, cold medicine, contact solution, deodorant and toothpaste. I am not sure if that stuff is readily available at the Olympics in London so I don’t want to take the risk of getting sick and being with out medicine.
Next I picked up ziplock bags, a small personal fan; because I can’t sleep with out the white noise, an extension cord, power strip, a USA to UK power adapter and lots of AA batteries.
For anyone who knows anything about London it’s extremely rainy there. A few of my coworkers who are already in London said it will be blue skies in the morning and all of the sudden it will start pouring down rain that usually lasts for a few hours. So with that in mind I am packing lots of rain gear.
I have one suitcase dedicated to just rain gear.
I am taking 3 rain coats, rain pants and two pair of Under Armour shoes that are water proof, and rain gear for my cameras. Bag number one is packed.
Next onto packing my camera gear. At first I was planning on taking extra gear to set up remotes but after talking with other photographers you really don’t have a lot of time to set up remotes especially with doing multiple shoots in one day. So I quickly threw that out the window.
I am taking my regular arsenal I take with me to every shoot. This will be my carry on bag as I don’t ever check camera equipment.
Nikon D4 (2)
Nikon D3
Nikon 600mm f/4
Nikon 400mm f/2.8
Nikon 70-200 f/2.8
Nikon 24-70 f/2.8
Nikon 14-24 f/2.8
Nikon 24mm tiltshift f/3.5
Sigma 50mm f/1.4
Sigma 28mm f/1.8
Sigma 10mm f/2.8
Then in my Under Armour bookbag that is completely waterproof I will be carrying my 400mm, because I can’t fit my 400mm in my roller bag with my 600mm. I also have the typical gear: laptop, iPad, memory cards, card readers, external hard drives, laptop and iPad, chargers and a mini vagabond for extra power on the flight.
Finally my third bag is the all of my clothes.
I am all packed and ready rock and roll in London!
My flight takes off at 6:50pm on Sunday and I land in London at 11:25am on Monday morning ready to start exploring the city and kicking ass!
Enjoy the trip! Only thing I notice is that your powerstrip doesn’t look to be a special one….. you’re going to want to double check that it works for 110-250v as the UK is 240v and if it’s not rated you are going to hear a POP and smell some smoke!
I bought a USA to UK power adapter so I can use standard plugs in the hotel.
Dan,
If the adapter you’re talking about is the one in the picture it is only going to change the plug type and not the voltage. What will be going into the power bar will be 220 volts.
Some chargers will work with 220v, but the bar may pop a breaker as was mentioned.
You may want to check that it is a voltage adapter, and not just a plug type adapter.
Have a great trip!
Victor
Awesome! Excited for you and can’t wait to see pictures. I don’t know if this is helpful, but I read this article at Forbes.com about the Cash Crunch that is going to happen while you’re there. Lines at ATMs will be long, they’ll run out of money often, and use Pounds, not Euros; so exchange money as soon as you arrive at the airport. http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnclarke/2012/07/20/bring-your-own-money-to-london-the-great-olympic-cash-crunch-is-on/
Good Luck Andrew!! I am so excited for you. What an honor for you to be a part of the olympics. I know you’ve had to work very hard, Be safe and have a good time!!
[...] caught up with an Olympic photographer about to leave for London to figure out what’s in his gear bag to cover the Summer Olympic games in the ever-changing weather of [...]
[...] caught up with an Olympic photographer about to leave for London to figure out what’s in his gear bag to cover the Summer Olympic games in the ever-changing weather of [...]
[...] Continue reading and see more photos on Andrew’s blog. [...]
check the bottom of the strip, if it has any surge protection or light it will blow when you plug it in. best get one when you get there or buy some straight 3 way blocks and forgo the strip. Also check the fan if it is not 220 don’t waste your luggage space taking it along, get a white noise generator or whitenoise.mp3 for the apple and use it instead.