Going to Afganistan.....Help

[kwa2448]

Well Im leaving in 4 days for a 6 month deployment to Afghanistan. My gear i will be traveling with is a Nikon D5000 with a 35mm 1.8 and a 18-250mm zoom. Tripod, shutter release and filters. The only bag i have is a national Geo camera bag. Its a soft bad and i do not own a hard case for my camera. Do you think i will be okay doing air travel with just this bag? I have only shooting for about 6 months now but have never done any photojournalism type stuff. Any advice on what mode to shoot in? Or any tips for photography in a war zone. I will outside the wire quite a bit and will be inside the city quite often. Any help would be great. Thanks

[BCampbell]

Best of luck.

As long as you don't check your gear you should be fine. It can probably take (a little) more abuse than you think, but keep it on you as much as possible.

A basic understanding of exposure is going to be really helpful, but I would suggest checking current photos coming from the region to get a feel for what your subjects will be. Check Lens and Big Picture blogs, they regularly have great shots from Afghanistan.

Extra batteries and memory cards will be your friends.

If you have the chance to talk to any embeds, do it! From my experiences with professionals, they'll probably be more than happy to share some knowledge.

Take care, hoping the only shooting you experience is with a camera...

[OsmosisStudios]

If you're going on deployment, won't you be flying Military Cargo? If so, you might want to talk to your CO or someone familiar with the rules about baggage.

[Jill H]

I have no tips to offer - however I am reading an amazing book about Foreign Correspondents in war zones at the moment - fascinating reading - very enlightening. Take care.

[gdinalamo]

(If you're going on deployment, won't you be flying Military Cargo?)

Most likely no.
I am currently in Iraq and most flights to the coordination location in the AOR is on a contracted civilian aircraft. Once in the AOR then it will be military cargo planes for travel. Just be mindful of the conditions here. I only brought my canon p&s with me and I am glad I didn't bring my "good stuff" due to the sand storms and all that we have been having. Good luck over there.

[kwa2448]

Thank you all. I Think i will be allowed one carry on the whole way over. But im thinking of investing in a pelican case today. As far as cleaning goes, should i just wait and have my camera professionally cleaned when i get back or buy a cleaning kit and try to do it myself.

[inkista]

I would say that you may want to make sure you bring a body cap and extra rear cap with you, so that when you're changing lenses, you don't leave anything exposed for too long. Changing lenses in dusty conditions can be a PITA. Maybe some big ziploc baggies, too, to seal stuff away, or use as a camera cover (you cut holes in the bag for the end of the lens and the viewfinder, and then you use a lens filter, and the slide-on eyepiece to secure the bag to the camera).

A rocketblower would probably be a good idea, too. I would also say you might want to use a Lenspen Sensorclear for sensor cleaning instead of a wet cleaning kit. (Both of those you can probably find at any decent photography supply store). The Lenspen uses graphite (dry cleaning compound) that commercial airlines will let you fly with. The same compound is used for both sensor and lens cleaning pens--the only difference is the shape of the head--the sensor one is smaller and triangular so you can get into the corners. Most of the cleaning solutions in the wet kits are volatile liquids that airlines ban.

[spazoid1965]

Originally Posted by kwa2448

Thank you all. I Think i will be allowed one carry on the whole way over. But im thinking of investing in a pelican case today. As far as cleaning goes, should i just wait and have my camera professionally cleaned when i get back or buy a cleaning kit and try to do it myself.

The pelican case would be an excelent investment.

[aprillove20]

I think a rocketblower would probably be a awesome idea.

[earthboundmisfit,i]

Originally Posted by aprillove20

I think a rocketblower would probably be a awesome idea.

... just when security ask you "what do you have in your bags" don't tell them 'a rocketblower' haha