BootsnAll Travel Community

After graduating college in May 07 ive had a 9-5 thats been killing me. So i saved up and will be flying to Quito, Ecuador in September. In order to not spend all my money at once and actually give back to the community i will be wwoofing (www.wwoof.org). Basically, working on organic farms that will provide food and shelter. My trip will cover Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Chile, Argentina (live with relatives there), Uruguay and Brazil.

Iam an avid photographer. I will be carrying a DSLR, 2-3 lenses, and an external flash. I currently have a crumpler backpack (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/384103-REG/Crumpler_KY01A_Keystone_Backpack_Black_.html) to carry all this stuff in. But I will also have a very large backpack in which all my clothing, sleeping bag, etc. will be in. Is there any other way to carry the camera bag, than against my chest?


And finally, Should i bring my macbook 13" or is there a better route to store my files? (ie: subnotebook PC, hardrive). I plan on purchasing many gigs worth of space on the internet so that everything is backed up.

maybe try using a messenger type bag instead of the smaller backpack. That way you can have your larger pack on your back and still carry the messenger bag around your shoulder. I don't have much advice about the laptop, the only electronics I bring are a small digital camera.

While getting a different bag is an option, it's not one I favour. For something you carry around all the time, a backpack is far more comfortable than a messenger bag. The fact is that you only wear your big bag for a small portion of your travelling time, so having a daypack in front during those periods isn't much of an inconvenience. You can also carry a small backpack in one hand.

As for the laptop - entirely your call. I can't imagine lugging around several pounds of computer with me on a long trip, others can't imagine not having the convenience. As a backup option, I'd be tempted by the ipod camera connector - assuming you have an ipod, and it's new enough to have enough storage space. There's probably other similar types of solutions that are much smaller than a full laptop.

1. It's bad internet mojo to post identical topics multiple times in different sub-forums.

2. The photo storage issue was posted 2 topics below yours in the photography forum, you can read about it here. Downsides to the iPod are that you can't view RAW images on the iPod, and the transfer rates are apparently agonizingly slow. As for many gigs of online storage... uploading large files is time consuming so only really useful if you'll have semi-regular internet access. It takes me long enough to upload a few hundred MB of photos from my reliable home connection, I can't fathom trying to backup an 8 GB CF card.

3. If you're moving from place to place a lot, switch the backpack for a shoulder bag. If you're only going to be carrying both bags for short periods of time for the odd location change, then stick with the backpack.

4. I think the PC can be valid for two reasons.
4.a: reliable backups. Copy files to PC, dupe to external drive.
4.b: photo management as you go.

I think it matters how long you're going for. If it's several months, and photography is a vital part of your trip, then you'll probably want to work on your photos as you go. Can you imagine getting home to tens of thousands of photos that need sifting through? More than a month with a dSLR and the computer is a must have for me.

SO i will be gona for a long time (approx 1 year). It would be such a daunting task to sit down and edit/sort all those pics. I will be stopping in Buenos Aires for about a month at the mid point of the trip. I have family there and will be staying with them. I could ship my laptop there and work on it there. Wow, photo gear is a such a hassle. I did take this laptop to Prague with me for my semester abroad and brought it along to turkey, morocco, romania, etc. I just dont think i could live without it. Im most concerned with the weight issue and because mac's immediately label one as the rich kid (more so outside the US).

Something I'm looking into after hearing about the 9" eee pc, is using Gimp and UFRaw.

Speculative advantages:
-inexpensive (under $400?)
-roughly 1/2 the weight of my MacBook Pro
-takes up less space in the bag
-having it stolen wouldn't hurt nearly as much as losing something that costs roughly 5X the price.

Cons?
-low resolution would allow for only the most general of photo edits, probably nothing too advanced.


I don't know when the eee PC 900 is coming out, but I'm seriously considering buying one.