If you're thinking about going on one of Ted's PhotoEscapades, or you've already bought your tickets, these packing tips from Ted's Educator Ric Wallis will help you refine your equipment to the bare essentials.
What camera gear to pack
When travelling in light aircraft it's necessary to keep the weight of your baggage to a minimum, so this is a major consideration when deciding what camera gear to carry.
- Zoom lenses are a great way to keep weight down without limiting your photographic options. Three zoom lenses would cover any situation you're likely to encounter on Flinders Island — the ideal combination being a wide-angle zoom like a wide-angle zoom, a standard zoom around 24–70mm, and a telephoto zoom around 70–200mm. This gives you the full range from wide to telephoto and is far lighter than carrying multiple prime lenses.
- A lightweight tripod should also be part of your kit.
- A polarising filter and a neutral density filter are great for enhancing sky and water.
- A black card, a little smaller than A4, is very handy for cutting flare at dawn and sunset when your lens hood doesn't quite cover.
- Pack a few memory cards — Flinders Island provides so many great opportunities to burn through memory, especially if you're shooting RAW.
- It's not necessary to bring a laptop, as most editing work is done on our guide's computer as a group exercise.
All of the above is just a suggestion — if you really want to travel light, just bring your iPhone and enjoy the amazing scenery!
What clothes to pack
Flinders Island sits right on the 40-degree parallel, which means it's in what sailors call "The Roaring Forties" — named after the strong prevailing winds that blow at this latitude. Because Flinders Island is small, it's normal to get lots of variation in the weather. Showers tend to blow through quickly, leaving clear skies in their wake, and because of its southerly location the mornings and nights can be quite cold at any time of year. It's nearly always windy.
When packing for such climatic variation, it's very easy to build up the weight of your baggage — which works against the weight restrictions of our flights — so pack sensibly. A windproof jacket is essential. For the rest, layers are best: start with a T-shirt, add a shirt and a woollen jumper. Toss in a change of underwear, some long underwear if you feel the cold, and a hat and gloves for use at dawn. Although we eat fantastic food and drink nice wine, we don't dress for dinner. Sturdy footwear is also a good idea — we don't have to walk far, but Flinders Island is quite rugged. If the weather looks warm, speedos don't weigh much if you fancy a swim. :-)
Your guide: Ric Wallis
If you like Ric's work, check out his portfolio and galleries:
- Website