I was in the air on the morning of 9/11, on my way to San Diego, but did not let that immense tragedy slow me down for an instant.  I was one of the first to fly after my flight was grounded in Dallas, and was surely one of the first photographers to be dump-searched.  Now that all checked baggage is inspected, the nightmarish inconvenience of being dump-searched is no longer a threat.  My post 9-11 air travel strategies are pretty much the same as they were before our lives were changed forever on that horrific day in 2001. 

The addition of the Lowepro Road Runner AW to my travel arsenal has made air travel much more manageable for me.  This bag is rather expensive because it was designed as a backpack that can also be wheeled.  The first thing that I did when I got mine was to remove all of the backpack-related straps and harnesses and discard them. What I was left with was the worlds largest legal rolling carry-on and a sturdy and well-padded one at that.  I rarely if ever bring the 600mm f/4 L IS lens on the plane anymore; if I need it at a location I simply ship it in advancewell packedvia Fed-X ground.  I routinely travel with the 500mm f/4 L IS lens.

When I got my Roadrunner, I also removed all of the padded dividers.  To pack for most trips, I remove the 500s detachable hood and place the lens in the empty Road Runner with the front of the lens pointing towards the bottom of the bag.  I do not use the leather hood (which is left at home).  The detachable hood is placed in one of my two checked bags. I then put two or three digital camera bodies in their two acrylic watch caps (like the woolen ones worn by sailors) and stand them beside the 500.  Next, I usually place two of the following four lenses in watch caps and place them in the Roadrunner parallel to the 500mm: the 300mm f/4L IS, the 100-400mm IS zoom, the 400mm f/5.6 L, or the 180 macro.  If the latter, the macro twin light is packed in its protective case.  I do the same with the 28-135mm IS lens, two teleconverters (stacked) and three extension tubes (also stacked). Next, I pack the 500 EX flash, all of the flash cords, and several extra camera batteries.  Depending on exactly which lenses and camera bodies I opt to pack, some of the items or accessories mentioned above are relegated to the checked bags, but are always placed in their own protective watch caps.  It is simply amazing how much stuff you can get into a Roadrunner using this approach.  

I really do not understand why more folks do not adapt the watch-cap packing routine.  The watch caps provide great cushioning, absorb moisture, keep dust out, and make packing a snap.  I get my Carhartt acrylic watch caps from All Seasons Uniforms.  Here is a link to their web page: http://www.allseasonsuniforms.com/car123b.htm.  I was so excited when I first found this site with the caps at a great low price ($5.99) that I ordered 15 of them!  I purchased two or three each of several colors to make finding the various items easier.  On the rare occasion when you are forced to gate-check your rolling bag on a small aircraft, the combination of the watch caps and the sturdy, well-padded Roadrunner pretty much ensures that your gear will make it onto the plane and back out onto the tarmac in perfect condition.   (An option here is to remove one or two of your valuable camera bodies and take them on board with you.) 

My Gitzo CF 1325 tripod is placed in an old Domke large lens bag and then packed in one of my two-old faithful Delsey hard-sided cases, which are my checked bags.  In addition, an extra set of teleconverters, extra camera batteries, various chargers, external battery packs, my photo junk-bag, the Wimberley head, a Linhoff ballhead (if I am bringing the macro stuff), and whatever lenses or camera bodies that I could not fit in to the Roadrunner, are also packed into the Delsey bags, each carefully wrapped in watch caps and than in clothing items.

When I get to the rental car place, I open my checked bags right there on the ground next to my vehicle. I remove the tripod from the Domke bag and mount the Wimberley head.  I remove the 500 from the Roadrunner and place the hood onto the lens.  I place the lens in the Domke bag and the Domke bag in the trunk.  I do not remove the lens hood again until I am packing to head home. The rest of my photo gear is removed from my checked baggage and either placed in the Roadrunner or laid into the trunk of the full-sized rental car.  This makes it easier to get your checked bags into the motel room and prevents folks at the motel from noting that your trunk is filled with expensive photography equipment. 

Except for the batteries that need recharging, I almost always leave all of my photo gear in the trunk of the car each night.  Everything is, of course, insured.  For those who insist on taking their lenses and inside at night, they need to be aware of condensation problems, especially when going from cold to warm  Heres the worst case scenario: you arrive in Florida on an unseasonably warm afternoon in mid-February.  You toss your stuff onto the extra bed and crank up the air conditioning.  You head out to Ding Darling the next morning and there is not a breath of air.  You head down to the mud bar and find the long-dreamt-of spoonbills there en masse, preening and flapping in still blue water.  You mount your lens, but by the time that you have mounted your camera and peer through the viewfinder only a foggy scene awaits you.  Going from cold to warm, you have been bitten by the condensation bug.  You look at the front element of your lens and see that it is all fogged up. 

At this point, the fastest way out of this jam is to get back into the car with the lens and turn the heater on full blast to warm the lens so that it is no longer cooler than the air.  If you are away from a vehicle, it is best to simply point the front element of your lens at the sun and then wipe the front it clean of moisture.  I use absorbent cotton if I have it with me. My tee shirt will do in a pinch.  Sometimes one such round does the trick (Once you brought your stuff into the room, you should have wrapped the lens and camera body and accessories in a bedspread or two and stuck the whole load into the motel bathroom as they are usually not air conditioned.)

Image copyright 2004 John Bryant/Photo Images of Africa