Prepping for America By Rail

We're just under 3 weeks away from the first Photowalk -- April 28th in Chicago -- of our America By Rail journey.  With such a fast paced intensive schedule (8 photowalks, 13 cities, and over 6,000 miles traversed in 45 days) efficiency in packing is super important!  Over the past few days I've been working on my gear list.  Yesterday I dusted off the old standby Gregory pack, assembled all the gear I could potentially need and am willing to carry even if I don't need it (an important balance), and did a practice pack.  Here's what we're looking at: 

SO MUCH GEAR TO CARRY!!!

• (2) Canon DSLR bodies (only one pictured here b/c I took the photo with the other...)
• Canon 580exII flash with diffuser and gels 
• (4) Canon lenses: 50mm, 10-22mm, 17-85mm, 70-300mm
• Lens hoods
• Filters, screw mount magnifier
• Batteries and chargers
• Lens cloths
• Memory Cards in waterproof cases
• Gorillapod Focus with Ballhead X -- Donated to us by JOBY
• Tripod Mounts
• Full size SLIK tripod (not pictured)
• ACER EEE PC with old-school google buzz sticker :-)
• LaCie Rugged XL 2 terabyte storage (here's hoping its enough)
• (2) KATA camera inserts
• 1 Delsey camera insert

Husband Cash, said I wasn't going to get all my gear to fit... well here it is!  Suuuuper doable when you're a packing prodigy.  

Packed gear in all it's glory!

The best part is, when I bought my amazing Gregory pack 10 years ago, I got an excellent model with a detachable section on top that can be used as a sling bag... Even better, I can fit one Kata camera insert for shooting on the go with room left over for any other day trip necessities!

Ready for a day on the move :-)

I decided to go on a test run with my new sling bag set up... very comfortable for a mile or so on a bike.  Here's a shot Husband Cash got of me zooming by at the end of my ride.        

My, what a prepared and efficient traveler. 

While I was packing, organizing, and exercising... Husband Cash tested the dog's agility with a tennis ball.  

Boys being boys.

I'm ready to take over the world with this kind of efficiency and packing-awesomeness.  Now I just need to  take care of the clothing and toiletries situation.  More updates on the winning packing techniques soon! 


Want to be a part of this super exciting project?  RSVP for a photowalk or donate on Kickstarter!