The Seneca Army Depot (in Seneca County, New York State) has been held by the US Army from the Second World War to the Gulf War. One of the great impacts of a US Army closed location is that wild animals are mostly out of reach and live quietly with minimal interaction with humans. In this case, the phenomenon was completed with the fact that some of the deers in the Conservation Area have an albino gene which makes their hair completely white.

While this is not unheard of, this is a clear disadvantage in terms of protection against most predators (starting with Man). But the situation led to the development of what is thought to be the world’s largest herd of white deers.

Pictures by Kevin Colton

It would be fun to have a photo trip there. But I understand that this is not possible for now.

photo credit: garryknight

It seems that I was not the only one to be worried about traveling as a photographer. I found this interesting article from Photofocus (Traveling? Better Get a UPS Account).

Things keep changing but I noticed three interesting advices or comments:

1. If you are flying from outside the USA to the US, don’t count on getting any carry-ons onto the plane. I was insisting on limiting the weight of your cabin luggage, but Scott goes further…
2. Flying domestically in the USA is no guarantee that your carry on will be allowed.
3. Get a UPS Account. It’s frightening, but it may become the only way to transport photo gear (checked luggage is too easily/often stolen and too harshly handled -even compared to UPS, DHL, Fedex, etc.) and having an account is great for getting better service. And they don’t even charge you for opening an account.

It seems that being a photographer was a pain in the neck in some cities where you were considered as a potential terrorist just for shooting pictures.

Now, the problem will disappear if traveling with your camera gear becomes near to impossible.

Now, you all know that a recent Amsterdam-Detroit flight was very near to being blown out of the sky by a Nigerian named Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. This individual apparently tried to blow some penthrite by washing it in some acid. There were many reactions to this event, but overall -as could be expected- security measures are already being blown up and some of these may have dire consequences for passengers traveling on a photo trip. The most easily ascertained (and some of them are already confirmed) are:

Canon-man at Landvetter Airport - by Mescon

• More than ever, the use of an electronic device is prohibited during the take-off and landing phases of the flight. This implies clearly that photos are prohibited (the camera is an electronic device).
• Weight rules for cabin luggage are enforced with even more rigidity that before. Previous packing advice is still applicable, but flexibility nearly disappeared in most airlines. Make sure that you travel light or delay your flight to a later quieter date.
• During the last hour of flight, nothing is allowed on your knees, not even a blanket or a book. Don’t even think of spending the last part of the flight with a photo magazine of an Art Wolfe book.
• Many products and materials are still prohibited in planes. Be attentive and don’t bring air blowers and liquids (sensor cleaning solvents and similar are better in the checked-in luggage in small quantities).
• The flight crew is generally informed to disable the electronic and network equipments like telephones and WiFi (that we started to see appearing as an option of some international flights). So, do not hope to spend too much time transmitting pictures from the plane; It will be nearly impossible in less-than-90-min flights and somewhat inconvenient on many others. [1]
• On the contrary, identity checks should be re-inforced but with no significant impact on photo travels (if you have an acceptable legal status, of course).

Avoiding the countries considered as “potentially dangerous” is also a good idea since these trigger additional controls and checks that may be source of problems. Currently, the French Ministère des Affaires Étrangères lists Yemen, Syria, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Algéria and Mali (source: Le Monde). But the whole list of country passports considered worth additional cheks by the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) has been leaked and it includes: Cuba, Iran, North
Korea, Libya, Syria, Sudan, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Somalia, Iraq, Yemen and Algeria. You are advised to limit your trips there…

Those -like me- who were relying on the relative calm of the recent months to see the generalization of reasonable measures like those taken by Australia which seemed ready to somewhat relax the rules applicable to the presence of some potentially cutting objects in cabin luggage. But it seems that the opposite is taking place and that it will be more and more difficult to travel. When are we going to see Ryan Air 2006 advertisement prediction of traveling stark naked?

When you’re traveling far in order to satisfy your complementary needs for exoticism and photography, you will have to go through the Customs and/or boarding controls of the airplane. A few things would be good to keep in mind in order to ensure this is a better experience. Here are mine:

• Pack everything really fragile in your cabin luggage, but only that: Your lenses are fragile, but your tripod is not.
• Make sure that all cameras have charged batteries (if you are requested to prove their correct operation).
• If you still use film, ask for a manual screening to avoid burning them through the X-ray machine.
• Have all invoices in a pocket (not in the bag in order to limit the consequences of always possible robbery). Customs may want a proof of purchase/cost/taxes and this could avoid your re-paying of heavy customs taxes.
• Avoid adding a couple of under-the-counter Flash cards from a tax-free country, that may attract the attention of the Customs officer and make them suspicious. You’ll buy cheap during another trip wiht less sensitive hardware…
• When you are checking-in, politely ask if you can keep the bag as cabin luggage (always ask first, always smile and be polite). You should make it look like a small bag even if it is big and heavy (stand up, shoulders high, bag hung on 1 shoulder only, as if it was empty). If accepted, you win.
• If not, politely inform the person that the bag contains expensive equipment. In the extreme, you should be ready to ask for insurance to cover the cost of your photo equipment (this last step is often enough to bring a closure to a possible confrontation).
• In some countries or on some short flights, it may be possible (or necessary if the plane is real small) to purchase an empty seat for a few bags (share with fellow photographers).
• Be sure that whatever weight, your photo bag stays within the size limits (115 cm adding all sides), it is easier to solve things this way.
• Never fly with companies that enforce brutally the cabin luggage weight limit. The list may be changing in time, but two companies actually stand out: British Airways seems to be the nightmare of heavy luggage (no more than 5 kg even with a pro Id card and pre-organized pro-check-in; I know a couple of pros who will take a longer flight just to avoid them) and RyanAir (and many low cost companies) finds all possible ways to make you pay taxes on top of your ticket cost. In any case, check in advance with the company (or your travel agent if they are used to photo trips and photo customers).
• Always be polite. Remember that the person in front of you has to power to ruin your photo trip.

With this it is easier to travel and shoot photos. Do you have some other tip to share?

Sometimes, in the past, I wondered if it would be difficult to shoot animals in a forest. When I traveled to Amazonia, I could observe by myself that it is much more difficult than elsewhere (and specifically more difficult than in Brazil’s Pantanal).

The obstacles:

• Animals are often high in the trees (nearly never creeping on the ground). So, they are far from you. You need a long tele lens with a very powerful image stabilization.
• Animals are often back-lighted (everything turns gray, even the most colorful tucan toco as below)
• It is sometimes very difficult to go through the vegetation, but you need to cross to the clearings (or you can use the banks of a river

The following video (found on the Internet) will give you an idea of what I mean.

Then, you only (!) have to stay aware of the difficulties, to take them into account in choosing what equipment to bring (tele lens, tripod, monopod, good walking shoes, etc.) and to be attentive to the solutions you can use to work around the toughest issues (avoid back-lighted situations, use the High-Dynamic mode of your SLR photo camera, etc.)