Storing Your camera Gear and Keeping It Safe
Be Prepared - Taking Care of your camera Gear
Taking the Boy Scouts motto, "Be Prepared," as a mindset will help you be a more efficient photographer. Taking care of your camera gear when you are away and even more so when you are home can save you from myriad issues when you are photographing. Some of them may be minor, like leaving a lens hood in the house to disastrous like having dead batteries and no charger.
Be Prepared - Keep Organized
I have repurposed a closet with wire racking, and its sole purpose is to hold/hide all of my camera gear. I have labeled plastic tubs in various sizes, each containing specific items. For example, I have tubs for batteries and chargers. Another tub for power strips, extension cords, and plug converters. Basically, every like-purpose thing has a home to itself in a tub. Don't forget to label them. Trust me, it seems dumb, but it saves time.
My cameras are kept in my camera bags. My primary bag is a 32L backpack, and it holds the gear I use for most of my trips, and then I have a smaller sling bag for more causal use or travel photography. I don’t label my lens caps to ID the lens, but I do strive to always use the same pocket for the lenses, Customizing the size of the pockets with the inserts make this easier.
My third bag is an under-seat-sized carry-on that holds the things I need that are too precious to trust to a checked bag on the airplane. Make sure it fits within the airlines' guidelines. By the way, commuter planes are currently not accepting bags with wheels, even if they are small enough to fit under the seat.
I keep my under-seat bag organized as if it had dividers by using small zippered bags for everything in the bag. Yes, I also have them labeled, so I don't have to look through them all at night on a plane looking for a charge card.
Keeping your gear organized will help eliminate possible issues once you are in the field. The last thing you need is to arrive in the Amazon for an epic adventure only to discover something missing from your kit. Ironically even Amazon does not deliver to the Amazon!
Be Prepared - Keep it Clean
When I get back home, everything gets a thorough cleaning and a once over. I re-format cards, top off batteries, and put everything back in its bag or plastic tub. I also re-set the camera bodies to my "normal" starting settings.
I can’t emphasize enough the importance of this ritual. After a long lay off from photography travel, my stuff was scattered all over the place. On my next trip I took at least half a day to get re-organized. An effort that would have been minutes if I had done it when I got home.
Be Prepared - Storage Options
I chose to store my things in my camera bags so that they are ready to go and won't forget to pack something at 3am on the day of departure. I am also lucky to have the space to keep my gear organized in one place.
In past homes, where space was tighter, I found that I liked to repurpose a dresser to hold my things. It provided some dust resistance and offered plenty of room to keep things organized. This option is not helpful for big glass, tripods, and bags.
Shelving in dry basements can also work well for most things.
Those who live in high humidity environments or other harsh conditions might benefit from more specialized storage. There are specialized electronic storage cabinets that will keep your glass dry and ready to go.
Be Prepared - In the Field
I follow a similar process when traveling with my gear. Every night, I check over my backpack, clean/dust off lenses, put caps back on everything, and nestle them back in the place. Once again, you want to be ready to leave at whatever 0-dark-hundred hour you are heading out to find something magical.
Cameras are set for the expected morning conditions and given a quick clean. There is nothing worse than discovering a dozen dust bunnies when editing your images, so make sure to keep them as clean as you can. Cards are downloaded and backed up.
Thinking About Being Prepared
I have covered the basics for most photographers to help you keep your gear in top shape and ready to go. Let's suppose your photography is in a niche such as underwater. In that case, you may have many more things to consider. In those cases, being prepared is even more important!
The goal of this blog post was to encourage you to take the extra five or ten minutes that it takes to keep your gear clean and ready to photograph. After all, being prepared really will help you improve your photography.