Arnoud Quanjer Wildlife Photography

One of the difficulties with wildlife photography is carrying your photo gear on a plane. For wildlife photography you need long and fast lenses like a 300 f/2.8 or 600 f/4 and these lenses are very heavy. Most airlines allow you to take one bag weighing eight kilos as carry-on luggage. Most likely your photo gear weighs more than eight kilos, my gear weighs 14 kilos, so you need to get creative to 'smuggle' all your gear onto the airplane as carry-on luggage. Í haven't had problem carrying my gear on the plane yet, these are the tricks that I use.

I travelled to Namibia in October 2007 and was able to carry 18kg of hand luggage on the airplane using a combination of the methods described below. I'm confident that I could have carried even more gear on the plane as I had room to spare in my coat.

Using the maximum allowed size backpack

Although airlines should use the IATA guideline for the maximum size of cabin baggage most of them have their own guidelines. The IATA guideline is that cabin baggage should have maximum length of 22 in (56 cm), width of 18 in (45 cm) and depth of 10 in (25 cm). The sum of these three dimensions should not exceed the 45 in (115 cm). These dimensions include wheels, handles, side pockets, etc. Most airlines unfortunately use dimensions that are (considerably) smaller than the IATA guidelines. I use a Lowepro Trekker AW backpack which just fits most of the airlines cabin bagges specifications (most airlines use 55 x 35 x 25 cm as dimensions). By using the maximum allowed size carry-on luggage I make sure that I use the maximum amount of storage space. I carry battery chargers for all my gear, cleaning kit for my camera sensors, my camera bodies, digital storage device, CF cards and various lenses in my backpack.

Use a waist bag

I've found that waist bags (US = fanny pack, UK = bum bag) even when fully-loaded never seem to be counted as a carry-on bag. I use a fair sized waist bag which can hold my 24-70 f/2.8 and 70-200 f/2.8. These two lenses combined weigh around 3,5kg so the waist bag is a big help in smuggling carry-on luggage on the airplane.

Using a tax-free plastic bag

One of my favourite tricks is to use a tax-free shopping bag. Nobody will ever tell you that you can't take a tax-free shopping bag on the plane as this would seriously hurt the tax-free shops at the airport. Go to one of the shops, pick up a bag and put some lenses in the bag. I frequently use tax-free shopping bags for carrying my 70-200 f/2.8 and 300 f/2.8 on the plane. This saves me 5 kilos in my backpack.

Using a coat or photo vest

When you board a plane your carry-on luggage is checked and occasionally even weighed but you can basically carry anything you like in a coat or photo vest. I always wear a coat that has very deep pockets and I put my 24-70 f/2.8 and converters in the coat. This saves about This saves me 1.75 kilos in my backpack.

Put non-essential items in check-in luggage

I occasionally put non-essential gear in my check-in luggage. The things I put in my check-in luggage are items that I wouldn't really miss when they get lost or stolen. I for instance put my backup battery chargers and my 100 f/2.8 macro lens in my check-in luggage. Make sure that you never put anything in your check-in luggage that you  need on your trip as airlines tend to lose suitcases on a regular basis.

Try to get a CPS card if you're using Canon gear

Canon Professional Services (CPS) is a service designed to help European Professional Photographers using Canon equipment. There are strict criteria that each Professional has to meet to be accepted as a CPS Member and to receive the benefits of CPS membership. If you meet those criteria then it's worth it to apply for the membership. Currently you have to own two professional camera bodies and three 'L' class lenses. If you're accepted as CPS member the you get a member card.....and that card can perform miracles at customs. The CPS card basically states that you're a professional photographer and that can help a lot at airports. When you're stopped at the airport and you're told that your handluggage is either too large or heavy it usually helps when you show your CPS card and stress that you're a professional photographer with expensive professional gear. Airline employees usually let you pass without further fuss if they see that you're a professional photographer.