Fazi27
Suspended / Banned
- Messages
- 673
- Name
- Mariusz
- Edit My Images
- Yes
Hi guys!
I just wanted to share my experiences from my recent trip to Portugal. It's all been a great adventure and I hope to come back again, but this time for purely photographical trip.
So, first of all the gear... I have managed to pack everything I needed into my Vertex 100 backpack. it has proven itself to be an excellent bag, once you adjust it and remember what is where, but it certainly can accommodate a lot of gear. It was a house for my gripped d300 with sigma 18-50, f90x with 50mm, flash gun, Cokin filters set, cleaning materials, flashlight, extra battery, charger, cables and iPad. I would probably have a problem housing an extra lens, but that's something to look at in the future if need to.
Gripped D300 was relatively new camera to me as I have only purchased it a month or so before the trip, but it was an absolute pleasure to use once I get to know all the settings (especially metering). Same applies to sigma 18-50 2.8, it has proven itself as great walk around lens and very versatile.
Another piece of equipment that almost changed my life was Black Rapid strap. Now, without any exaggeration, this strap is just awesome. D300 on itself is pretty heavy, but it's really heavy gripped, and I hardly ever felt it strapped to Black Rapid. Once adjusted properly it's a dream! Highly recommend to everyone.
If you like to upload or share your pictures on the go, iPad is a must-have option. I had mine for quite a time now, but hardly ever used it for photography. On the road it's a fabulous piece of kit, even wi-fi 16gb version. Although I would suggest to get yourself 3G version, as it might be more useful abroad. You can now purchase pre-paid micro sim cards literally everywhere with 1gb allowance for as little as 10€. it will keep you connected anywhere, you will not be restricted to McDonald's and hotel's wi-fi networks.
As funny as it might sound a lifesaving piece of kit where.....jar caps!!! For all these beautiful sunset shots on the beach to avoid your tripod drowning in the sand.
I have been advised by TP users to get a lens with some more range, that will definitely go into my bag for the next trip.
Well, that's it as far as the equipment goes.
As for the trip itself... Well, we (me my girlfriend and our friend) decided to get to Portugal, rent a car, try to book accommodation on daily basis and choose our destination points daily. We had a tent for an emergencies.... We started in Faro, Algarve and started to make our way up the coast towards Lisbon and Porto. Fortunately our plan worked out just fine. We have used 2 sites for booking hotels, laterooms.com and booking.com (I'm not working or am associated with any of these). These were great help, especially with the hotels ratings and reviews of real guests. Sometimes we managed to grab some fantastic deals (45€ for a night in 4 star hotel for 3 people with breakfast in town centre, and I mean real centre in real 4 stars hotel, next to town cathedral in Braga). And we where booking these on daily basis, sometimes very late In the afternoon.... Again, travelling and accommodation around the whole country worked out just fine. I must admit, these were one of the best holidays in my life.
Here are some more tips:
Get Comfortable breathable shoes or flip flops, you'll need them, especially in 35 degrees
Good sunglasses and contact lenses if you wear glasses, last thing you want is to wear your shades over your glasses
Ask locals for places to see and things to do. They know more than any guide.
If you rent a car, get one with engine bigger than 1.4. Portugal is extremely hilly, roads are like serpentines. I also advise to avoid motorways, you'll see much more and finally learn how to drive
Learn few phrases in native language, something simple like "thank you" or "good bye". Although we hardly ever had problems communicating in English, it is just nice and impress natives if you use their language from time to time.
Update your sat nav - there are minor changes of paid motorways around Lisbon, you don't want to get lost on these....
Go off route, you never know what you'll find there, and it's just might be the greatest adventure of your life!
I just wanted to share my experiences from my recent trip to Portugal. It's all been a great adventure and I hope to come back again, but this time for purely photographical trip.
So, first of all the gear... I have managed to pack everything I needed into my Vertex 100 backpack. it has proven itself to be an excellent bag, once you adjust it and remember what is where, but it certainly can accommodate a lot of gear. It was a house for my gripped d300 with sigma 18-50, f90x with 50mm, flash gun, Cokin filters set, cleaning materials, flashlight, extra battery, charger, cables and iPad. I would probably have a problem housing an extra lens, but that's something to look at in the future if need to.
Gripped D300 was relatively new camera to me as I have only purchased it a month or so before the trip, but it was an absolute pleasure to use once I get to know all the settings (especially metering). Same applies to sigma 18-50 2.8, it has proven itself as great walk around lens and very versatile.
Another piece of equipment that almost changed my life was Black Rapid strap. Now, without any exaggeration, this strap is just awesome. D300 on itself is pretty heavy, but it's really heavy gripped, and I hardly ever felt it strapped to Black Rapid. Once adjusted properly it's a dream! Highly recommend to everyone.
If you like to upload or share your pictures on the go, iPad is a must-have option. I had mine for quite a time now, but hardly ever used it for photography. On the road it's a fabulous piece of kit, even wi-fi 16gb version. Although I would suggest to get yourself 3G version, as it might be more useful abroad. You can now purchase pre-paid micro sim cards literally everywhere with 1gb allowance for as little as 10€. it will keep you connected anywhere, you will not be restricted to McDonald's and hotel's wi-fi networks.
As funny as it might sound a lifesaving piece of kit where.....jar caps!!! For all these beautiful sunset shots on the beach to avoid your tripod drowning in the sand.
I have been advised by TP users to get a lens with some more range, that will definitely go into my bag for the next trip.
Well, that's it as far as the equipment goes.
As for the trip itself... Well, we (me my girlfriend and our friend) decided to get to Portugal, rent a car, try to book accommodation on daily basis and choose our destination points daily. We had a tent for an emergencies.... We started in Faro, Algarve and started to make our way up the coast towards Lisbon and Porto. Fortunately our plan worked out just fine. We have used 2 sites for booking hotels, laterooms.com and booking.com (I'm not working or am associated with any of these). These were great help, especially with the hotels ratings and reviews of real guests. Sometimes we managed to grab some fantastic deals (45€ for a night in 4 star hotel for 3 people with breakfast in town centre, and I mean real centre in real 4 stars hotel, next to town cathedral in Braga). And we where booking these on daily basis, sometimes very late In the afternoon.... Again, travelling and accommodation around the whole country worked out just fine. I must admit, these were one of the best holidays in my life.
Here are some more tips:
Get Comfortable breathable shoes or flip flops, you'll need them, especially in 35 degrees
Good sunglasses and contact lenses if you wear glasses, last thing you want is to wear your shades over your glasses
Ask locals for places to see and things to do. They know more than any guide.
If you rent a car, get one with engine bigger than 1.4. Portugal is extremely hilly, roads are like serpentines. I also advise to avoid motorways, you'll see much more and finally learn how to drive
Learn few phrases in native language, something simple like "thank you" or "good bye". Although we hardly ever had problems communicating in English, it is just nice and impress natives if you use their language from time to time.
Update your sat nav - there are minor changes of paid motorways around Lisbon, you don't want to get lost on these....
Go off route, you never know what you'll find there, and it's just might be the greatest adventure of your life!
