Shame the itinerary is fixed - I can give you tons of ideas of what to
do in Beijing! Do you have free time while you're there?
I'm sure you're taking far too much kit - I spent six weeks there over
the summer, and I survived, photographically, with an OM-1 (I took an
OM-1n as well but didn't use it at all), 28/2.8, 50/1.8 and 135/3.5.
But if you're happy carrying it all...
Beijing should not be too hot in April, but I hear that dust can be a
major problem - it blows in from the Gobi desert. Careful when you're
changing lenses! Humidity should not be too high in the north but might
be high further south. Probably worth taking some silica gel.
I expect you'll be looking inside one or two temples while you're there,
and so I recommend either a tripod or a flash for interior shots. I had
neither, and consequently have no interior shots!
Roger
Andrew Dacey wrote:
Okay, I've kept this under wraps for long enough. Next April I will be
travelling to China for 22 days. I'm travelling with a group so the
itinerary is fixed. Here's the short version of what I'll be covering:
Fly in to Beijing
WuDang mountain in HuBei province (This is the mountain with the monastery
in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon)
GuiZhou province where for cultural festival
YunNan province for the ancient city of Lijiang
GuangXi province for the Li-River
Mt Huangshan in AnHui province
Depart from Shanghai
There's a few other areas being covered but that's the quick version.
Travelling with a group so my photography is going to be somewhat more
limited. Fortunately though, a number of the members of the group are
serious photographers (a couple members of the local photography guild) and
the leader of the group does some very beautiful work (Leica user).
Fortunately as well, the transportation is all being dealt with so I won't
be handling my luggage much in China and will be free to just travel with
just my daypack.
I'm looking at taking:
2 bodies (either 2 OM-1Ns or a 1n and a 2s)
21/3.5
24/2.8
28/2.8
35/2
50/1.8 (need to get mine replaced before then, sticky aperture)
85/2 or Tamron 90/2.5 macro
135/3.5
May or may not take the tripod, Manfrotto 055c with 168 head. If I go for
the macro lens then I probably will so I can setup better macro shots.
However, I'm doubting how much macro work I'm likely to do and working with
a pod when travelling with a group could be a pain. I've had pretty good
success with hand holding a 1n and 50/1.8 down to 1/30 or 1/15, should be
able to get similar results with the wides.
Film:
Mostly Provia 100 probably throw in some 400 and maybe some Velvia,
especially if I take the pod. I'd like to try some of the Kodak E100VS or
E100SW before I go and that might change my mind. May also throw in some
B&W.
Anyways, just looking for opinions. That kit is fairly extensive but is
still quite workable out of a backpack (did that in Europe last summer while
travelling on my own). The pod may be too much of a hassle, but it would be
nice to have. Idealy, I'd have the money to get a nice carbon fibre pod but
I don't foresee that happening.
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