Road to France Pt. VII - Travel Tech

Time for another travel-related post! Don’t hate me.

I don’t know about you, but even on vacation I have a ton of tech with me. I don’t like being completely disconnected, so I tend to bring more equipment with me than I probably should. So here are some of my tech must-haves.

Plug Adapters –

Plugs in the US don’t match those in Europe, so good luck trying to charge any of your gadgets without at least one of these. I bought plug adapters to save myself that frustration, and I get the most bang for my buck by buying these off Amazon. I bought these Type E/F adapters for a steal at 3 for $7.25. These work in Germany, France, and some other European countries, so they’re perfect for my needs.  

Camera Equipment–

My trusty Nikon D3200 will be accompanying me on this trip, and she’ll be my most faithful companion, apart from my mother, obviously. But my DSLR needs a lot of TLC considering how much I’ll be using it. So I make sure to carry two ENEL14a rechargeable batteries and two 16GB SanDisk memory cards. This might seem like overkill, but I can’t think of what would be worse than missing a photo-op because of a dead battery or lack of memory. I’ll also be bringing my two camera lens because…why not?

Kindle Fire HDX –

Except for that time I went to London while writing my senior thesis, I am against bringing my laptop on trips. Laptops are heavy and take up a lot of room, and I don’t want to be tempted to spend my time in my hotel room. With my Kindle though, I still get some connectivity without the temptation of sitting in front of my laptop for hours and hours. Plus, it’s great for reading books and magazines on the plane. This is like the one time when I’d ever promote e-book use.

iPhone –

Because who goes anywhere without their phone nowadays? I always get the global plan added by phone provider so that I can use my iPhone overseas which saves me a few bucks. I tend to rely only on data when I’m abroad though for sending quick messages through WhatsApp, uploading photos to Instagram, updating Facebook and Twitter, and the occasional glance at Google Maps. I really only send text messages in emergencies, and the same goes for calls.

Pictures of People Taking Pictures

When I asked for a DSLR camera a year ago, I was only angling for a serious upgrade to my Canon Power Shot SD750 point-and-click from the Stone Age (circa 2007). My granny-camera just couldn’t keep up with the pixel count and other shiny features of newer models. Plus, I knew that I would be going on a trip to Italy that August, and I wanted to capture everything in its HD glory so that looking back at the pictures, I’d feel like I was there.  My Nikon D3200 didn't disappoint me, and I discovered that it was fairly user friendly for someone who knew very little about camera settings to begin with.

I’ve always been an admirer of photography and think that it’s still an under-appreciated art form in some respects. I think that the blogging community has certainly helped to change that though, and I'm constantly inspired by the skill-level of some bloggers (have you seen Paris in Four Months?). So as I was preparing for my trip to Italy, I devoured any and all tutorials and tips I could find on the blogs I follow. I needed to figure out how to use my fancy camera—ISO, shutter speed, aperture, oh my!—so that I could actually take half decent photos.

I think that it’s safe to say that Italy was where my newfound passion for photography was born. Sure, I took the typical touristy shots, but I also kept thinking about how bloggers make everyday things look so beautiful. I started experimenting a little with subject and camera settings, drawing from what I’d seen and read on some of my favorite blogs. Since my trip, I’ve tried to not let my Nikon D3200 sit idle or fall back into the habit of only taking it out for special occasions like trips, celebrations, and outings. Blogs have taught me that the everyday is just as worthy of a photograph as that shot of the Colosseum or David.

I’m no photographer by any stretch of the imagination, but I know that the only way to improve is to practice, practice, practice.  I think that blogging will give me a bit of a push to take my camera out more frequently and be more creative about what I shoot, or at least that’s my hope.