Our Office-less Office
Filed Under: Why are you carrying a dead body with you around the world?
– A fellow traveler attempting to carry one of our backpacks.
If you’ve run into us on this trip, you may have noticed something of a contradiction: we appear heavily laden even though we exhibit a knack for wearing the same clothes almost every day.
“What’s with that?” you might ask.
If our bags aren’t stuffed with spiffy duds for nights out on the back beach, then what on earth are we carrying?
Our Equipment Landscape: A Snapshot
Check out the photo below and you’ll see that we literally carry an office-meets-production studio on our backs. This equipment enables us to capture our experiences and share them with our readers.
The following photo is infinitely more interesting and interactive if you click on it. This will open the individual photo page whereupon the photo will feature various clickable descriptive text notes corresponding to equipment that we carry – just mouse over different regions of the photo for the notes to pop up. Consider this a geeky peek into our geeky packs. This nifty photo display functionality is thanks to the Flickr photo sharing website.
The table below attempts to organize our equipment into functional areas: photography, audio/video, computing/storage/networking, and everything else. We’ve added links to Amazon in case you’re in the market for some new electronic toys.
Note: The links below may reflect a newer model than the one we own.
| Item | How We Use It | |
| Photography | The camera we use for much of what you see in our photo gallery | |
| Versatile pocket camera, particularly useful for quick shots of food and landscapes. Can also take video. | ||
| Nikon 18-200mm AF-S VR DX zoom lens | The primary lens in our bag. | |
| Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G AF-S Lens | A back-up lens in case something happens to the 18-200 mm lens. | |
| Tokina AT-X 100mm f/2.8 PRO D Macro Lens | Macro (close-up) and portrait shots. | |
| Sigma 8mm F3.5 EX DG Circular Fisheye lens | Cylindrical and spherical panorama shots (a new project) | |
| Hoya Circularizing Polarizing Filter (72 mm) | For glare reduction. Yields particularly interesting results with clouds and water. | |
| Compact Flash Memory Cards | Storage media for the Nikon D70 camera | |
| Velbon RUP-43 monopod | Think “tripod minus two legs.” For panorama and night photography. | |
| Video and Audio | Captures all the video you see on this site. | |
| Apple iPod G5 | For audio recordings. Also helps to preserve sanity on long bus trips. | |
| Belkin Tune Talk | Microphone/recording device for the iPod. | |
| Griffin Stereo Lavalier Microphone | Used in conjunction with the iPod to record interviews. | |
| Griffin SmartShare Headphone Splitter | So we both can listen to music on the iPod and maintain our sanity on long bus trips. | |
| Belkin iPod charger (USB and A/C Adapter) | iPod adapter to charge it from an electrical outlet. | |
| Laptop and Storage | Mac PowerBook G4 12″ | Audrey’s laptop, used primarily for photo editing, writing, and audio editing. |
| Dan’s laptop, used primarily for writing, website development and video production. | ||
| Western Digital (WD) Passport |
Backup storage for photos, videos, documents, website, etc. | |
| Buffalo 320 GB Portable Storage | Backup storage. Will serve as photo backup once the WD Passport is full. | |
| Hitachi 160 GB Portable Storage (bought in Almaty, Kazakhstan so no Amazon link) | Backup storage, used primarily for videos. | |
| USB Storage Device – 8 GB | Temporary storage of files for use at internet cafes or between laptops. | |
| GPS, Network and Miscellaneous | To log location data as we travel to geotag our photos. | |
| PDA used as a mobile phone (GSM, using local SIM cards) and for digital note-taking and writing on the road. | ||
| Apple Airport Express | Transforms a LAN connection into a WiFi (wireless) hotspot. | |
| Genius folding headphones and microphone | For Skype conversations with family, friends and the occasional tax collector. |
Updates: June 2009 and January 2010
Do You Really Use It All?
Frighteningly enough, yes. While we use certain pieces of equipment (e.g., cameras and laptops) more than others, everything has its purpose.
“Laptops…as in plural??” Most people gasp when they find out we’re traveling with one. Our embarrassment runs so deep that we don’t often have the courage to share that we are actually carrying two.
We had hoped to travel with one, but we found it unworkable given the volume of content that we aimed to produce and the division of duties that we negotiated with one another. Additionally, working and traveling with your spouse day in and day out carries its own set of challenges – battling over the same laptop was not something we wished to add to the fire.
Does it make sense to travel this way?
For most people, the answer is obviously “No,” but it really depends on your travel objectives. Certainly there are people who travel with laptops, not only to connect with the office and friends back home but also to write and to manage their photos and/or videos on the road.
The obvious drawback to carrying so much stuff is physical strain. It’s no fun schlepping 50 pounds from bus to guest house (Though it does help keep us in shape and allows us guilt-free second helpings of things like Penang curry.)
Emotional stress is also a factor. Our equipment obviously has value. These are also the tools through which we attempt to make our travel financially sustainable. Finally, our laptops and external hard drives store our memories from this trip. [We do have an elaborate backup plan, including regular shipments of backup DVDs to the U.S.]
We continually consider potential theft and loss scenarios and we take steps to prevent them. For example, we must constantly make judgment calls regarding whether or not it’s safer to keep our bags locked up in a room or to take them with us. We haven’t had to turn down any experiences yet because of our equipment, but when we take shaky boats or head into the hills, our belongings (i.e., which pieces we take with us and which pieces we leave behind) are a major consideration.
Although we are making our equipment list public on this website, we don’t advertise our portable production studio when we’re on the road. Our Crumpler backpacks carry the majority of what you see above. Crumpler’s brightly colored designs resemble regular day-packs and manage to playfully conceal the complexity that lurks inside.
Why do it?
We’ve provided ample reasons why you should consider not traveling with a lot of equipment. So why do we do it?
In addition to subjecting ourselves to independent long-term travel for the sake of the experience, we had hoped to challenge ourselves creatively and professionally along the way.
We have chosen to do this by becoming proficient in producing stories, well-documented photo essays and semi-produced video and audio pieces as we travel. Despite the occasional aches and pains and the not-so-occasional desire to launch our laptops across the room in frustration, we do not regret our decision.
Article Series - Digital Nomad
- Our Office-less Office
- Lensbaby, GPS upgrade, and a Mac: What’s New in Our Packs
March 6th, 2008 at 5:17 am
Thanks for carrying all the stuff you need to share your experiences with everyone.
March 7th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
While I am forever grateful for the results of your lugging, I must say that I don’t envy you. That’s is just plain a LOT OF STUFF!!! I’m very very very glad though to hear that you use it all, otherwise it would suck to carry that much. Thanks again!
-Suz
http://www.startgo.com
March 7th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Pete: We appreciate support like yours – it makes the extra weight worth it!
Suz: We have a rule that if we don’t use it regularly (emergency medicines excluded), it gets ditched or sent back to my mom. We’ve have had a few times where we’ve really cursed the weight, mostly when the guidebook map was off and what should have been a 1/4 mile turned into 1 mile. But, most of the time it’s not too bad. We’re now trying to get rid of guidebook weight…the India and China LPs are both bricks.
March 8th, 2008 at 7:59 am
Holy cats, that’s a lotta gear. Yowza. I’m fascinated by the deets, I have to admit.
I gotta ask, do you take it everywhere, all the time? Because I know we were told not to leave anything that could be sold in our hotel rooms throughout our travels and that stuff is just walking money, really.
Also, why two laptops? On our last documentation heavy trip (we were writing a guidebook) ours died, so that’s a good reason, but redundancy in laptops is kind of intense…
March 8th, 2008 at 7:59 am
I love it. Max mobile function on the go. I’m a big believer in mobile business. I of course do it American style which is a little more bloated and laden with fossil fuels.
We’ve taken a conversion van and reconverted it into our mobile office including desk, AC inverters, wifi, printer, cell signal repeater/amplifier, aerobed, etc. I’ve felt guilty about the excess but you can’t argue with success.
Thanks…I love keeping up with all your goings on.
March 8th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Pam: Most of the valuable equipment (laptop + camera gear) fits into our two Crumpler “day packs,” so we’ll take them with us if we don’t feel a guest house is safe. More often than not (and I hope I don’t curse myself by writing this), we take the camera stuff with us to photograph the place and lock the rest of it away in bags in the room. Although we tend to stay at the bottom end of accommodation options, we splurge for double rooms instead of sleeping in dorms. In addition to being more comfortable, it provides a little extra security.
Yes, two laptops does sound extreme and it doesn’t make sense for most travelers. However, it is a necessity for us for our work flow and sanity. We’ve gathered about 200 GB of photo/video/audio/written material in the last fifteen months that we’re using for this website and some other freelance work. While we review materials together to decide what to use and how, we divide up duties to produce. It’s common that Dan will be editing videos on his machine while I’m writing or editing photos on mine. We’ve had a few times with only one laptop (when one was at the repair shop) and one person ends up waiting around for the laptop to free up to finish up his/her work. At the moment it’s worth the extra weight/worry to carry two.
Adam: I’d love to see a picture of your mobile office! We have dreams of traveling across the States in the same vein after we visit the other continents. Maybe we could borrow your van : )
March 13th, 2008 at 3:49 am
This photo confirms what I already suspected: you two are insane.
Very cool picture of your gear.The website we all enjoy makes it worth it – for us.
March 17th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
After we had to resort to stuffing our pockets full of electronic gear to get by Tiger Airways weight restrictions (Singapore to Kochi), we also started to question our sanity. We do hope it’s all worth it : )
March 18th, 2008 at 12:07 am
Love it! It is a lot but so worth it because your pictures are beautiful and your website it awesome! You’re making everyone back in the states very jealous of this experience! Keep safe!
March 23rd, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Thanks, Julie! We’re keeping at it in India – so much visual and audio stimulation (sometimes too much – why do people have to honk incessantly?!)! Although it is a pain hauling our big bags on an off buses and trains, people here have been accommodating and helpful.
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:07 pm
Gee – and I thought I was quite the blogger carrying my dinky Sony cybershot in my handbag.
April 6th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Sher: Wait until you see our portable pharmacy…
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:57 pm
[...] We travel with two laptops: I use a Mac and Dan’s on a PC. We recently traded in our Nikon D70 for a Nikon D300, and we carry several lenses with us: 18-200mm, 18-70mm, fisheye, macro/portrait. Additionally, we have a handheld Casio that we use for a lot of our food photos and videos. Click here for all the gory details of our gear. [...]
October 27th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
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January 9th, 2010 at 8:54 am
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