> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://journey.davidknoble.life/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Packing Lists for Traveling Light! - URL: https://journey.davidknoble.life/packing-lists-for-traveling-light/ - Published: 2026-08-14T12:43:23.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-14T12:43:23.000Z - Author: David Knoble - Tags: 4. In Practice The most challenging aspect of packing for a family vacation is deliberating over what cameras and lenses to take with me! As airline travel changes, how I might take film increases the challenge - how much or how little, will it be X-ray’d? Here are a few questions I ask myself as I go through this process and the best tool I’ve found to remember everything I need! ### Purpose of the Trip The first question I ask myself is why am I going? A family trip is different than a pure photography expedition. When I went to Iceland in 2018, I brought the medium format Leica S system and was rewarded with incredible scenery images I still love browsing through. My camera backpack was full size (I use the [F-Stop backpacks](https://fstopgear.com/?ref=journey.davidknoble.life) and they are terrific!), and I only had one body and 5 lenses because the system is so large! Going to Antarctica in 2024 I simplified my kit immensely. Taking 2 SL bodies and 2 SL lenses, it was easier to manage and I got all the images I wanted! Both of those trips were explicitly for photography and that is what I did morning, noon and night. Family trips require different thinking. I am there to spend time with my family and also capture key moments as well as the places we visit. My gear has to be smaller and easier to carry and use. ### What am I Photographing? The area of the world dictates what I am photographing other than people in my group and family activities. Most importantly, the weather dictates how I might work. Icy-cold or wet climates require more weather protection and ways to dry my gear. Warmer and dryer climates could be dusty. So how do I figure this out? The SL system is incredibly robust in weather. I continue to suggest the SL system is the perfect second system. With all the adapters to other systems, like the M system, I can carry one SL lens and some M lenses with M cameras. That gives me bad weather gear as well as compact gear. ### A Checklist is Key The real key here is making a list (and checking it twice!). I love the Apple ecosystem because it shares between my iPhone, iPad and Macbook, so I use it whenever possible to keep my life easier to manage. My favorite app for traveling is the Notes app. I can create checklists and then keep or delete them when done. Most importantly, I can add to them and take things off at will! I put a recent checklist here that was to a short trip to Vienna with the [Leica Society International](https://journey.davidknoble.life/the-leica-society-international/). I use question marks at the end of an item to remind me I’m thinking about whether it will work or not. My eyes are always bigger than my packing allows, so I need a way to leave something out when it fills up! ![A list in Apple Notes with some items checked off](https://storage.ghost.io/c/28/88/28888718-3151-40e0-92e4-bf1a38db79a2/content/images/2026/08/IMG_2106-2.jpeg) My list for Vienna with some items checked off and others marked as optional. There is nothing worse than going a trip of a lifetime and leaving a charger, an adapter, or something I need at home! Believe me when I tell you I have done that before! While this might sound overly detailed, making a list of simple things to bring can be used over and over, refining it while you are traveling for the next time! Planning is the best way to enjoy photography. My best work has always been the result of a little forethought, research and planning. Forgetting something may well happen, but having a system to remember it the next time is priceless! Use paper and pen if that is your method, but find a way to keep refining it and enjoy your time away!