I will not cancel my travel plans for this reason. I may change which cameras I take on vacation, or how I get them back home, depending on the regulations at the time, but not the trip itself.

I just found this very good article regarding the above, as of now. Of course calling your airlines ahead of time of your travels will be prudent as things may change at any time.

https://photographylife.com/electronics-carry-on-ban/

I second Creative Live classes. Whenever I am even thinking of buying a camera, I go to Creative Live, buy the class and watch it. Their classes are about 3 hours long and very well done and they do have Fast Start Nikon® D810 by John Greengo for $49.00 right now. It will get you up and running.

Thanks you one and all for your responses. They have been helpful.

I am taking my camera equipment on vacation next month to Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. I must go (and come back) through Istanbul on Turkish Airlines. I cannot change my flights. I have always carried on my equipment but due to the new travel ban from some African and ME countries and airlines (that I must use), I want to ship my camera equipment back to the USA (DHL?) instead of risking damage or loss to the camera equipment. I have looked online and YouTube for hours this morning but am now more confused than ever. I have never shipped camera equipment before, much less internationally. I really need your advice and help. Thank you in advance for any help you offer.

I am in the same boat as you. I have used MyPublisher.com for many years and have had them print many photo books for me. I have tried other companies including Shutterfly and Blurb but none compare to MyPublisher.com on the quality of paper (I always upgrade to their best paper) and their Lay-Flat pages. I dread having to find another company to print my books. If you find one comparable, please let us know.

I am often very limited by luggage weight restrictions so I take several 8 GB SD cards. I download photos every evening to my mini-Ipad with the Apple SD adapter. I keep the used SD cards in a special, unforgettable place. This way I have 2 very small, lightweight copies. I do not delete any of the photos until they are downloaded and backed up on my home computer and on multiple external hard drives.

I have been there and I am so glad that I did pay for both Visas and see both sides! If you can afford it, do it! I think it is well worth the money! Great photos from BOTH sides!

I have used several different companies but I like MyPublisher.com best and have made over 80 books with them. I like the quality of the pages (especially when upgraded very reasonably) and their lay flat pages. Occasionally there are ink smudges but so far they have been very good at reprinting the imperfect books for free. Wait for the sales you can get 40-50 % off.

I just got a passport photo from Costco (4 copies) for about $5.00 last week. It only took about 45 minutes to get them. I am very happy with it.

Love your photos!

When I was on safari a few months ago, we had open type vehicles so we could not have used a bean bag, could not use monopods, forget tripods, and my 400 MM lens was not nearly long enough. Some of the animals were very far away and the birds were mostly very small. I wished I had had at least a 600MM lens. We were not allowed to stand or move around in the vehicles very much for safety reasons. We were told that when the vehicles are open types (eg southern Africa), the animals see the vehicle as a very large animal. You don't want them to see you individually (thus not standing or moving around). We saw a kill (2 lionesses killed an antelope) that happened right behind our vehicle. I couldn't believe how fast it happened! If it had been one of us, I don't see how anyone with a gun could have stopped it. It was way too fast.

Please excuse me because I am new here but it seems so simple. I always download my photos off the card after a session and back them up on external hard drives. I then put the SD cards in a ziplok bag. I use different cameras. I reformat the cards when I put them in any camera. I have never had a problem with any of my SD cards or lost any photos so far.

my pleasure jdm.

I just returned from there last month, unfortunately during the wet season this time. I have been lucky enough to go on three safari adventures in the past ten years. I agree with everything Matt from Palo Alto said. Also there were a lot of magnificent birds while I was there and my 400 MM lens was not long enough. In some (maybe all?) National Parks they are not allowed to go off-road so you may be photographing animals from very far off. We were in open sided vehicles (with canvas tops) exposed to everything including the animals. They say the animals are not threatened by the large vehicle and think of it as a larger animal. Move minimally, keep very quiet, keep yourself and your equipment inside the vehicle. Don't let them see you individually as prey. I saw a lion kill last year. They move so unbelievably fast. Also I would take two camera bodies with lens attached (one with my longest lens) while out on the game drives. If you want to see a lot of large mammals go during their dry season, not their wet season. Africa keeps drawing me back. At Victoria Falls I used water-resistant camera bodies and lens. Take the helicopter ride! It is so worth it! Have fun!