Going To Sudan

I’m also hoping to make thise trip later in the year so any tips would be much appreciated. I’d be interested to know how easy it is to move around outside Khartoum…anyone been recently?

Paging Ethan Rafal

http://www.lightstalkers.org/ethan-rafal

it all depends on what kind of logistics you ll have on the ground and where you re gonna go.
if you ll be hanging out with NGOS and UN then you wont need all sorts of water purification eq and alternative power sources. i would always go for an old i book 12 inches and a few portable hds rather then these new storage systems but thats jut me. i like to edit and see my work as soon as possible but again, its only how i see it. remember one thing though: BACK UPS!!!! you dont want to have to go home because one single part of your equipment broke down. always work out another way to shoot if something doesnt work. you re gonna spend lots of money for flights, logistics, fixing and all and maybe because a card reader broke in the middle of nowhere you ll be in trouble. always keep that in mind whenever you re shooting in remote places. think about security as well. if you re gonna be alone far away from everything then a thuraya phone and a plugger ( GPS ) will help. always bring maps and never forget that the only person that will help you will be yourself.

Great tips Guy, cheers. Are there any good tricks in keeping a laptop free from masses of sand and dust? I don’t know whether there are any specialised protective covers or anything and whether it’s worth investing in something like that?

hard question Mike. my stuff always suffered a lot from working in deserts. i shoot canon and for long stays in sandy places i always ducked taped the focus grid of my lenses and any other part of lap tops or cameras i wouldnt need. try not to change the lenses of your cameras. always try to keep everything covered. sand will get everywhere and anywhere. swiss army and other brands make good sealed water and weather proof bags with rugged zippers. you might want to look into gear like that to protect all your kit. become extremely paranoid of your gear before heading out for work so that you ll only have to deal with emergency issues and not every day problems while you re in the field. once you find you re way, be consistent. duck taping the focus grid improves strenght and durability of expensive lenses. even so, sand manages to get in and ruin my AF motors. look into general brands that serve pro hikers and alpinists. usually they work on protective gear that is light and rugged. camera people always tend to produce bullky and heavy stuff.

The best thing to protect a laptop from dust is a huge ziploc bag. I don’t know, do they still make them, but I bought a pack of the largest one they had. Fits nicely over my Powerbook 12 inch. I have one big enough, to even open the powerbook in it. Doesn’t help if you have to connect something and it gets hot really fast, but for protection it is the cheapest and ultimate tool.

God bless duct tape. I’ll go on the hunt for some zip-lock bags I think. Thanks again for tips Guy, Heinrich.

There doesn’t seem to be much in the way of text/imagery coming out of Sudan and obviously there’s a lot of security reasons for that… but security threats don’t usually mean a total blackout of coverage. Are there other – less obvious – reasons?

In “Frontline: The True Story of the British Mavericks Who Changed the Face of War Reporting”, there are stories of how Vaughn Smith passed as a local in Bosnia to get the images that heaped more and more pressure on the international community. Is this a factor in the lack of Sudan coverage? I mean I certainly couldn’t pass myself off as a local…

And apologies for hijacking the thread Ryan!

so much here…. ok.. so.. as guy mentions.. be paranoid as hell about equipment and dont miss a beat… the little things are sooooo everything. for me.. i lost the use of a bgan.. which meant not being able to upload critical images… due to total bullshit. know how you are powering your gear and have that shit on lock. do not force yourself to resort to things you did not plan. this fuct me nice. i recommend looking into solar.. although this will not help you with anything big like a bgan and/or laptop. i also do not recommend taking a nice laptop.. no reason. if you are hoping to upload… you dont need much. i highly recommend a storage drive.. one with long battery and/or solar to charge.. do not rely on laptop for anything unless it is completely critical… but wait.. it seems like you are going in with ngo.. so.. not to worry about most of this.. this is all for the solo nowhere all but the kitchen sink approach… (which i nearly perfected!!) anyway.. where are you planning to head (ryan and mike)?? things are quite different region to region.. i am told.. you may also not need to head into khartoum depending on where you want to go………. (do not recommend heading into darfur via chad though…. highly highly discourage this….)….. mike.. there is no coverage because it is insanely difficult to pull off and highly dangerous…. darfur.. as of a year ago.. went to zero… all of the folks going in.. not coming out.. that is a short answer to a complex ball of yarn.. but really.. the logistics and shit you have to do to get in and out of darfur.. to get where you would need to go… fucking nuts to say the least. if you need more on that pm me…….. peas and carrots to all.

WOW thanks Guys for all the great replies and info. Mike thanks for asking those questions they were right on the tip of my fingers.

So if you guys have any idea on how and what I should pack along with me that would be great. I don’t want to take more then I need. (I have done that more than once) But I have never been to a country like this one. (I do like the ziplock back idea.

By the way Jack Gruber from USA Today has a “jack box” I think he is selling them?? I am not sure (here is the link http://www.sportsshooter.com/guygruber/case/ It looks like a great idea)

Anyways, Thank You again, and please if you have more info, Bring it on!

Guy should write a book. Great advice. My only suggestion is to look into using Grip Tape vs. duct tape to avoid the residual stick.

After you have packed all you need, i suggest you get in touch with George, acropolekhartoum@gmail.com in case you are stuck and need help. He owns the Acropole Hotel, Greek and a very good fixer. Good luck!!