Brazil: 2 days to go

And it's time for that inevitable "here's the stuff I'm taking" picture...The main match kit is at the bottom of the picture - a pair of Canon 1D bodies, 400 2.8, 70-200 2.8 and 24 1.4, plus a 1.4x extender and the laptop. That's the absolute key equipment that must travel with me in the cabin. It all fits into the Peli 1510 flight case on the bottom left, along with numerous cables, wifi things, security locks etc etc.In the top half is a whole range of stuff, including 3 pocket wizard plus IIs with footswitch, a small tripod, monopod (in the "must travel in the cabin" category but won't fit anywhere), flash, and a backup hard drive. There are also 3 additional cameras - an Olympus OM-D-EM5 with 3 lenses for remote behind the goal work, a teeny Sony RX100 mark II for "in the pocket all the time" and a Sony A7R with 3 lenses for serious photography not involving anything moving, and my mini tablet as laptop backup.I've also got a throwaway phone in there plus a throwaway wallet and old credit cards (that'll fox them for at least a minute!), some Lee filters, various battery chargers and plug adapters, first aid kit, various drugs like Sudafed and Immodium just in case, and numerous other bits including sunblock.The challenge is to get the other camera bodies on my person somehow for the plane trips, so I'm reckoning one around my neck and the others in pockets in my jacket. The only stuff I want in the hold is gear that is not essential to shooting the 1st game in Manaus, like clothes and other bits I should be able to replicate out there. I believe Canon will have a loan facility at each stadium so hopefully all will not be lost if I turn up without anything whatsoever, which I think will be very unlikely.I've also been reading through the very helpful FIFA media procedures & advice documentation. Each stadium has a media centre and it looks like I'll be spending quite a lot of time there as "all media centres will provide a cafeteria for the exclusive use of accredited media", as well as workstations with power and wired networking.This paragraph also caught my attention: "With your media accreditation or media approval letter you will have access to the preferential lane at check-in and to the fast track security check". Music to my ears!I also picked up a few more useful nuggets of information. As expected, we all get an allocated seat pitchside for each match. The allocation is done in quite a helpful way (for me for the England games) in that, once the big agencies have had their pick, photographers from the countries of the teams playing get first pick. This is excellent news and hopefully there will be a corner slot spare for me to slip into. Unfortunately changing ends at half time isn't allowed so I'll be stationary for the duration of the game. We can change cards on our remotes at half time which is good news for those who can't afford a 1DX wired into the ethernet. We're also allowed around the pitch to shoot the teams when they come out as well which is excellent news.With my flights double-confirmed and Brazilian currency waiting to be collected, things are all looking good for departure on Wednesday, which puts me into Manaus later on Thursday, hopefully in time to watch the opening Brazil v Croatia game live in a bar full of crazy Brazilian fans. I've also got to pick up my accreditation on Thursday, which is a numbered bib that stays with me throughout the tournament and which will cost me $200 if I lose it or have it nicked! Friday is England press & training, plus stadium shots and atmosphere, fans etc, with the match on Saturday with all attendant shenanigans.The weather in Manaus is looking hot, humid and wet. Unsurprising for a rain forest location! This means caution taking kit from hot, moist environments into an air conditioned hotel room or press area, and vice versa. Also it wreaks havoc with the choice of clothing to take. I've been in hotter, more humid places before (Jeddah in the height of summer is a good example at 48C and 90% humidity), and whatever you wear you just sweat out and generally end up dripping wet. That doesn't mean not taking rain gear though so I've got a goretex jacket in the packing list with a hood, but will leave out the waterproof trousers. Rio looks cooler at around 24-26C, much like this part of England yesterday so it should be quite pleasant.I've been doing loads of other prep work as well, including mapping all my hotels, press centres, team hotels etc onto a single Google map, looking at interesting alternative photography locations for stadium shots, and generally doing research research research.As with anything complex like this, the best laid plans never survive first contact with the enemy so chaos is likely to ensue early on Thursday morning as I land in Rio and wait for my connecting flight up to Manaus while my luggage goes to Sao Paulo.Lastly, I just want to point out that I'm a World Cup virgin. No doubt a lot of what I've written is old hat to the more experienced photographers out there (though they probably aren't reading this anyway), but I thought you'd appreciate knowing what happens behind the scenes. This blog is partly my own diary for my personal satisfaction, and partly a way to help aspiring sports photographers figure out how this stuff works and give you some tips. I couldn't find any of this stuff when I started out so I hope it helps some of you who are on your own ambitious journey.I don't have the support of a big agency - it's just me organising all this stuff with the support of Daniel at Focus Images. We have some great clients but I don't have a big budget so I can't afford to cover lots of games and take lots of flights (my nightmare scenario is England winning their group and doing really well as it would mean lots more travel cost to cover their additional games). But just to be in a position to firstly apply for accreditation and then get it, and have some eager clients waiting for pictures, is quite mind blowing to me. Having worked my way up from nothing to photographing the biggest tournament in the world is quite simply fantastic, and I need to keep reminding myself of that as I fret and worry about how I fit this or that kit into a bag and which route the England team coach will take from their hotel to their training base etc etc."Live for the moment" is going to be my mantra for this trip.PS if you'd like me to write about anything specific as I cover the tournament, please leave a comment and let me know, or email me.