Camera Corner - Part 1 - My Gear Bag

Photojournalism and Documentary Photography Equipment and Technology

If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me what was in my gear bag, I would be a rich man. So lets talk about the subject.

First off, I don't even own a gear bag. It's not that I can't afford one, I actually have been given several over the years by different manufacturers, but I choose not to use them for a very simple reason: You can't take photos when your camera is in a bag! It is the same reason I don't use lens caps, as a matter of fact when I buy a lens the first thing I do is put a protective filter on then throw the cap in the trash. Once again, you can't take pictures when you have a lens cap on!

When traveling through airports, in taxis, on buses etc, I usually have either both my cameras around my neck or my wide angle around my neck and my long lens wrapped in a shirt and stuffed in my backpack. Yes, I damage my equipment quite often and have to spend a lot to have it repaired, but when something happens, I am the first one to capture it and often the only one to not miss it. Getting in the habit of always having your camera ready is quite important in photojournalism because you don't get second chances. If I was an architectural photographer I am sure I would take really good care of my cameras, but I would never have to worry about a building running away while I tried to get the camera out of the bag!

I also set my cameras to power off automatically and never switch off the actual power.This way, when I need to shoot, all I have to do is press the shutter button and wait a split second for the camera to turn on. If I am shooting an intense project I will often turn the power off time to the maximum but leave it on one or two minutes if I am only shooting a frame here and there. Do remember to fully switch off your power before stuffing your camera into a backpack, or if you insist on using a camera bag, there is nothing like finding out your camera shot 32 gigabytes of images of the inside of your backpack!

Now, one little hint for certain situations. If you find yourself in a questionable area at night, stop into a shop and ask for a plastic bag. Wrap your camera strap around your wrist (in case someone does try to snatch it) but keep it in the bag. It will just look like some groceries and you will feel much safer on your walk back to your hotel.

Stay tuned for my next Camera Corner post when I will talk about which cameras and lenses I am using!

Questions? While anyone is welcome to comment on the Camera Corner posts, subscribers may post their questions here and I will answer them. This is a benefit for signing up for a paid subscription to this blog. Please limit the scope of your question to the subject of the post, there will be plenty of other posts on different subject matter if you have questions that do not relate to today's posts.

Comments

[Steve Orcutt]

Thank you so much for the info man! I'll stay tuned for sure. This is the kind of stuff they wouldn't exactly teach you in a college photojournalism course I'm sure of it. In the off chance I'm wrong someone please tell me - I'd go.
Again, thanks so much for this kind of insight in to the world you work in. Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing your work with all of us.

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[Mike]

I'm glad to hear you talk about your camera like that. For what little I do, keeping a UV filter on and a cap off my lens is something we have in common. God knows, even ready like that I have missed more than a life's share of good shots.

Those who insist on keeping their cameras in pristine condition are a mystery to me. We have to use them and otherwise they are useless. Thinking of this reminds of something Bruce Lee said in "Enter the Dragon" -

"It is like a finger pointing away to the moon.
Don't concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory."

The camera must be true, but is only a servant to the moment, which must be captured and displayed to others.

[Lisa]

I enjoy the insight.

[mara]

im so glad your putting this section up! its really interesting to read about what your using, how you use it etc etc.
keep up the excellent work!

[Kathleen]

I'm a journalist with a small weekly paper and love what I do and have some amazing photo opportunities in this rugged, rural country. Small papers have shit for cameras, so I use my own Nikon D70 and D200. I've been having trouble with them freezing and refusing to give me shutter speeds or other adjustments (even after I duct tape handwarmers to the body) on sled dog races and other winter events, and don't like the resolution I'm getting with either camera (fine for newspaper, but I want to broaden my scope). I'm really looking forward to hearing some details about the sort of camera for which I ought to shop. I prefer to shoot mostly with a wide angle lense, filter (no lense cap). Thinking I ought to sell both these cameras and start over.

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Amen to that, photographers should always be ready because you will never know when you will be needing your camera. Most of the time, the most memorable, important moments happens in an instant. We should always be aware on what's happening around us. BTW, this one is a great article. Thanks!

[Dino]

I'm new with this hobby. I found your article very useful. Well, come to think of it, how can you use your camera if it is in you bag? But I'm guilty of that. When trying to find the right kind of DSLR bag, I go with the easy accessibility of my camera into the bag. Check this out, lots of bags to choose from. http://www.dslrbagstore.com/. Just in case it rains, bag is not a bad option!

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