Padded Cells For The Sane

A recent evening on YouTube - I only read it for the articles - sent me to a British photographer's show and stopped me in my tracks. He talked about bags. Like a lot of photographers I have a number of bags and cases that store and tote my photographic gear. I am not quite as bad as one former CE employee who admitted to eleven separate bags and cases in their possession at any one time. I'm sure I have had eleven over the years but never at one time. At present I can count seven camera bags and a tripod bag and I really do need each one...promise. You may be in much the same position, and happy to be so - and like myself you may have given each one careful consideration before you acquired it. And then had regrets and sold it off. And bought another. There are societies that deal with us, you know. But profligate we maybe - hardly any of us are prepared to say, as the British chap did, that bags are a bad idea. He seems to take most of his pictures out on the street walking about and possibly never changes a lens or adds a new battery. His need for storage may be minimal, but there have to be times when thee gear needs be put away in something other than the lint-filled pocket of his anorak. His main complaint seems to be that the case dividers are too bulky, the design too complex, and the bag too heavy. Yet I wonder if he would change his mind as a Western Australian shooter. We travel long distances to capture our pictures. In some cases by road or plane, with the kind of rough handling that that entails. We cannot depend upon lenses and accessories being to hand in the bush, unless we take them with us. Even on town jobs, a lot of the images require changes of lens or addition of light - and this means extra equipment to haul. Go watch a dedicated professional do a wedding or a n event shoot and count up the number of bits that get used. If you're good with big numbers, assign a price to each of those cameras, lenses, and flashes. It's unrealistic to expect photographers to either limit themselves when shooting or to just juggle the gear like a stack of pizzas. Too much money, too much weight. Even pizzas get boxed. I'm a fan of satchel bags - I keep two - a still and a video one - packed in the equipment safe ready for a quick trip out. I charge the batteries regularly and I know what's in each when I get there. The both have padded internal dividers and none of the cameras or lenses have their edges sawed off riding in the boot of the car. The big artillery - the Pelican case - is rarely needed but when it is, it is absolutely essential. For town jaunts - the street shooting I don't do - a couple of Crumpler shoulder bags protect all I need, but even they have useful pockets and dividers. The best part of these is the sturdiness of the nylon bag and strap - once it is around my shoulder it ain't coming off. Note to buyers: look seriously at the Lowepro and Think Tank bags for real protection. Then ask yourself why you are getting yourself in so many rough places with such expensive camera gear...either go to nicer places or buy cheaper gear.