Leaving the Bag Behind
November 11th, 2006
I hate carrying camera bags. I’ve tried a ton of them, enough to have bought at least one really nice lens if I add up what I’ve paid for all of them. Pretty much all of them are junk. Too heavy. Too big. Too small. Too hard to get stuff into. Stuff falls out. Etc. Etc. Etc.
Beyond complaints about the bags themselves, over the last couple of months I’ve slowly come to the realization that I really can’t handle all the options implied by a bag. Surely a bag must contain extra lenses, filters, perhaps a second body which may even be loaded with a different film. I’ve often carried a Domke 803 or Billingham Hadley with 2 bodies (one for B&W and one for provia), four lenses (28, 35, 50, 90), filters (red, yellow-green, and ND), a small flash, a synch cord and an incident meter. If you add up all those combinations you get . . . well, it’s sure to be far too many for me to manage while actually trying to take a picture. I’m just an English major after all.
After too many trips spent with sore shoulders and back, dropped lenses, and just far too much photographic stress, I’ve recently taken to carrying just one camera and one lens at a time. I’ve taped a film canister to my camera strap to hold an extra roll of whatever I’m shooting that day. If I really want to be prepared, I shove another roll and an extra battery into my pocket. Digital goes much the same, although with a 2GB SD in the D80 I rarely would need an extra card or battery (yes, I’m still shooting jpegs). Not only are my shoulders happier at the end of the day, I find that I’ve produced better photographs. I don’t know if it’s the reduced stress or just the act of focusing on the tool at hand, but I’m a much better photographer as a bagless wonder.
It’s something of an old chestnut that you should pick one lens and one film if you really want to learn your craft. I’m not advocating that. Use as many lenses, cameras, films and formats as you want. For example this week I’ve used three different cameras, 5 lenses, two types of film, and digital. Some days just scream for a 90 mm and a couple of rolls of Provia. Other days you need to the 35 and Delta 400. Just not both at once. What if you choose the wrong lens/film for the day? You are carrying B&W and the fall colors are gorgeous? Make it work, or leave the camera on your shoulder and enjoy the day. More often than not, enjoying the day will lead to making it work.
the camera of the day, loaded with delta 400, sporting a biogon 35
Try leaving the bag behind for a while. Eventually, you will find that you can do a lot more than you thought with just one camera and just one lens.
Beyond complaints about the bags themselves, over the last couple of months I’ve slowly come to the realization that I really can’t handle all the options implied by a bag. Surely a bag must contain extra lenses, filters, perhaps a second body which may even be loaded with a different film. I’ve often carried a Domke 803 or Billingham Hadley with 2 bodies (one for B&W and one for provia), four lenses (28, 35, 50, 90), filters (red, yellow-green, and ND), a small flash, a synch cord and an incident meter. If you add up all those combinations you get . . . well, it’s sure to be far too many for me to manage while actually trying to take a picture. I’m just an English major after all.
After too many trips spent with sore shoulders and back, dropped lenses, and just far too much photographic stress, I’ve recently taken to carrying just one camera and one lens at a time. I’ve taped a film canister to my camera strap to hold an extra roll of whatever I’m shooting that day. If I really want to be prepared, I shove another roll and an extra battery into my pocket. Digital goes much the same, although with a 2GB SD in the D80 I rarely would need an extra card or battery (yes, I’m still shooting jpegs). Not only are my shoulders happier at the end of the day, I find that I’ve produced better photographs. I don’t know if it’s the reduced stress or just the act of focusing on the tool at hand, but I’m a much better photographer as a bagless wonder.
It’s something of an old chestnut that you should pick one lens and one film if you really want to learn your craft. I’m not advocating that. Use as many lenses, cameras, films and formats as you want. For example this week I’ve used three different cameras, 5 lenses, two types of film, and digital. Some days just scream for a 90 mm and a couple of rolls of Provia. Other days you need to the 35 and Delta 400. Just not both at once. What if you choose the wrong lens/film for the day? You are carrying B&W and the fall colors are gorgeous? Make it work, or leave the camera on your shoulder and enjoy the day. More often than not, enjoying the day will lead to making it work.
the camera of the day, loaded with delta 400, sporting a biogon 35
Try leaving the bag behind for a while. Eventually, you will find that you can do a lot more than you thought with just one camera and just one lens.
November 14th, 2006
Unless I’m off to some exotic, far off locale (not often) or assignment of particular import and chance missing the “photo of a lifetime,” I too suscribe to 1 body, 1 lens.
Shoulder bags are great- but after a couple of hours, the throbbing shoulder pain starts to wear down the creativity.
Backpacks are great getting equipment from point A to point B- but they suck big time in an actual shooting position, where opening one in its naturally vertical carrying position risks spilling multiple pieces of very expensive metal and glass unto the pavement below.
Am currently considering purchasing one of those sling pack hybrids which incorporate the best of both worlds- only that I somehow suspect that they will somehow incorporate the worst of both, and introduce one or more of its own unique foibles…
November 15th, 2006
The sling bags tend to be nearly as painful as a shoulder bag and just barely more accessible than a backpack. Not quite the worst of both, but not a major improvement on either front.
November 29th, 2006
Agreed. Picking a lens for the day/trip is a big part of the fun and challenge of photography. Keep you camera around your neck, with the lens cap off and ready to shoot.
March 2nd, 2007
[…] As I’ve written before, I have a complicated relationship with camera bags. In part this relationship can be expressed by the following formula: […]