WHATS IN THE BOX??!!! (I mean bag)

AH THE CAMERA BAG. The bane of every photographer’s existence. We all have them, and none of us are happy with them at our core. The fight between fashion and function is never ending, and the largest casualty is our wallets. Photography is an individual medium, and fashion items are made for masses.

I currently own two bags. A Side/messenger type one, and a backpack. The backpack is for when I need to transport my full kit (2 bodies, 3 lenses, laptop, hard drives, syncs, cleaning kit, weather kit, gopros, everything possibly needed for travel/living out of a hotel.) The back pack of choice is the Think Tank Photo Shape Shifter 17 V1.0. Mine from 2014 is still going strong strong. Granted, it’s not a daily use, but it has been in dozens of car rides, a bunch of miles walked and a number of long van road trips. Holds a ton of weight, and feels great for long walks through the streets or airports. A tremendous pack. 

But today we are focusing on my messenger bag kit, which is my go to for simple shoots, and is always packed with my bare minimum for image creation. If I need all my gear, then I’ll move the gear to the Think Tank, but most of the time this kit is enough. I need it to be enough to not get overwhelmed with creative possibilities. For me, I want a bare bones basic bitch kit, that is always ready on my storage shelf, so if I want to go shoot a show that night, a simple portrait pretty much anywhere, or a photojournalism event that can deliver the mobility and quality I need. I can just grab and go, and know 100% I’m set. I don’t need to think about it. I don’t need a check list, I don’t need to pack it. I have a bunch more junk not listed below, that I may need once in a while for different projects, but I know 100% I can make high quality images that do the job with this kit in 98% of circumstances.

This kit assumes I’m editing at home, if I needed a fast turn around, I would have brought my think tank bag with extra body, laptop, backup hard drive, and memory card reader and dongles. That’s a whole deal I try to avoid if I can.

SO LET US BEGIN.

THE BAG: 

My current bag of choice is the Undfind One Bag 13. Has everything I need, it’s small, light, and hold a bunch of stuff no matter the setup. I’ve tried a bunch of different ones, and have my own objections to a large majority of them. Most are too big, too square, too ugly, too heavy. I bought this one on a Black Friday sale in 2018, looking for a quick grab and go kit for live shows I was going to for fun. Something simple, easy, and light. Tried it out, and I pretty much love it. 

Downsides? It appears the company is dead. Looks like it was a kickstarter that got some distribution, and now it’s no longer available. So I can’t stay within the Undfind family, sadly, whenever this one bites the dust. I do have slight concerns about the durability, but so far in 14 months trekking it around NYC multiple times a week, it’s held up well. Been squished at the front of a stage, sweated on, had numerous beers spilled on it, snow, rain, and sleet. Chances are I’ll get tired of it far before it gives up the ghost, and I’m currently eying the Think Tank Signature 13 as my upgrade. Maybe in 2021 or if Think Tank wants to sponsor me.

THE CAMERA:

Nikon D750.

Every photographer choses their camera for reasons personal to them. My reasons are simple: This is the best camera for what I normally shoot within my chosen brand, that I can afford.

Why Nikon? I’ve shot with middle and high end cameras of Sony, Nikon, and Canon, and for me it boils down to a few keys:

  • Comfort
  • Upgrade path
  • Legacy lens selection/resale value
  • Durability. 

Both Nikon and Canon have great upgrade paths, and huge selection of lens and they retain their value when you want to switch out or upgrade gear. Both are built like tanks once you get to a certain level of camera, and their high end pro bodies are basically actually tanks. Sony is chasing the prosumer market hard, and doing really well within that business segment. I’m hedging my long term bets on them tho, as I think upgrades will only come as long as they are the hot in thing for Instagramers and Youtubers. I also fear the resale market will fall out at anytime, given the volatility of pop culture chasing cameras. 

So, it boils down to comfort. Sony feels like a cheap toy in my hand, and looks like a lego. There are subtle design differences in the Nikon bodies that I prefer over the Canon, so thus my allegiance to the Gold Band Family began. Maybe it’s that the Giorgetto Giugiaro's Italdesign team also designed the DeLorean, or maybe that it just feels so damn good in my hands. 

Obviously the D5, and the older model, D4, are work horses, and I hope to eventually own one. I’ve used both, and will probably upgrade to a D4 or D4S sooner rather than later. But for now, the D750 does what it needs to very, very well. I also rent the 810 or 850 a lot for more commercial projects or portrait work, but I don’t currently own either. I'm also experimenting with a medium format film camera for portraits, and right now might be moving away from digital all together for portraits. We'll see what the next year holds. 

I also use the Nikon MB-D16 grip. I’ve cheaped out and bought the knock off ones before. They all suck compared to the real thing. Some of them work fine, but feel like cheap plastic toys. Save your money, just buy the real thing. That being said, I would rather have a cheap one on there, rather than none. It just feels better in my hands to have a grip, even if I don’t use it that much. You don’t need it, but it makes me feel better, and does make shooting portrait mode easier.

Nikon branded strap.

Along with the camera bag, the camera strap seems to be one accessory that every photographer has too many of. I was buying 1-2 a year normally, in a never ending search for something that works. My request is pretty simple, I want an exact copy of the original strap, but black, unbranded, and non-leather. I just can’t seem to find one that meets those simple requirements, so I stick with the one that came with the camera most of the time. Could I search more? Sure, probably, but the one I have works, despite annoying me.

I do own a Black Rapid, the original basic one from years ago. I use that when I need to shoot two bodies, with my 70-200 on a second body on the Black Rapid. But sadly, it just gets in the way for a lot of live shows.

Why the gaff tape? Couple reasons. One, Nikon doesn’t sponsor me, so why should I give them free advertising? (Yes, I know I use a Nikon branded strap, but I want to get rid of it. I just haven’t yet, cause see above.). I also gaff tape the model number whenever I can, basically all branding. I try to keep my appearance at shows pretty mundane and simple, basic black shirt and jeans, and I want my gear to match, so gaff it up. Also, I’ve found it helps deflect a conversation with other photographers I hate having, that being “oh, what camera is that?” I don’t care about it, I don’t care about what you are shooting with. We can talk, just let’s talk about real stuff, and not the money hanging off our necks. So many photographer conversations have started with a gear-dick measuring contest, and I can tell that they impose a projection of what they think about me upon me simply from being able to read Nikon or Sony or whatever I’m shooting with. 

THE [FIRST] LENS

NIKON 24-70

The work horse lens, the main one I shoot shows with. Not sexy, but so versatile. I have the 2007 version, because my philosophy with lenses is simple, buy old top of the line. If it was good enough for every pro 10 years ago, chances are it’s good enough for you now. The 2015 version of the lens is tasty, but really, since I don’t do video with my DSLR kit, there’s no reason to drop twice the price on a brand new lens. 

If I had to use just one lens, this is the one. The versatility just outweighs the specialities of most lenses. 

Oh, and I bought mine used from KEH. Always buy lenses used if you can.

THE [SECOND] LENS 

NIKON 50MM 1.4

My baby. This lens is gorg, pure sex. By far my favorite lens I’ve ever shot with. I used this lens exclusively from 2014-2018 when I was doing photography barely part time while working a ‘real’ job. Shot a ton of shows with it, and I’m glad I did. Should my 24-70 shit the bed for some reason, I know I can nail a shot with the 50. 

I keep it in my kit, just incase a show is extra dark, and I need to drop down to 1.4. It’s not ideal, especially for fast moving acts, but you work with what you can in those cases. Not the best portrait lens, but good enough if you know to avoid the bad spots/weird distortion is can give you, and take advantage of its strengths. 

Oh, why the neon gaff tape by the dots? In case I need to switch lenses in the dark by the stage, this helps me orient myself when changing them, so I’m not fiddling around missing shots. 

Nerdy little OCD thing. I use Sensei lens caps, because I want them all to be the same across all my lenses, and I find it easier to gaff tape over the logo rather than the Nikon branded ones, with the raised Nikon imprint. I still use the Nikon branded backcaps, but they all need to be the same style. Necessary? No. But does it spark joy? Yes.

Memory card case

Pelican 0915

Ok, now that the expensive stuff is out of the way, let’s get into the cool small stuff. 

You need memory cards, and you need a case. You don’t necessarily need the Pelican brand, but I’ve found they are a bit better built then the cheap ones you get on Amazon. I use one for my SD cards that I keep with the camera at all times, and I keep my microcards in another one with my GoPro kit. I also have one with my Compact Flash cards in storage, in case I ever need them when I rent a camera that needs CF. The uniformity brings me joy. 

I keep neon gaff tape on it in case I drop it in the dark, as well a p-touch with my phone number in case I misplace it and someone finds it.

Brain Goop (memory cards)

Sandisk Extreme Pro

So this is where my OCD drives me nutty. For one, I need all the slots filled in the memory card holder, at a minimum. So I have 12 cards in the holder, and 2 in the camera. My second piece of OCD, and one that bugs me immensely, is that all the cards should be the same size and style. Right now, they aren’t. I currently have 7x 32s, 1x 64, and 6x 16 in my rotation. Sometime this year, probably whenever the next major sale is, I’m going to get 14 brand new SanDisk Extreme Pro cards, so that they are all replaced at once (I try to replace my most used cards once a year, just to be extra OCD about a card failing). Dunno if I will go with 32 or 64, as I like smaller cards and needing to change them more often. I figure by putting a shoot on multiple cards, if one does fail at some point during the process, I have a back up/other images on different cards. It’s just an extra fail safe that brings me a slight bit more of piece of mind. 

Some of the cards are upside down, so I know what ones I’ve used. They stay like that until I’m done with the entire process, and the files are into my data management system (1 hard drive backup, 1 fire safe back up, 1 off site).

Goddamn it bugs me that these aren’t all the same. But replacing them all just for my OCD is a bit much on the wallet right now. I digress. 

Think Tank battery holder

You need juice to run the show, and this is my chosen juice box. Like the design, and I like staying within the brand family as much as I can, so Think Tank gets my business. Four is a good number of back ups, given there is 2 in the camera itself. The batteries are normally good for an entire shoot, but having so many backups/contenciey plans calms me, and allows me to never have to worry about showing up somewhere with out the goods. Batteries are a mission critical item, you don’t wanna get caught with your pants down when it comes to shoot time.

NIKON BATTERIES

The Nikon brand is far superior to knock offs. Do I still own a few knock offs? Yes, I’m slowly replacing them as they break down, but given I mostly use Nikon brand exclusively now, the chances for them to fail have decreased significantly. Every knock off I’ve bought has failed under normal usage within one year, I’ve never had a name brand fail on me. Buy the cheaper ones if you must, just keep in mind they’re basically disposables.

Lenspen

A generic lens pen I got somewhere, I need to grab the Nikon name brand Nikon 7072 eventually, but this works great. I don’t need to keep a spray in my bag, as this handles the large majority of spots on the front element. 

MICROFIBER CLOTHS

I wear glasses, so I always have a few of these on my body, and a few fresh ones in every camera bag. I keep two fresh ones in my To Go bag at all times. Helps get the bigger beer spills and such that the Lens pen isn’t great for. Once I open one and use it, it graduates to going in my jeans for my glasses. 

EAR PLUGS

You wanna shoot a concert and not wear protection? That’s insane. Wear fuckin’ ear plugs. I’ve tried a bunch of different ones, and I will eventually get professionally fitted ones, but for now, I’ve found basic ones rated 32 or above work great. I buy these right now.

PHOTO PASS LANYARD

Most photo passes are stickers, and I hate sticking them on me or my clothes, because they tend to come off easily. So I keep a lanyard and a CGB pass holder on me for when I need to display my pass at all times. The Hunter lanyard was a Target exclusive a while ago, and is a bit more fashionable than a basic black cord. It works well as a pop of color as I normally wear all black. I may switch back to a basic cord, as the leather is a bit bulky in my bag, but for now, this is my go to.

BUSINESS CARDS

Yes, people still ask for them, especially people in more business type roles. This is a simple design, with my logo on one side, and my basics on the other. I always have a few in a sleeve in my bag just in case.  I use VistaPrint for the cards, good enough quality and decent prices.

STICKERS

My logo. Try to bless people I meet with the sticker treatment. A million uses, super cheap and fun to produce. Always have a few in my pack. I've ordered from a few places, but I dig StickerGuy the most.

PHONE POWER

You can't be caught without power, so I have a set of batteries/cord and brick in every possible pack I use. I find if I just have one set, I forget to switch them over when I change bags, so I just sucked it up and bought multiples. Keep one set in both my camera bags and one set in my daily wear backpack. I keep a couple of extra batteries freshly charged so I can just switch it out when necessary.  

For power, I currently have PowerXcel packs, that I grabbed when I worked for CVS and they had a major discount on them, but a lot of friends use Anker  so I'll grab those when I want to get some new ones. 

I order bulk Amazon basics USB cables, and Apple brand wall bricks. I would do Apple USB cords but the nylon versions tend to last longer under heavy usage.  

And yes, I ptouch label everything, because everybody has the same bricks on set, and it eliminates confusing cleaning scenarios at the end of the day, when we are all tired and cranky.

PHONE

Iphone X  

You are either an Apple person or an Android person, and I am in the Apple camp. The X is the best single piece of electronica I have ever used. A masterpiece of design and human interaction. A glorious experience. I go with the leather case option from Apple, with their Belkin screen protector on the front.

That’s All Folks.

Click the links and buy the stuff if ya want to support or be more like me. 

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