Generally, I don´t care for these types of articles because it is usually about showing off pretty gear... but this one varied enough that it kept my interest. I don´t know the photographers ...
https://medium.com/@VIIPhoto/whats-in-your-bag-vii-photographers-show-us-their-gear-c9c35129f594
https://medium.com/@VIIPhoto/whats-in-your-bag-vii-photographers-show-us-their-gear-c9c35129f594
Ko.Fe.
Lenses 35/21 Gears 46/20
If I see more than two cameras and more than two lenses, the only comment I have - not so much of photograper, but gearhead. I was like this, but quit.
Well, HCB with 35, 50 and 90, plus three M3 is above and all time exclusion.
Well, HCB with 35, 50 and 90, plus three M3 is above and all time exclusion.
robert blu
quiet photographer
Love the simplicity of Anush Babajanyan' s bag (pity it's not an RF camera!) and on of the Ashley Gilbertson's xt2, not so stealth
robert
robert
PKR
Veteran
Hi John;
VII is a photo agency started by Stanmeyer, Kashi and one other. John Stanmeyer works a lot for NatGeo as does Kashi .
They have a reputation for finding new talent. People who aren't interested in dealing with Magnum's inner politics, or people who places like Magnum over looked.
Stanmeyer won the world press photo award a while back. It's a big deal for someone in his niche of the photojournalism biz.
https://www.worldpressphoto.org/people/john-stanmeyer
https://www.nicholesobecki.com/about/
The gear shown gets lugged all over the world by these photographers. It's their tool bag. They don't carry anything they don't need. The days of paid assistants to help lug gear are over for most projects.
Best, pkr
creenus
Established
That's a great article. I really like the painted Fuji camera. I enjoy seeing all the gear professionals use.
My wife is a nurse practitioner and EMT intermediate and she bought me a gunshot wound kit that goes in my messenger bag. It has Quikclot, a tourniquet and bandages. I work at a junior college in New Mexico. I don't expect I'll ever need to use it - but there was a nearby high school double fatality shooting not too long ago, so ...
My wife is a nurse practitioner and EMT intermediate and she bought me a gunshot wound kit that goes in my messenger bag. It has Quikclot, a tourniquet and bandages. I work at a junior college in New Mexico. I don't expect I'll ever need to use it - but there was a nearby high school double fatality shooting not too long ago, so ...
PKR
Veteran
Love the simplicity of Anush Babajanyan' s bag (pity it's not an RF camera!) and on of the Ashley Gilbertson's xt2, not so stealth
robert
Hi Robert;
If you're out in the field working, your camera must work flawlessly. Especially if just carrying one. HCB took two, and his were easy to repair. There are no places to get cameras repaired in remote parts of the world. Digital cameras require a lot of electronics test equipment and few people repair mechanical cameras today.
Nikon and Canon cameras are often chosen because they offer Pros factory support. If my Nikon dies, I'll have another in 24 hours via Fed-X from NPS, Nikon pro services. Canon offers the same kind of support. Fuji is beginning to do this, I think. So, cameras are often chosen for reliability and factory support. Leica does nothing to support professional photographers. And, their digital cameras have had problems over the past few years. I don't think Leica has any interest in the Pro market. People who can afford several digital bodies like Ralph Gibson (and he's their current golden boy) and mostly do their commercial work in the first world, can use anything they like. Joey L. travels to rural Africa with a Phase One. They can be touchy. But, he carries Canon gear along too.
Does this make sense?
robert blu
quiet photographer
PKR
Veteran
Yes, of course it makes sense. I'm so happy to be a pure amateur...
robert
It's actually too bad pros don't have more practical choices. I use my old Nikon F3 for film work. I have 3 of them. They are sturdy and Nikon produced the camera for years and they are inexpensive on the used market.
I generally carry one camera with a 35mm lens and some film. I may put a 28 in the bag. I use a 50 for portraits. That's it.
My digital gear is still a fair amount of stuff, even after trimming it down. I almost only use it for work related things.
Being an amateur is a good thing. You can do whatever you like, whenever you like.
pkr
I don't think you can categorically say this... seems to me that all of the equipment probably has a purpose. While it is popular for internet gear forum dwellers to think they need to fill out an entire lens line up from 10mm - 600mm, it is equally popular for some of us to proclaim you only need one body and one lens. The difference here is that they are doing it for a living and probably know exactly what they need. I thought that their equipment was modest really.
As others have mentioned, us amateurs are lucky in that we only have to use what we want... and not do anything we don't want to do. People who do it for a living aren't as lucky. PKR has filled us in on the rest of the reasons.
davidnewtonguitars
Family Snaps
Very interesting, thanks for posting.
PKR
Veteran
HCB carried two M3 bodies and a 35mm lens. The spare body and 35 were kept with his clothing. The body as a backup and the lens to use when needed. He used a 35mm lens a lot when working in the US. Most pros carry a backup camera. It's usually identical to the primary user. With digital cameras, cameras often need to be turned off and rebooted when lens changes are made. Also, removing a lens in the field can introduce dust into the mirror box. So, it's safer, especially in bad environments, when working quickly, to have two bodies fitted with lenses (cleaning a sensor in the field is a big problem.. I've done it, it's not fun.). Packing camera gear around isn't fun. Especially in the heat. Most, take only what they need for the way they work. I use a tripod a lot. It's in the trunk of my car. I would only fly with it if I was being paid. The less you have to worry about cameras, the more you can get done.
PKR
Veteran
If I see more than two cameras and more than two lenses, the only comment I have - not so much of photograper, but gearhead. I was like this, but quit.
Well, HCB with 35, 50 and 90, plus three M3 is above and all time exclusion.
Did you read Stanmeyer's note?
"•Canon 24–70mm f4 IS (not pictured, lost in Kazakhstan, ordering another)"
How often do you lose a lens? How often is your gear ripped off when traveling? Nick Nichols had a cab driver take off with all his gear as soon as he got out of the cab in SA. The police caught the driver and were going to kill him. Nick stepped in and saved the guy's life. Ever had that happen?
Traveling with expensive camera gear in poor countries is dangerous. One camera w/lens might be sold for more than some locals make in a year.
Dogman
Veteran
I haven't worked as a photographer in 25+ years but I always carried two bodies and several lenses at the time. I changed lenses often...this was before zooms were good enough to use professionally. As an amateur with digital equipment, I either carry a single body with lens or I carry a bag with three bodies, each with a lens. Sensors attract dust and changing lenses opens the camera and increases this risk when in the field. I avoid this by avoiding lens changing. Or maybe I'm just too lazy to clean my cameras very often. Either way, I tend to dedicate a body to a lens and just use the camera like the lens is fixed. I buy used but reliable cameras so the cost is not really that bad.
giganova
Well-known
Fascinating what people carry around ... gas mask, sound blimps, pneumatic remote shutter, wet collodium pates, dental floss, gaffer tape, chemically resistant triple lab tags!
giganova
Well-known
Only in the USA! :bang:
PKR
Veteran
I don't work in the places that Haviv does. If I did, I might pack the same stuff..
"Ron Haviv was an accomplished student and graduate of Northern Valley Demarest High School in 1983, and later went on to graduate from New York University.[2] Since the end of the Cold War he has covered conflict and other humanitarian crises worldwide. Haviv is known for his broad documentation of the Yugoslav Wars: the battle of Vukovar in Croatia, the Siege of Sarajevo, the atrocities committed at Serb concentration camps in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the practice of ethnic cleansing as exhibited by Arkan's Tigers.[3]
He has also photographed the city of Juárez,[4] a battleground of the Mexican Drug War where civilian, law enforcement and cartel member casualties occur daily.[5] Additionally, Haviv is noted for his coverage of the destruction of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, as well as the subsequent Cholera epidemic, and celebrity support and involvement in its reconstruction. Haviv's photography also sheds light on malnutrition in Bangladesh, clashes between Los Angeles gangs and police forces, the 2009 Afghan presidential elections, the Sri Lankan Civil War, the struggle for children in Darfur, among many other situations of conflict."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Haviv
x
peterm1
Veteran
Jeeez, I wonder if those people have bad backs. These days I am forced to keep it light.
michaelwj
----------------
Thanks, an interesting read.
What I find most interesting is the accessories that people take rather than the camera/lens combos. I note that not a single one of the bags mentions filters; not a ND, polariser, UV, or B&W colour contrast filter in sight. The only filter even mentioned is for a gas mask...
What I find most interesting is the accessories that people take rather than the camera/lens combos. I note that not a single one of the bags mentions filters; not a ND, polariser, UV, or B&W colour contrast filter in sight. The only filter even mentioned is for a gas mask...
Good point...