What’s in Your Bag

Hi friends! I have noticed lately some great articles and blog postings about “What’s in your camera bag” so I thought I would talk about my setup. I don’t have just one camera bag I use a number of different bags depending on the day and what I am shooting. I am going to talk about my Smoky Mountains set today. When I am out in an area like the Smoky Mountains I know I am going to have a long hike and I am mainly going to be shooting landscapes. I don’t use an actual bag but a Lowepro Stream and Field Technical vest with the Lowepro belt to go with it. This allows me to have a more modular system, so I can pick the equipment I need and the pouch that fits it the best. I can also be completely hands free just in case I tumble down the mountain, which does happen. My main camera set up is my Nikon D3 with my Nikon 24mm f2.8 lens. When I get out of the car I put it on my Gitzo Carbon Fiber tripod, put that over my shoulder and head out. This way I don’t need a bag that can fit the camera in. The only other lens I carry for the Nikon is my 50mm f1.2 lens. This gives me a completely different look then the wide angle and allows me to put the tripod away and hand hold if I want to. I have my Promaster wireless cable release and a back up Nikon MC-30 cable release, along with a level for the top of the camera. As any good photographer I always have a back up camera so I have my Sony NEX 5 with the 35mm f1.8 lens on it that I may or may not use but I have just in case. I also like to bring my Hasselblad X-pan and one roll of film to go with it just to keep people like Jonathan happy. beyond the cameras there is always a few thing I need. I always have a set of circular polarizing filters, extra memory cards, extra batteries, my Lieca binoculars, my walking stick, maybe some gloves, maybe a rain coat, and my Swiss Army knife. Being a big tree hunter I bring a tree measuring tape and a small note book to write in. The very last thing is a custom made survival kit just in case everything goes wrong and I have to spend the night out there. For me this is a perfect set of equipment that allows me to be prepared for anything that comes up.