Carrying stuff when you are shooting

[Ed Richards]

I am curious about how folks carry their shooting accessories in the field. Not packs and the like but when you are actively using the camera. I have a pack to get to sites, then I walk around with about 7 holders and what I need to shoot. Several places I shoot you would not want to set anything down, so I use abn old Zone VI belt with a couple of pockets for holders and a notepad, and separate pouch on the belt with a meter, loupe, and reading classes. I stick my main filter in with the notepad. It is pretty clunky and I am looking for alternatives. Vests are not a good choice in my very hot and humid climate.

[Louie Powell]

I use a Lowe Pro Trakker backpack to carry most of my stuff, with the miscellaneous odds and ends thrown into a separate over-the-shoulder bag. The auxiliary bag typically stays in the car unless I need something from it.

I also carry a table with me. Several years ago someone posted a suggestion on one of these boards to purchase one of those inexpensive (US$5 at Target) canvas folding tables to use as a support for the pack while setting up - something to provide a little elevation, and mainly to avoid having to put the pack down in the muck/dust/whatever is inevitably found in the vicinity of good image material.

Yesterday, my wife and I drove out to Hanford Mills, a restored and fully functional 19th century sawmill that uses a waterwheel and/or steam engine to power a line shaft system that runs all of the milling equipment via belts and pulleys - everything from large log-splitting saws to table saws, band saws, planers, moulding cutters, and lathes, as well as a variety of specialty tools. A real mechanical engineering marvel and toy shop for anyone who likes old tools. I found several great images, and simply put the table in a corner while I set up the camera, composed and made the picture. There were people around - but not enough to be a major concern (I would never do that in a large crowd) - and besides, this was in the boonies up upstate NY where people tend to be nice and not steal everything that isn't bolted down.

[Bill_1856]

An extra battery in my pocket and a large CF card is all that...whoops, I mean...anything (except the tripod) that doesn't go conveniently into my over-the-shoulder Domke F2 bag stays in the truck. If there's some reason that I can't set it on the ground or it's windy then I hang it from the tripod. (Dang, you nearly caught me there.)

[David A. Goldfarb]

I usually carry my things in a knapsack or a bag, depending on which camera I'm using, and if I can't put my bag down or it doesn't make sense to carry it, I hang it from the tripod. I carry my tripod on a strap that goes over my shoulder.

I like ExOfficio safari-type shirts, which have very generous pockets--big enough for a 4x5" Grafmatic, and they are very cool in hot weather. I have my meter and loupe on lanyards, so I can hang them around my neck or from the tripod.

[Ed Richards]

> I like ExOfficio safari-type shirts

I use LL Bean fishing shirts and pants. Lots of pockets, light, quick drying fabric. I do use the lanyards, but I need reading glasses to see the GG, a meter, and a loupe, and they get tangled.

[Alan Davenport]

I'm not sure there's any solution that will leave you less hot and sweaty than a vest, Ed. Large format stuff is simply, well, large. I generally keep everything in a LowePro Super Trekker; it will hold as much as I want to carry and a bit more. If I know I'm going to be unable to lay the pack down, I've got a vest that holds enough to work with and isn't too bad. Granted I don't live in a hot and humid area. Thing is, the problem (for you) may be the humidity, not the vest...

[Keith Pitman]

I use the large Tamrac shoulder bag that converts to a backpack. It makes an uncomfortable backpack if you try to hike with it, but it's a great shoulder bag with room for everything and then some.

[bruce terry]

f/64 pack, sans side bags and waist belt, carried fairly easily by the side strap for very short distances. Contains the 8x10, light old 9 1/2" and 19" lenses, spot mtr, loupe, notepad, cloth and two holders. Shoulder-straps to the ground, it's top-load design is quick to work with without picking up ground junk. If sand or mud are in the offing I bring along a rolled rattan mat. Spare holders stay back in the car.

The elephant in the room is the A100-2 tripod+accompanying head. A real pain to move around, even my wife refuses to carry it. But always worth the effort for the stability it affords - not for just the camera but for older, unstable me (used to have a J600 but came dangerously close to putting all my weight on it in several instances).

Wish I discovered LF about 30 years ago when I was light on my feet!

[darr]

I bring my husband along since he says he's my "mule".

[Leonard Evens]

I keep my Toho FC-45X with 4 lenses in a relatively small photographer's back pack I bought many years ago. I put it, film holders, my tripod, and other accessories, such as exposure meter, filters, etc. in a Baby Jogger jogging stroller with 20 inch wheels. It can go over grass and gravel without problems, but it is difficult to use it if any significant climbing or going over rough trails is necessary. In such a situation, I could leave the Baby Jogger behind and carry what I need on my back or hanging from my belt. I have a bad back, so generally I try to avoid carrying much weight on my person, and one other advantage of the Baby Jogger is that I can use the top of the canopy as a platform on which to lay things out. That avoids having to bend over.