Carrying stuff when you are shooting

[Michael Daily]

Kelty Redwing pack holds DD 8x10 with Comm. Ektar reversed and folded inside camera, 5 Holders, changing bag, Pentax Spotmeter, filters, loupe, darkcloth, Leica M2, two lenses, lunch. Giotto CF tripod slips into slot for skis. Water bottle in other outside enclosure. Total weight: about 30 lbs. Used in Rocky Mtn. Nat. Park on trails up to 5 miles@ 11,000 ft.

[Armin Seeholzer]

Hi
I use an old tramper rucksack for my 8x10 Burke & James with a bit foam inside, so I can walk with 3 lenses 2-3 miles!
But if possible I using my car as near is it goes!

[John Powers]

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.

Let me second Leonard Evans’ suggestion and add some of my own experience. Not only does this baby jogger have 20” wheels, it has shock absorbers to save the fragile, expensive parts, a 100 pound capacity and a locking emergency brake. http://babyjogger.com/performancesingle.htm Go for the newer version if you can with twin locking brakes on the rear wheels. Mine has a brake on the front wheel which can easily be over powered with weight and a down hill slide. The large wheels get you over puddles and dips in the terrain. They now offer one with 24” wheels as well as a 16” model. I got mine on eBay. The polite father was surprised at my intended use.

I carry a padded cooler bag in the seat full of lenses in open zip locks, dark cloth, meter, loupe, tools, First Aide kit, etc. I have drilled two holes in the foot rest. I mount the Phillips 8x10 on the Ries 600 and double tilt head with the spikes going through the foot rest holes and the camera and tripod bungied onto the padded cooler bag. There is a net bag or two for water bottles, a towel and sun screen. I have mounted a bicycle compass so if I see a neat shot I can figure out when to come back for the right sun angle. I have two bags, one a cheap Wal-Mart, the other a light back pack. Each bag holds 8 to 10 film holders. For dust and dark I wrap each two holders in the black plastic bags 16x20 print paper comes in. One or the other bag rides on the two rails connecting front and back axles under the seat. The bags are water and dust proof and the one I am carrying is bungied in place.

I’m just getting into 7x17. Yesterday I set up the Jogger a little differently. The cooler bag is the same. The Phillips 7x17 on top of the Ries A 100 and 250 double tilt tipped the Jogger over backwards. I took the camera off the head, folded it flat, stuck it in a water proof bag. The camera now fits in the seat behind the cooler bag. The tripod and head are bungied on top of the cooler bag with the spikes through the holes in the foot rest. I found a nylon back pack shell made by Body Glove Bags and sold at Dick’s Sporting Goods (a national chain sporting goods store) that holds four 7x17 film holders separately wrapped. This again straps under the seat on the rails. I haven’t weighed all this, but the Jogger is definitely sitting lower on the shocks than it was with the 8x10.

I am 66 years old with a bad back. When pushing the Jogger the only thing I carry is a cell phone. This Jogger tool allows me to walk on trails in the Cuyahoga National park, about five miles from home. Last summer we took it up to Acadia National Park in Maine and into the western mountains of NC. It will easily go up and down trails, cross fields, mud and through the woods. It won’t go up stairs easily or down rock cliffs, but neither do I. I can easily take this two miles round trip from the SUV. I walk a mile or two with the dog five days a week. Two miles with the rig is more my limit than the Jogger’s. The Jogger tool makes LF and ULF possible for an old guy, who could be stuffing his face, sitting at home in front of the tube, filling the arteries with cholesterol.

Enjoy,
John Powers

[j.e.simmons]

I strongly agree with the baby jogger. I carry my 8x10 - Black Beast (the heavier version of the C-1), a Zone VI heavy duty tripod, plus seven film holders, meters, filters, notebook, an RB67 and a few grafmatics - all about 100 pounds. I hike several miles through the Florida swamps in 90F+ heat with mine. I'm 58 with a bad back, too, and there's no way I could make that hike without the jogger.
juan

[Vick Vickery]

Someone might have mentioned this, but I didn't see it...if you don't want to lay things down for fear of them wandering off, alot of sporting goods outlets sell "fisherman's vests" that have about 20 pockets of all sizes that would hold most everything we use but the camera & tripod. Many even have a mesh body or back so they are cool on hot days.

[Dan Jolicoeur]

I'll 2nd or 3rd, that LL Bean, outfitter/guide, type of fishing shirt. Also Take a look at police/military mole packs, and vest like a swat team would wear.

Any good sporting store has the fishing shirts that are UV protecting. The long sleeves are nice for the black flies, and the material breathes real well. They are about $50, but you can find them on sale often. Especially in the mid summer to fall.
Regards,
Dan

[MIke Sherck]

My Calumet C400 with the Fuji 210mm lens goes over my shoulder on its tripod with the focusing cloth as a pad; everything else is in a small (6-pack sized) cooler bag: 9 4x5 film holders, loupe, meter, Lee filter holder and 4 filters in their box, the Fuji 150mm lens, notepad, pen, multi-tool, spare stuff (shutter release cable, rubber bands, lens caps, etc.) Pretty compact and, once I sawed 10" off the Calumet's monorail, not too inconvenient.

mjs

[Graham Patterson]

Wandering around the local hardware store at the weekend I spotted a small California Innovations shoulder cooler. Turns out it is just the right size to hold 10 5x4" film holders in Ziplocks in the main compartment, and a further four in the expandable lid pocket.

[Frank Petronio]

If I can't carry the mounted camera and tripod over my shoulder, it isn't photogenic.

While cases are nice, when I want to move fast I have these big Patagonia shorts with large butt pockets. I can shove several holders into each cheek. Meter in a holster on the belt, loupe on a string around my neck, darkcloth is whatever shirt I'm wearing. I may look stupid but I can get the shot with minimal fuss.

I like a nice big case in the car to work out of too. Plastic and mess bags for organizing and keeping things clean.

If I was a backpacker, I think Kerry Thalmann - Leonard Evans have it worked out really down to a science with the Toho.

[Chris Strobel]

Being down here in So.Cal. with plenty of beach and desert sand, I finally settled on the Roleez cart to tote around my C1 Black Beast, Large Ries Tripod, and cooler full of sodas.
My Lenses and 8x10 film holders are in Gnass Gear cases which get tucked into a daypack worn on my back.So far so good.