The Not So Obvious Things in My Bag

I was going through my favorite blog resources today and came across a blog that had an article about the “not so obvious things in my bag”. I thought it was quite funny and interesting that I decided to see what I usually pack in my bag aside from the usual gear. So I suppose the next question is – which bag? If you ask my wife, she’ll tell you I have as many camera bags as she has purses. Depending on how much I carry for a shoot, I can go as small as my AW200 Slingbag or as robust as my Pelican 1620 roller case. Either way, there are the “usual” things I pack from one shoot to the next. So what are they?

1. Two (1) gallon Zip-Lock bags: Why? I use it in combination with silica gel desiccants in case my camera gets wet due to water or condensation. I pack at least two bags so there’s one for each the camera body and lens. It’s come in handy on numerous occasions. They also come in very handy if you ever need to keep something in them. Zip-Lock bags are so useful in so many ways.

2. Desiccants: You never know when you’ll need these little guys. I tend to have them in all my bags anyway. Silica gel will help prevent condensation from forming inside cases. Condensation will form in a case when you take it from a warm to cooler environment. When I have multi-compartment bags, I usually have a small packet of silica gels in each compartment. I tend to buy them in bulk – eBay is a great resource.

3. A hand towel: Just in case my gear gets wet, I have something quick and absorbent to wipe it down then they immediately go inside the gallon bags.

4. Altoids: You can never be too cautious. Minty breath is always a plus! Right, girls?

5. LED keychain flashlight: Whether in I’m caught in the dark or just simply needing an accent light for a subject (i.e. rings or small objects I would like to artistically light).

6. Baby wipes: Don’t laugh. I carry around Huggies or similar wipes in my pack. I always like to wipe my hands clean. Maybe it’s simply the OC in me but they come in very handy. You’ll thank me when you’re caught in locations where the restroom facilities aren’t quite up to par with what you expect or perhaps when it it’s extremely hot and you simply would like to freshen up. Just pull a few out of the pack, place them in front of your car’s airconditioner and instant cold towelette. It’s sweet! We carried a pack of baby wipes while traveling in Cambodia in almost 100% humidity. It came in very handy.

7. Hand sanitizer: One can never be too careful.

8. Tylenol, Rolaids, and other medication: The last thing I would want to be in is at a location where I don’t have easy access to these things. So to prepare, I simply pack a few pills and put them in a small Zip-Lock bag. it’s saved me on numerous occasions.

9. Extra pair of contact lenses: I only started carrying this for a couple of years. What finally made me decide to bring an extra pair was after I had a session at Baker Beach in San Francisco. If you’ve never been there, then you won’t understand how windy it can get. Needless to say, I had to drive home with one eye shut. I was not a happy camper.

10. Mr. Pickles: See that little green guy in my Case logic pack? Yeah he’s like a little traveling gnome. We call him Mr. P. He’s pretty cool. He’s probably been to more places than you and I combined. He goes with me everywhere unless I’m not having a session then he gets to travel with my friends. He’s been everywhere from the Swiss Alps to the bottom of the ocean scuba diving. Go ahead. Check out his page and be his friend. Who knows, he might find himself in your bag someday.

While all of these might seem a bit trivial, you’ll never really know when they might come in handy. Maybe it’s me being OC once again but I’d rather be prepared than be sorry. So what’s in your bag?

Cheers!

PS: The owner of Kodak (George Eastman) named his company after the sound the he thought the camera shutter made.