What’s In My Bag?

Do people still do this? Way back in the day on Flickr people would share what they lugged around for photos and daily life. Not sure if it’s still a thing, but if it isn’t I’m bringing it back. It was fun back then and we could use a little fun at the moment. Also, I haven’t done anything remotely close to a “product” photo for a quite a while and it looks like I could use some practice.

On we go.

First the bag. The bag is a medium sized Cafe Bag from Tom Bihn and it’s made in the 🇺🇸. I bought this bag ages ago, have carried it around nearly daily since then, and it is holding up like a champ. According Bihn’s website it has a volume of 500 cubic inches. Just enough room for, well, everything you see here. Great for taking to work or for a jaunt around town. Not so big that it might get awkward. Flying with it and a carry on backpack the airlines have never batted an eye. I clip a carabiner to the shoulder strap for a water bottle (and to signify my membership in: Clan I Clip Carabiners To Things). The little red bobble on the bottom right is a clip on safety light for walking at night and is secured to a loop for a stabilizer strap. Of course, the red color is awesome and shows up well around here in winter time. Longtime readers will have probably noticed that I’m somewhat focused on not getting killed by a speeding car while out for a walk or ride.

On to the contents!

This is pretty typical for what I lug around. On the very bottom is a stainless steel bento box for food. Bento boxes work great and help cut down on the amount of disposable plastic I use. Of course there’s at least one mask in there these days. Sigh. The phone I picked up from LG for $50 few years back. While a $50 phone does have its limits and drawbacks, it’s kinda amazing what you can with it. The battery is an extra for my flashlight; I keep it sealed up to keep it clean and dry and out of contact from anything that might drain it. The flashlight is a Streamlight Protac that runs on 1 CR123 battery. The light works great, it’s not overly loaded with setting and modes, is a good size for carrying around, has good battery life and, importantly, has a lanyard loop. Kinda hard to see, but there are two Swiss Army knives. I use two because I want to have both their scissors and a screwdriver and since I already owned those two it made more sense to just use those than buy another one. Of course there’s always reading material, either a book or my Kindle. I read constantly. The Altoids tin is actually a mini first-aid kit, I’ve done a separate post on that. Hand sanitizer and some Advil round out the medical supplies. The camera is an older version of the Sony RX100 and completely diggable. The light meter is alway bang-on and everything is easily adjustable. The pouch serves as my wallet and is also from Tom Bihn. I’m a bike commuter and a regular wallet will fall out of your pocket if you ride with it and fall open and spill its contents everywhere if you toss it in your bag. When my last regular wallet died I switched to this pouch which was laying around unused. The pouch is about 5 years old now, shows no sign of giving up the ghost soon, and works grand. Bottom left is a wool buff. Buffs are pretty much mandatory in winter in Wisconsin. And of course there’s a bandana: 1,001 uses but mostly for blowing my nose, which runs consistently when I’m out in the cold. There’s usually a Bic lighter (almost never used) in there as well, but mine seems to have gone missing.

So, there you go. I hope you enjoyed your sneak peek into the life and stuff of a not at all famous photographer.