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What do you carry on "the street"


denny_rane

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I am asking, because when i see videos of well known photographers, they rarely carry much. Some of them DO, but a lot seem to just have a camera. Of course, if it is a video about THEM, they are being followed by a cameraman, maybe an assistant, and maybe an interviewer that might carry Gear/Extras for them.

However, that scenario will not apply to 99% of us

 

Do you guys carry a lot of "Stuff".?

When i am doing "Street Photography", i typically park my car, and walk for about 3-4 hours.

I have certainly done it with just the camera and some stuff in my pockets, but sooner or later that technique lets me down.

This is for 35mm.......

I use a backpack, not a shoulder bag.

I typically have :

Extra film.

Batteries.

Small bottle of cleaning fluid and some wipes.

A strap for my wrist in addition to the neck strap on the camera.

Hand meter.

Screw on filters

Cable release

Small tripod on the outside of the bag

Extra eye-cup

Some tape

A Rocket blaster

Pen and small note pad

Bottle of water...and i stuff my wallet, flip-phone and car keys in the bag as well.

I have a 50mm on my camera 90% of the time. But i also carry a 28 and an 85.

Like i say, i do not need this stuff All The Time, but it is very nice to have it when the need arises.

 

Most of you are probably shooting digital, with a zoom lens.?

Maybe you guys mostly worry about an extra battery.?

What do you have in your bag when you are out for the day.?

Thank You

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What I do NOT like about a backpack in the city, is that you cannot see what is going on behind you.

Is someone slicing open your pack with a razor, or opening your pack?

On a crowded bus, you may not feel someone opening your pack.

 

I would not put the tripod on the outside of the pack, as it screams CAMERA INSIDE.

Then again, if the pack is full, you may not have much choice. But then I would wrap it in a bag, so it isn't so clearly visible.

Or just not carry a tripod at all, which is how I normally travel.

 

How about lunch and/or snack bars?

 

Wallet, phone and keys I want in my pocket, or DEEP inside the pack where it can't be picked easily.

 

Depending on the weather, a tight packing folding poncho/raincoat and plastic bags.

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I always have my iPhone. I tend to use it more and more. Fits in my pocket . . . no backpack necessary for that.

 

I live IN the city so don't have to go TO it and can arrange my eating habits to fill myself up at home before I go out or plan on eating at one of the million or so restaurants in San Francisco.

 

If I take my dslr with me, which I often enough do, it fits into a relatively small and light camera bag that doesn't have much extra room. I rarely need an extra battery, since mine last for more than a day, except for unusual circumstances, though I keep one in my bag just in case. I never take a tripod unless I have a very specific idea in mind.

 

I take either my 50mm lens or my 24-105mm. The zoom is a lot heavier, so I've been using the 50mm more and more and enjoying doing so, just for the change of pace from having used the zoom as my go-to lens for many years now. I'll take flash along if I think I'll need it, but rarely do for street shooting.

 

I always have an extra card and a cleaning cloth in my camera bag. Don't need pen and paper because I can make notes on my phone.

 

I think much less about what equipment I'll bring along than about where I'm going and what I might want to accomplish in terms of the pics themselves.

 

I make do with a pretty sparse artillery.

 

Oh, and of course my transit pass so I can get around easily and cheaply. Fits easily in my wallet.

We didn't need dialogue. We had faces!
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A Nikon with the lens of the day, spare battery & SDHC, 1911 and spare magazine (everywhere my permit is good), and my wife to watch six.

 

This new old F2 I just bought weighs as much as my loaded 1911.

I don't think my wife watches my six as much as she used to......

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I do not know Anybody that can see behind them, whether they are Naked, or wearing a backpack.

 

You would have to be numb and deaf to not Feel/Hear somebody open up a backpack and remove a camera, much less slice it open with a Razor. I do not know about you, but i rode Muni for years, and never had that happen, or saw it happen. If i get on the N-Judah, and it is crowded, the backpack comes off and goes between my feet, otherwise it is going to be french kissing the person Next/Behind me.

 

A tripod "Screams Camera Inside".?

Not sure why that would be a bad thing, but if it is, you are in real trouble because you have a camera hanging from your neck, and are actively taking pictures with it. Don't you think The Camera Screams Camera.?

 

Again, i rode Muni for 25 years. If my keys are IN The Backpack, they are IN The Backpack. I never had somebody steel something that was inside may pack because it was the first thing on top and not the last thing on the bottom.....and did it without me being aware of it.

It sounds like you are writing a script for a B-Movie. :)

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. . . if I take too much stuff I spend to much time fiddling around with my equipment.

Well, think of it this way, in most big cities, you wouldn’t be the only guy fiddling around with his equipment on the street . . . :rolleyes:

 

[illustrative photo intentionally not included]

We didn't need dialogue. We had faces!
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1 camera, 1 lens. Nothing particularly conspicuous...too many people getting held up for their purses, Iphones or briefcases. KISS works for me. As far as things like hydration...plenty of places to stop & consume what's available on site.
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"]Well, think of it this way, in most big cities, you wouldn’t be the only guy fiddling around with his equipment on the street . . . Good one. I should really read before I post. Left myself open for that one. As for carrying a gun: Where the hell do you guys go? One of my personal rules is that I don’t go anywhere that I would need a firearm. I have been photographing on the street for 50 years all around the world and never had to shoot anyone.
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I don’t go anywhere that I would need a firearm.

Nor do I, but life is random. Part of the ethos I support is courtesy and respect, but J.B Books quote fills the bill for me.

“I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a-hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.”

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I carry either a Canon T5i with the Canon 17-55mm 2.8 or a Sony a6000 with the Sony/Zeiss 16-70mm 4.0. I seldom need anything else except maybe an extra battery and appropriate clothes for the weather. Too much stuff is too much stuff!
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. . . When i am doing "Street Photography", . . .

This is for 35mm.......

[a list of a lot of stuff] . . .

Most of you are probably shooting digital, with a zoom lens.?

Maybe you guys mostly worry about an extra battery.?

What do you have in your bag when you are out for the day.?

 

Gee that's a lot of "stuff" to lug around. Maybe you're asking the question because you might be thinking 'less is more'? Well, if you're not maybe you should.

 

To answer your question - No bag; yes, certainly an extra battery, Fuji x100s. I haven't yet got my head around exclusively using my smart phone, but I have been trying for a while. I think I am not comfortable because I like the fundamental tactility of 'a camera' and probably I won't change.

 

18365557-lg.jpg

Candid Portrait of iPhone Photographer, 'American Diner', Rural Australia

 

WW

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My Fed-2 wonders about with a Jupiter-8 on it. (2) rolls of film, a small Pilot meter & 2 filters, + a pack of Kodak lens tissue are in a small Lowepro 110 bag. No tripod but one of those collapsible 72" monopods. Here in Hawaii the 380 cannot join the journey, but the monopod would work like the Kendo stick that I spent many years with ! Aloha, Bill
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I've never been accosted doing street photography...did run quickly from a potentially dangerous situation once. A protective services specialist, hired by my firm to instruct staff on how to avoid dangerous situations or how to extricate oneself if caught in a situation, among other things suggested a rolled up newspaper propelled onto the base of the assailant's nose could buy one time....but then most muggers weren't using guns. In recent years, in my nearby metropolis, they are. As a photographer, I've always heard that a good solid heavy camera swung on a long strap could do a good David & Goliath job, but I'd hate to damage a camera on a thug. So going light, being inconspicuous, and being fully aware of my surroundings seems the best for me. As on old fart, I no longer head into potentially dangerous areas to "get the shot", as I once did.
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How to avoid being accosted, or feeling the need to carry a weapon, when making photographs on the street:

 

....... Don't be sneaky or deceptive when making photos with your camera.

 

Simple.

Edited by Brad_
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www.citysnaps.net
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