This new blog has all kinds of fun stuff. If you look at the top of the page you will see many new links that the other blog didn’t have. Then you will see a few other fun tricks like footnotes, ((Isn’t this cool how you can add footnotes to a post?)) and LightBox. LightBox will work with one or a series of images and pop them up on your screen while darkening the rest of the screen. Click on the photo of the Mitchell Kanashkevich bog header in this post for a sample. This gives you are great way to view an image without leaving the site. So have fun, explore and keep coming back for more news and opinions. And don’t forget to update your subscriptions and change any links you have to this blog.

The blogsite of Mitchell Kanashkevich.

Speaking of blogs and news and Mitchell Kanashkevich. My friend, Mitchell, has entered the blogging world. Mitchell is an outstanding photographer and I mean outstanding, be sure and check out his blog HERE and his website HERE. You will be very impressed.

By Matt Brandon

I have gone through many camera bags. I have used and abused several Lowepro bags and a ThinkTank Photo bag or two. I have finally come to the conclusion there is no one perfect bag. You don’t know how hard that is to say. It has been my quest to find that all elusive perfect bag. For trekking with a camera, the Lowepro Vertex 200 AW II is really close. But for international travel and shooting in urban environments I have yet to find the perfect bag. I guess it is because of all the different settings I find myself in, from airports and airplanes to hot and humid crowded streets. But I certainly have found a winning combination for now. It is a combination of a carryon and a modular belt system.

I have for the past year or so used the Lowepro Stealth Reporter 200 when I shoot in urban environments. I like the size and ease of access to the gear. But a couple of things I don’t like is that it doesn’t provide enough pockets and storage space to use as a carryon, and it is a little too big to stick in my suitcase. Plus, as I get older, all the weight of gear hanging off my shoulder all day gets really old. So what I have come up with is a bit of a jury rig for sure, but it seems to work.

I now carry or rather pull, a North Face Doubletrack 21” convertible pack. This bag is carry-on-legal and comes with a zip off backpack for easy-to-access essentials like my noise reduction headphones, journal, pens, passport and reading material. In the main compartment of the Doubletrack I pack my lens, camera body, passport drives, cables and card readers as well as my 17” MacBook Pro. Here is the cool part that I have to pat myself on my back about: I pack all this gear in ThinkTank’s Modular Pro modules and the computer goes into the ThinkTank’s Artificial Intelligence 17. This has two advantages over standard gear wraps. Where gear wraps may save a few inches of space they do only one thing, protect the gear. But the modules protect the gear and serve as a carry system once I arrive on site. Not only do the modules carry each lens and the body, I also pack the Pro Speed Belt and Pixel Racing Harness. So I arrive ready to shoot even if my checked bags get lost in Dubai.

This last trip to Sumatra, Indonesia was the first time I shot using the modular system. I have to confess, it took a little getting used to, but after an hour or so shooting in 98º heat and the same humidity, I loved it. I am convinced that this system has saved my back and has kept me cooler than any vest could do. I have always liked the feel of vests and found them helpful, but I have yet to find one that was not uncomfortably hot to wear.

On this trip, I used only one body, but took my standard work horse set of lens; 70-200/2.8, 24-70/2.8, 85/1.8 (I love this lens!) and my 17-40/4. I used each of these equally. The first day I shot with just the Pro Speed Belt. But soon found with all the sweating I was doing and the weight of the lens, the belt began to slip down my waste and I found my self always pulling it back up to above my hips where it felt comfortable. But, once I attached the Pixel Racing Harness all was fine. The weight was distributed very comfortably between my hips and my shoulders. I could even loosen up the belt again after having tightened it before. Breathing is enjoyable and the harness allowed me to do it once more.
Here is a little trick I learned on this trip. In high humidity I sweat…a lot. It won’t take long before I have sweat burning in my eyes and if I have sunscreen on, it is very painful and can really impede shooting. The Pixel Racing Harness has D rings on the shoulder straps and two little stretchy spandex type pockets. I used one of the small pockets to put my phone/gps in. This assured that the gps got great reception while I was shooting. I wanted this as I was planning to geotag my images from this trip. The D ring came in very handy. I had bought a small MSR microfiber towel for travel in Indonesia. Usually I take a keffiyeh, a middle eastern scarf along and throw it over my neck. It doubles as a rag to wipe the sweat and as a “do-rag” to protect from the sun. But at times it gets in the way. On this trip I took the microfiber towel and clipped it to the D ring on the harness and then stuffed the remainder of the towel in the module designed for a water bottle. It worked perfectly. This is a small thing, but really helpful, as the towel is very absorbent and stuffing it into the water bottle module kept it out of the way while I was shooting and with it being microfiber, at night I would wash it out and it would be dry by morning.

The way I had the belt configured was with four modules. On the left was the water bottle module called R U Thirsty? and the Lens Changer 75 for my 70-200. On the right I had the Lens Changer 50: For my 24-70 with hood attached and the Lens Drop In. One aspect I was not thrilled with, but it was only a minor irritant, was that once I put the harness on, the back of the belt became wasted space. I am not flexible enough to twist around and reach and use any module on the small of my back and with the harness on I could not spin the belt around to the front like I could before. So this left me with only four modules and one of those I was using to store my towel. And when it came time to change lenses, I felt like I needed an extra hand. I would liked to have had one more module as a place to put the lens I was removing in order to free up my hands to grab the other lens as needed. Maybe not an issue for others, but for me it was an irritant for sure. Having just looked at ThinkTanks website, I think they may have resolved this issue with their new Belly Dancer harness. This looks complicated but efficient. It is nothing more than a harness attached backwards (see image) thus giving you more space in the front where the buckle once was. Brilliant! Also they have a new set of modules they call their Skin Set, lighter weight and no padding. It remains to be seen if they will work as a way to pack the lens in my carryon.

Over all I was very happy with the ThinkTank Pro Modular system. It functioned well, saved my back and kept me from overheating. The only downside was that once I attached the harness, I lost some usable space on the belt. But this seems to be resolved in the new system using the Belly Dancer harness

In closing this review, I want to thank Brian and the folks at ThinkTank for their participation in this year’s Lumen Dei Workshop in India.

How I pack the The North Face Doubletrack 21″ :

1. ThinkTank’s Artificial Intelligence 17; 17” MacBook Pro
2. ThinkTank’s Lens Changer 75; 70-200/2.8
3. ThinkTank’s Lens Changer 50; 24-70/2.8
4. ThinkTank’s Speed Changer; 5D Body
5. ThinkTank’s Lens Changer 25; 17-40/4
6. ThinkTank’s Lens Drop In; 85/1.8
7. LowePro Cable bag
8. ThinkTank’s Pixel Racing Harness
9. ThinkTank’s Speed Belt
10. Compartment for a change of clothing
11. The North Face Doubletrack Zip off Daypack
12. The North Face Doubletrack 21” Carryon
13. ThinkTank’s Pixel Pocket Rocket -Flash Card Storage
14. ThinkTank’s Bum Bag; Sony Noise Canceling Headphones

Labels: Gear, Sponsors, Travel

David Duchemin just posted his packing list for the Lumen Dei workshop and his time in Nepal. The pdf file is HERE. I took his list and went one step further. I transferred his list over to Lists.Zenbe.com. Zenbe is a online list that syncs with your iPod Touch or iPhone through the Zenbe List app available at the Apple Apps Store. I don’t have an iPhone, but I do have a iPod Touch and so I found this very helpful. Maybe Zenbe List will one day make the list collapsible or hierarchical/nested lists, but for now it is just a series of individual list. Check themout below.

You can view the lists here:

Photographic Packing list
Computer/Electronics Packing List
Documents, Etc. Packing List
Packing/Bags List
Miscellaneous Items Packing list
Trekking Gear Packing List
Toiletries & Personal Stuff Packing LIst

Now speaking of Mpix, these guys are currently offering a discount on NAPP membership. Join before July 30th and NAPP will reduce the annual membership from $99 to $89. As an added gift, NAPP will send you The Adobe Photoshop CS3 for Beginners DVD featuring Dave Cross ($69.99 US value). This best-selling DVD will walk you through a full range of Photoshop® functions, tools and techniques. Very cool! Too bad I am already a member.

For more details follow the link HERE to Mpixs.

Photos by David duChemim

Today is my birthday. I am 50 ~~ a half a century old. HOLY COW!! I don’t feel fifty. I don’t feel twenty-five either, but I certainly don’t feel fifty. I think I am growing old gracefully. . . at least I am not kicking and screaming. If truth be known, if I was to kick I might hurt my back. Most people who don’t know how old I am, think I am in my early forties. I don’t think they are being just polite. I think it takes staying a least a few years younger at heart to do what I do. To have a healthy vibrant relationship with my 11 year old daughter. That is hard physical work. To move the whole family to a foreign country and a city we have never even set foot in before — that takes youthful insanity. To have a new and growing career in travel photography is enough to keep your heart pumping. I like my life right now. I have a great family. I am married to a great lady who is supportive in so many ways. She believes in my work and in me personally. My daughter is smart and respectful, well at least for now. She is not yet a teenager. I’ll check back in on this post five years from now. I have great friends and am still making new friends all the time. I have friends that have been with me for many years and new friends that will be with me for many years to come. I have friends that are not afraid to lay things out the way they are and not pull punches. I have photographer friends and co-workers who will tell me when a image is crap.

Do I have any regrets over the past 50 years? Nothing I think I have any control over. God is sovereign and I rest in that. This is not kismet. That is different. There is a control in my life that I cannot live without. This is not a forum to be preachy, but the fact is, my faith is of utmost importance to me. I cannot continue on for another day, let alone another 50 without knowing God is in control.

So, it has been a great fifty years. I miss my dad who passed away on April 3rd back in 1996. I think he would have been proud of me and my images, in fact I know he would have. But I have no regrets.

Now, you go out and have a great day, on my birthday.

Click on the photos to enlarge them.

I have gone through many camera bags. I have used and abused several Lowepro bags and a ThinkTank Photo bag or two. I have finally come to the conclusion there is no one perfect bag. You don’t know how hard that is to say. It has been my quest to find that all elusive perfect bag. For trekking with a camera, the Lowepro Vertex 200 AW II is really close. But for international travel and shooting in urban environments I have yet to find the perfect bag. I guess it is because of all the different settings I find myself in, from airports and airplanes to hot and humid crowded streets. But I certainly have found a winning combination for now. It is a combination of a carryon and a modular belt system.

I have for the past year or so used the Lowepro Stealth Reporter 200 when I shoot in urban environments. I like the size and ease of access to the gear. But a couple of things I don’t like is that it doesn’t provide enough pockets and storage space to use as a carryon, and it is a little too big to stick in my suitcase. Plus, as I get older, all the weight of gear hanging off my shoulder all day gets really old. So what I have come up with is a bit of a jury rig for sure, but it seems to work.

I now carry or rather pull, a North Face Doubletrack 21” convertible pack. This bag is carry-on-legal and comes with a zip off backpack for easy-to-access essentials like my noise reduction headphones, journal, pens, passport and reading material. In the main compartment of the Doubletrack I pack my lens, camera body, passport drives, cables and card readers as well as my 17” MacBook Pro. Here is the cool part that I have to pat myself on my back about: I pack all this gear in ThinkTank’s Modular Pro modules and the computer goes into the ThinkTank’s Artificial Intelligence 17. This has two advantages over standard gear wraps. Where gear wraps may save a few inches of space they do only one thing, protect the gear. But the modules protect the gear and serve as a carry system once I arrive on site. Not only do the modules carry each lens and the body, I also pack the Pro Speed Belt and Pixel Racing Harness. So I arrive ready to shoot even if my checked bags get lost in Dubai.

This last trip to Sumatra, Indonesia was the first time I shot using the modular system. I have to confess, it took a little getting used to, but after an hour or so shooting in 98º heat and the same humidity, I loved it. I am convinced that this system has saved my back and has kept me cooler than any vest could do. I have always liked the feel of vests and found them helpful, but I have yet to find one that was not uncomfortably hot to wear.

On this trip, I used only one body, but took my standard work horse set of lens; 70-200/2.8, 24-70/2.8, 85/1.8 (I love this lens!) and my 17-40/4. I used each of these equally. The first day I shot with just the Pro Speed Belt. But soon found with all the sweating I was doing and the weight of the lens, the belt began to slip down my waste and I found my self always pulling it back up to above my hips where it felt comfortable. But, once I attached the Pixel Racing Harness all was fine. The weight was distributed very comfortably between my hips and my shoulders. I could even loosen up the belt again after having tightened it before. Breathing is enjoyable and the harness allowed me to do it once more.
Here is a little trick I learned on this trip. In high humidity I sweat…a lot. It won’t take long before I have sweat burning in my eyes and if I have sunscreen on, it is very painful and can really impede shooting. The Pixel Racing Harness has D rings on the shoulder straps and two little stretchy spandex type pockets. I used one of the small pockets to put my phone/gps in. This assured that the gps got great reception while I was shooting. I wanted this as I was planning to geotag my images from this trip. The D ring came in very handy. I had bought a small MSR microfiber towel for travel in Indonesia. Usually I take a keffiyeh, a middle eastern scarf along and throw it over my neck. It doubles as a rag to wipe the sweat and as a “do-rag” to protect from the sun. But at times it gets in the way. On this trip I took the microfiber towel and clipped it to the D ring on the harness and then stuffed the remainder of the towel in the module designed for a water bottle. It worked perfectly. This is a small thing, but really helpful, as the towel is very absorbent and stuffing it into the water bottle module kept it out of the way while I was shooting and with it being microfiber, at night I would wash it out and it would be dry by morning.

The way I had the belt configured was with four modules. On the left was the water bottle module called R U Thirsty? and the Lens Changer 75 for my 70-200. On the right I had the Lens Changer 50: For my 24-70 with hood attached and the Lens Drop In. One aspect I was not thrilled with, but it was only a minor irritant, was that once I put the harness on, the back of the belt became wasted space. I am not flexible enough to twist around and reach and use any module on the small of my back and with the harness on I could not spin the belt around to the front like I could before. So this left me with only four modules and one of those I was using to store my towel. And when it came time to change lenses, I felt like I needed an extra hand. I would liked to have had one more module as a place to put the lens I was removing in order to free up my hands to grab the other lens as needed. Maybe not an issue for others, but for me it was an
irritant for sure. Having just looked at ThinkTanks website, I think they may have resolved this issue with their new Belly Dancer harness. This looks complicated but efficient. It is nothing more than a harness attached backwards (see image) thus giving you more space in the front where the buckle once was. Brilliant! Also they have a new set of modules they call their Skin Set, lighter weight and no padding. It remains to be seen if they will work as a way to pack the lens in my carryon.

Over all I was very happy with the ThinkTank Pro Modular system. It functioned well, saved my back and kept me from overheating. The only downside was that once I attached the harness, I lost some usable space on the belt. But this seems to be resolved in the new system using the Belly Dancer harness

In closing this review, I want to thank Brian and the folks at ThinkTank for their participation in this year’s Lumen Dei Workshop in India.

How I pack the The North Face Doubletrack 21″ :

1. ThinkTank’s Artificial Intelligence 17; 17” MacBook Pro
2. ThinkTank’s Lens Changer 75; 70-200/2.8
3. ThinkTank’s Lens Changer 50; 24-70/2.8
4. ThinkTank’s Speed Changer; 5D Body
5. ThinkTank’s Lens Changer 25; 17-40/4
6. ThinkTank’s Lens Drop In; 85/1.8
7. LowePro Cable bag
8. ThinkTank’s Pixel Racing Harness
9. ThinkTank’s Speed Belt
10. Compartment for a change of clothing
11. The North Face Doubletrack Zip off Daypack
12. The North Face Doubletrack 21” Carryon
13. ThinkTank’s Pixel Pocket Rocket -Flash Card Storage
14. ThinkTank’s Bum Bag; Sony Noise Canceling Headphones

The Tata Group is huge, I mean monstrous. If you are not living in India, you may have no concept. But those of you that do, know what I mean. They make everything from refrigerators to tea and coffee, from watches to cell services. The last week of 2007, Tata Motors announced that they are going to buy Jaguar and Land Rover. Hmm, maybe they are going to take over the world?

One of the most informative videos I have viewed in a while is Chase’s video on the cases he uses and the way he packs them. All kinds of useful stuff here and some of it isn’t even about the cases or gear, it is about something so simple that many of us wouldn’t think of. Go to the TSA website and print out the latest rules, simple. Did you know the TSA has no issues about you carrying on an additional bag of camera gear? From the tsa.gov website: “You may carry one (1) bag of photographic equipment in addition to one (1) carry-on and one (1) personal item through the screening checkpoint.” Now that does not prohibit you from being waylaid by the airlines themselves. Anyway, a helpful video, check it out.