Some thoughts on camera bags:

Those backpacks with the dividers are pretty cool looking, aren't they? Lay one down, open it up, and there's all your gear. Yummy organized goodness, chock full of shiny lenses and flash units and assorted plastic gadgets.
"Ooh, look at the professional photographer," say your friends and relatives.
Pretty handy. Only one problem:

Ya gotta remember to zip the darn zipper!

Let me tell you how I learned that lesson.


My wife and I went rappelling at Lake Mineral Wells State Park a couple weeks ago. (I took some great shots, too.) On the second day, I found my way to a ledge that was about one-third of the way down the cliff. I set my backpack down and started snapping away. It was my wife's first time rappelling, and I was having as much fun watching her as I was taking pictures.



I was having so much fun that I was in a bit of a hurry to rejoin everyone at the bottom when we decided to call it a day and go find some lunch. I slung the camera over my neck and arm, and grabbed the top handle of the backpack. Pay particular attention to that sentence. You'll notice that I didn't say anything about the zipper. That's how I came to watch my box of screw-on filters and a Canon 60mm macro lens go bouncing 40 feet down a series of rock ledges, trees and bushes. I cursed and yelled, enough that my friend thought I was the one falling and bouncing off of boulders. Lens and filters smashed, I was not a happy camper. I packed the rest of the equipment in the truck and announced that I was done taking pictures for the day, and that I would be tossing that backpack in the dumpster as soon as we got home. True to my word, as soon as we were done unpacking our camping gear, I pulled all my photo gear out, piled it on the dining room table, and tossed the backpack out onto the carport.

Grumbling and surly, I sat down with my laptop and started googling.
"Need a new lens...$800! Holy crap!...need a new bag...ugly...$200? Are they nuts?!?"

I was building a good head of steam being a grouch when my wife stopped me in my tracks. She turned to me and said, "I'm just thankful it was the lens that went down the hill and not you. I'm glad you're okay."

"Oh, sure, look on the bright side, why don't you?"

There went my snit. Have you ever inflated a balloon, and instead of tying it off, you just let go and it went thbhfbhfbbflfbltlbt across the room? That's how I felt.
Anyway, the silver lining is that I found a Canon 50mm macro lens on sale in Austin the next week. It has a slightly wider angle of view than the 60mm, which makes for easier composition while staying close enough to catch a lot of detail.

But I'm still shopping for a shoulder bag or a top-loading backpack. I may have to learn the hard way, but I do learn.