I spend most of my working life out in the field, on shoots, at hunts,
trials, tests and gundog training classes and such like, and carrying
kit around has taken some refining.
Instinct would say the less gear you take the better, shove it in your pockets and away we go.
Over the last few years I have learnt that "things" (including expensive
memory cards and batteries) stowed in a pocket can inadvertently be
lost when retrieving a cleaning cloth or sweetie. Likewise there is
nothing worse than having spent a day in the field without food or drink
and then arriving back at the car and KNOWING you put the keys in THAT
pocket .. but where are they now. No one is going to help you go back
and find them, believe me I know !!
WHAT BAG AND WHAT GOES IN IT ....
- My mini-kit bag is in fact a small game bag which I bought from the lovely Helen at Hi Lost. My first "game bag" to take to gundog training sessions when the lovely Bob and I started on our adventure, we have now progressed to a full size game bag and this little beauty has a new role in life ..Caro's Kit Bag, and what I can't get in it doesn't need to be coming to work.
- The most important for me is some "snap" ... a piece of fruit, a chocolate bar and a drink, I can get a sarnie in as well if it's going to be a long day. In the beginning I used to shove a mars bar in my coat along with everything else, bar the drink because it was just too bulky, and by the end of the day was exhaused and de-hyrdated... not good on either count especially if you have a long drive home ahead of you. Don't forgo the sustenance ... if you are on form, your photography is on form.
- Hankies Hankies everywhere and never one when you need it. I have clear filters over my lenses and am happy to clean with a nice soft, clean cotton cloth (this is my choice you need to read up and do what's right for you and your kit) Hankies are perfeect for this and I have plenty, including the odd lucky one. I always make sure that I have at least two for the camera and one for my nose.
- My Goodie Bag... this little bag was made and given to me by a very lovely friend, Caroline Griffin-Woods ( and for those of you that know her, if you ask her nicely I'm sure she will start a production line of these). In my goodie bag are my memory cards and spare batteries. Empty cards are in the bag, they go into camera and then once full go into my inside jacket pocket. This is to make sure I don't inadvertently re-use a card.
- Along with all the above are my KEYS, stored in the inside zipper pocket of the bag.
- A 5.00 note and a pound coin in case of emergencies.
- My spare chapstick (the current one is in my jacket)
- Spare pair of gloves (as per yesterdays blog)
The lovely long strap means I can sling this across me, throw it round
the back and have two free hands to work the camera's, knowing that
everything is safe.
Oh and I always pack my bag, bar the snap, the night before. Nothing
worse than rushing like a loon the morning of a shoot and leaving the
spare batteries behind.
ON THE LEGS ....
The big question "what waterproofs do
you wear ?" .. I hate to be asked this. We all spend so much money
trying to keep ourselves dry that it's scary to recommend anything.
For me waterproofs have to be hard wearing and keep my dry. Simple ?? ... NOT SO.
If you take your dog training, or to a
test or trial, or even out beating you tend to be stood up or walking
around. You tend to wear your waterproofs for a few months of the year
(hopefully) and then the ground dries up, the season ends and the
waterproofs go away .... but if you are a fieldsports photographer you
spend all your time on your knees in the mud and the filth .. and then
when the winter passes you still have your waterproofs on because you
are still grovelling around on the edge of lakes (water training and
working tests) and just generally getting pretty mucky.
In my experience, when waterproofs start
to leak it tends to be round the knees, so whatever I choose needs to
be properly tough.
I have yet to find the perfect pair...
and anyone who reads this that has found a pair that do stand up, please
let me know. My current pair are Sealand Crieff Over Trousers, very
very kindly donated to my cause by a very good friend who found them too
long.
They have lasted me 6 months so far and I haven't as yet got wet. They
have full length side zips, two zips to each leg which means you can, if
you need to, put them on without taking your wellies or boots of first.
They have a belt loop at the top, although if you need a belt to hold
up whatever you are wearing underneath and then a belt for these it gets
a bit bulky and poppers around the bottom to keep your zips from
unzipping.
They are thick with extra padding to mid thigh, mine have been in the
wash a good dozen or so times and are are still keeping me dry.
They will, however, be far too hot come the spring. I am currently
looking for either a pair of over trousers that are light weight but
resilient enough to stand up to the job or a pair of trousers that are
splash / light shower proof, comfy fit (so preferably not a mens cut)
and also tough enough to last.
Whatever they are, they need to last more than a season. Watch this space and I will let you know if I manage to find some.
So whilst I swirled my chocolate flakes and marshmallows round in the milk chocolate goo, I thought about how far my photography has come in the last two years and what I have learnt along the way.
Not the "rule of thirds" or the "ISO triangle" but mistakes I've made, lessons I have learnt and things that I absolutely do not leave home without.
So in no particular order.....
SKIN !!
I don't enjoying wearing gloves... full stop. I don't like wearing them when I wash up, when I am doing the gardening or when I am working the camera. This does however cause me some issues.
Last year I worked through the winter without even thinking about it, and one particular day my hands were so cold and wet that I ended up operating the camera virtually on muscle memory, I had to trust that my fingers knew what they were doing !!!. By the time I finished my hands were scarlett and frozen almost to the point of Chilblains.
The result of having such cold and wet hands was very sore, dry and chapped skin, which eventually split and became extremely painful eventually hindering the use of the camera. I was left with no alternative but to have gloves in the pocket and shove them on as soon as there was a lull in shooting.
So this year I swore this wouldn't happen. So far so good... I have found a very lovely and hard working hand cream with hemp, which i use in the evenings, the mornings and before I put my "gloves" on !!
The gloves I refer to are surgical gloves. Strong enough to handle a day in the field, they keep my hands dry, waterproof but fine enough for me to use the camera. If my hands start to get very cold, I can slip a pair of fingerless gloves over the top.
So, waterproof, lightweight gloves and hand cream are the first two items on my list ... followed very closely by Lip Balm.
In fact I will turn the car round and head back home to collect a pot of vaseline or a Chapstick if I forget to put it in the camera bag. There is nothing worse than the irritating, itchy soreness caused by chapped lips which, without the balms, are only soothed by that childlike licking which just serves to make them even worse.
Now I am just waiting for someone to design a lanyard that will carry my Chapstick next to my whistle !!!
