You know that scene in Edward Scissorhands where you first see what he can do with those things? I think he’s sculpting ice, or cutting a hedge or something cool like that. I think we can all agree it’s a pretty emotional scene. Well imagine if it were possible to attach a camera to a photographer’s hand in the same manner? No cumbersome neck strap to get in the way AND no risk of dropping the prized possession. Well wonder no more friends, I’ve recently taken the plunge and purchased a hand strap for my camera and am confident it will revolutionise my shooting style.
I’ll be the Edward Scissorhands of the photography world, you know, only with better interpersonal skills.
When I said “taken the plunge” just now it was perhaps a bit of an overstatement; as far as photography gear goes this is certainly at the cheaper end of the spectrum. What I have genuinely taken the plunge and invested in lately is a Shootsac lens bag. I’ve been eyeing off one of these babies for years now, many of the top wedding pros swear by them, but they aren’t available outside the US unless you get them shipped over, and they’re expensive enough already without adding another $90 on top for postage (I got impatient and decided to pay a little extra to get it Fedexed over pronto). I finally reached a point where I’d exhausted other cheaper alternatives and bit the bullet, and first impressions are very good.
The idea behind the Shootsac is that it’s a small stylish bag you wear all day while you shoot that contains the essential interchangeable items you need on the fly, a selection of lenses, flashgun, memory cards etc. The Shootsac doesn’t look like a camera bag allows me to be unobtrusive and blend in with the other guests which helps people to look relaxed in photos (no one wants their photographers wearing a massive camouflage National Geographic vest!!). It’s not designed to carry a camera as that will be hanging round your neck (or attached to your hand if you happen to go by the name Simon Camerahands) so I’ll bring all my gear to jobs with my big kit bag but use the Shootsac while I shoot.
Time will tell how my new acquisitions work out. I’ll certainly be putting them through their paces over the next few weeks before my April wedding in the Barossa (which I’m getting super pumped about by the way). If you want to see my findings I’ll be blogging about how I get on in the next few weeks.
I’ll get some photos of the new gear up soon, in the mean time I’ll leave you with a shot which will be relevant to my next blog post, but you’ll have to check back to see why….
(credit goes to Robin Eley for coming up with the Edwards Scissorhands comparison. No credit goes to Danny Zada who thinks my hand strap looks like a bowling glove – even though he’s right.)
