Japancamerahunter

Bag shot number 3 folks, and this time it has some rather amusing additions

This bag belongs to Max, who is from Singapore, but this bag can be found in Perth, Australia.
Here is a little more from Max himself:
Hi, I’m Max, I love photography, I love cameras, I love beautiful light and faces and the little moments where everything comes together for a split second or two and the immediate environment suddenly freezes and lights up, before wandering off into their own dimensions once again.
I wanted to (still do actually) make a career out of photography (or something related to it), but I’m just not sure what area/genre I’ll fit into and whether I’ll survive, so I’m currently studying my second favourite interest - physiotherapy.
I’m originally from Singapore, but am living in Perth at the moment and have an elder brother working in Japan, so I visit Japan quite regularly as well. I just love the atmosphere in Japan, especially in winter (although it freezes the crap out of me.
I used to shoot digital, but recently switched to film and it’s been quite satisfying so far.

Max has a Flickr account, check it out.
Now for the bag….

WHAT’S IN MY BAG (From top to bottom, left to right):

- Mobile phone

- Notebook that looks like a Thai passport that I got from Thailand for around 1 AUD

- Spare car remote battery - I always keep it with my since my car remote first died on me 2 years ago and I was unable to start my car without the car alarm going nuts (because the remote has the immobilizer device)

- Lip balm - my best friend gave it to me during my most recent trip to Japan, and it’s still in my bag, because winter just passed here in Perth (Australia) and sometimes it still gets a bit cold and dry.

- Milo cereal bar- tastes better than it looks

- Gordy’s leather strap

- Sunny 16 EV index written on the back of a folded used envelope

- iPod touch - got it as a birthday present 3 years ago, still working good as gold

- Earphones - I don’t keep them plugged into my iPod, because 2 earphones have died on me because the wire near the jack got breached where it folds (you know when you coil your earphones around your iPod)

- Spare film

- Half-eaten Snickers bar - ate it along the drive home from work today, because I felt like chocolate, but didn’t feel like Crunchie.

- Leica M4-P with 40mm Summicron-C and original rubber hood + Series 5.5 filter

- Wallet that I have been using for the last 5 years - still has the leather smell and I recently burned my name into the underside of the front flap with sunlight through my Canon FD 50/1.4 lens, just for fun.

- My gf’s pen - I think I forgot to return it to her after borrowing it during a lecture.

- Free wooden pen my gf got for me from my university guild house because I mentioned that it looked pretty cool

- Pilot G2 - all-time favourite pen

- Highlighter - just coz you never know when you’ll need it. hahaha!

- Half-eaten Crunchie bar - ate half of it in my car on the way home from work yesterday

The badge farthest left is a badge a friend made for me for my birthday last year (or the year before) when her mum coincidentally brought a badge-making gadget home from work (this friend is pretty darned good at making hand-made cards).

The badge in the middle is my magnetic sports trainer nametag that I wear when I am sports training (part-time job).

The badge farthest right is my magnetic student physiotherapist nametag that I wear when I am out on my clinical placements (which I currently am).

Hidden from view is a pack of cigarettes - I have weaned myself off those skinny little buggers about a month of two back, but still have the occasional craving.

My bag itself is from GAP. It’s pretty old. I inherited it from my previous housemate’s brother who left it in the house when he moved out. I’ve been using it for the past 3 and a half years and it looks like it still has quite a few years left in it. It’s big enough to fit all of what you see, plus some extra lecture notes, a notepad, my laptop, and maybe a spare cardigan.

Another great bag, another interesting insight into what makes a photographer tick. Thanks for sharing this with us Max.

Keep them coming folks, get your bag on Japancamerahunter.com. Send me a hi resolution image of the bag and its contents, with some details about yourself and what you shoot. Oh and don’t forget your contact details (twitter, flickr, tumbler et al).

Cheers
Japancamerahunter

Original Article

Hutong Nights, by the 35mm PHOTO bureau
So one of the things I have been doing recently is featuring peoples bags. Well, one of the other things that I am going to be doing is featuring peoples pictures too. I love gear, but we must remember what we have it for. So, without further ado here is the work of one of the readers of Japancamerahunter, Thil of the 35mm PHOTO bureau.

In his own words:
“It started when I was about 10 years old with my dad’s Pentax MX - I’ve been hooked to photography since then. I don’t make a living out of it but I know for sure that making photographs makes my life richer. I don’t have a specialist subject as such but I try to include some kind of human presence in the frame when I click the shutter – basically I am mostly interested in people and how they relate to their surroundings be it society, culture, history and the places they live in.

Smaller cameras suit my shooting style best so I use rangefinders and compacts. I use film because that’s what I am used to and I love the feel, quality and tones of the resulting images. There is another reason – being able to make my own darkroom prints. There is a magical moment when the paper hits the developer in the tray and the image starts to appear. It may be months or years after I shot it but for me those minutes that take the paper to develop is when I can start to go back in time and re-live the story again.

These photos were taken during night time walks around Hutongs in Beijing. These were taken in October 2009 and I only got around to making some proper prints a few months ago. Shot on Ilford XP2 Super, printed on Ilford FB paper and scanned.”

I really like the depth and thought that has gone into these shots. They are unobtrusive, yet give us a glance on a neighborhood in action. The tonal quality really helps bring these pictures out too.

Thanks to Thil for sharing his work with us, it is a really nice view into a different part of the world.
You can see more of his work at his site and you should follow him on twitter too.

If you would like to have your work featured here don’t be afraid to drop me a line at hunts.of.tokyo@gmail.com
Send a few hi-rez pics, an artists bio/statement and any other relevant info. Please don’t forget to include links to your work online.
Cheers
Japancamerahunter

Original Article

Bag shot number 2, and it is a cracker, hope you enjoy it
Well it seems that you all have no problem at all with showing me inside your bags. This is brilliant, keep them coming. I am hoping to do one a day if possible.

So, for our second bag-shot we have something really lovely. This is a really special and unique bag full of really nice gear. The bag belongs to ‘Fernando Gomes Semedo’ aka Nando.
He lives in a small Canadian town called Sault Ste. Marie, which lies in between Lake Superior and Lake Huron. Nando is actually Portuguese and tries to spend as much time as he can with family and friends in Portugal. He works as an educator with the Algoma District School Board and is crazy about photography.
I am going to let Nando tell you the rest, as he has a lot to say and can explain his gear better than I can, it is his after all.

My name is Fernando Gomes Semedo; aka Nando.

This kit is not at all my daily carry. I usually take a Leica M almost everywhere I go. Recently, I’ve ventured into the world of large-format photography. Unfortunately, none of my camera bags were large enough to carry my new 4x5 kit.

The camera is a Chamonix 045N-2 and I currently use two lenses; a 90mm APO-Grandagon-N wide-angle and a 210mm APO-Sironar-N short-tele. The camera’s base is made of carbon-fibre so it is very light but remains very rigid. It is so light that I’m able to use a carbon-fibre tripod and ballhead designed for DSLR’s and MF cameras. However, if I do not plan to walk a long distance with this kit, I take a heavier, more stable Berlebach tripod with a Manfrotto 410 geared head. I purchased the maple/carbon-fibre 4x5 film-holders from Chamonix along with the camera. These holders are the finest that I’ve ever seen and they’re not too expensive relative to the lower-quality plastic holders. Also in the photo, there is a Chamonix folding viewer, Blackjacket focusing cloth, a Sekonic L-558R meter, and a sturdy Linhof cable-release. I also use a Rodenstock 6x loupe, which I forgot to include in the photo.

The bag is a classic Swiss Army rucksack made in 1961. These bags were made for the Swiss Army from after the Second World War up to the early 1970’s. Until recently, this Swiss Army Rucksack could be found in army surplus stores for as little as $50. Now, they are getting hard to find and prices have increased dramatically.

I opted for this bag for two reasons. First, I found that current camera backpacks generally are not ergonomically sound for walking or hiking long distances. Second, backpacks made for hiking are not suitable for carrying cameras and with their brightly coloured fabrics, one sticks out like a sore thumb when using the backpack in a city. The Swiss Army rucksack, along with the custom-made camera inserts from Martilena, was the perfect solution. It is strong and comfortable for a hike in the country and it looks nice enough for regular use in the city. The materials and build-quality of this bag are first rate. It is made with a thick, water-resistant, salt-and-pepper canvas, it features leather straps throughout and has a very thick leather bottom. The bag has an ergonomic, aluminum frame in the interior and a support-strap along the bottom, which makes it very comfortable to carry even with heavy loads. The Martilena inserts are made to measure and are very nice. I find them superior to the Billingham inserts that I used previously. They are stronger than the Billingham inserts and one can easily stack them one on top of another. Since the Martilena inserts are made-to-measure, they fit perfectly inside the rucksack but I did leave a bit of room for a packed lunch and some small items.

Nando’s photostream address is: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fgsemedo
You can follow him on twitter too….clicky

This is a beautifully laid out and thought out setup and I am very happy to be able to feature it on the site. It is really interesting to see what people have in their bags and how they lay it out.

Keep them coming folks, get your bag on Japancamerahunter.com. Send me a hi resolution image of the bag and its contents, with some details about yourself and what you shoot. Oh and don’t forget your contact details.

Cheers
Japancamerahunter

Original Article

Here we have the very first ‘in your bag’ feature. Well done Ryan
Ryan Cabal is an American living in South Korea. He got into cameras because of the infamous Mijonju. He met him back in 2009 through making trick videos with a Japanese wooden toy called a Kendama. Back then, all Ryan had was a Nikon D40 that was tossed around in his backpack. Mijonju shared his contagious camera addiction with Ryan and he was hooked. Because of him, tokyocamerastyle, and Japancamerahunter…Ryan has about 8 cameras.

For those interested, you can check them out on the seoulcamerastyle website at seoulcamerastyle.tumblr.com.
I’m planning on selling a majority of the little guys for a Leica. Ryan mainly shoots street photography.
Check him out at www.500px.com/ryancabal If you’re in Seoul, love cameras, and Korean bbq get Ryan on twitter@rysofunny

Ryan’s bag details:

Domke F-5XZ WaxWear

- Konica Auto S3
- CONTAX T3
- iPad2 or Moleskine
- RVCA Money clip
- Microfiber cleaner
- 3 rolls of Neopan 100 (expired)
- 1 roll of ISO 800 lomo film

Cheers for sharing with us Ryan, and well done for being the first. Great bag and great cameras.

Keep them coming folks, get your bag on Japancamerahunter.com. Send me a hi resolution image of the bag and its contents, with some details about yourself and what you shoot. Oh and don’t forget your contact details.

Cheers
Japancamerahunter

Original Article

Remember this? Well, it is back.
*UPDATE*
I love my camera bags, and I love to see what is inside other peoples camera bag. With that in mind I have decided to run a what is in your bag feature. So, first up we have my most recent acquisition. My limited edition Domke beams edition F-2. Today I have the Canon 7 black paint, film case, moleskine, phone, spare phone battery and the Fujifilm GS645S medium format camera. Not much, really, there is tons more space available in this cavern of a bag.

Now, as this is a feature, and as I only have so many bags, what I need is YOU! Send me your bag shot and get it featured on the site.
What I need from you:
1. A high resolution horizontal image. Please not vertical images, I cannot use them. More than one is fine, but no more than three.
2. Details. Give me details people, about you, about your gear, about your photography. The more details the better.
3. Contact info. Do you tweet? Let me have that info. Twitter, tumblr, blog, flickr the more the merrier.

There has been a great response so far, but I need more! So keep them coming. I promise I will feature every bag that I get sent (as long as it isn’t full of kittens or porn).

Cheers
Japancamerahunter

Original Article