You carry what?
Shooting for a regional daily newspaper you don't have the chance to specialise. You have to learn how to deal with a multitude of situations and subjects and if you are not good at it, it soon shows. I enjoyed the variety and I have carried that over to my freelance work. One big difference is how I equip myself.
With the paper you have a set amount of gear that usually is based around being versatile...an allrounder-type kit. Now, I find I have more specialised equipment and I change things in and out of a selection of bags to suit a specific job (bags is a whole topic by itself...I think I have spent my whole career searching for the "perfect" bag...and I'm pretty sure it doesn't exist).
The pic below is the gear I carried to cover the Ricky Ponting T20 cricket game last week. I had no idea how far away I would have to park, so a large consideration was that I had to be able to carry everything and potentially for some distance (the 400mm weighs in at a hefty 5.4kg by itself). Added to the collection was my Macbook Pro so I could file images from the venue. The backpack-type bag was chosen because it left my hands free to lug around the 400mm and it has a compartment that fits the laptop.
1. Manfrotto monopod 2. Peak Design Slide strap 3. iPhone 4. Case Air remote and cables 5. Godox X1 flash trigger 6. Godox V860 speedlight 7. Sigma Art 24mm f1.4 8. Canon 14mm f2.8 9. Canon 70-200mm f2.8 10. Canon EOS 5D MKIII 11. Magmod Magsphere diffuser 12. Canon EOS 7D MKII 13. Canon 400mm f2.8 (borrowed) 14. Lowepro Fastpack BP250 15. Peak Design Capture Pro camera clip.
A roller-style bag would have done the job (I don't have one, except for my Pelican hard case that is configured to snugly fit all my lenses and camera bodies). Not knowing what to expect at a venue can make you want to bring "everything" to cover every eventuality, but you can't. Unless you have your own personal Sherpa, you physically can't.
I chose to take two different camera bodies to take advantage of the crop sensor on the 7D MKII (it meant the 400mm was effectively a 640mm) giving me multiple focal lengths from each lens I carried depending on which camera they were mounted. It was a very conscience decision to purchase these particular cameras as their button/dial layouts are virtually identical, meaning you don't have to re-learn each time you change bodies...the camera remains an extension of your hand (very important when shooting in the heat of the moment).
There are at least eight different camera cases/bags in this shot...all of them are used at varying times in various situations (and I have just ordered more...I will keep you posted).
Basically, I now tend to tailor what I carry specifically for the job...the car tends to become a warehouse at times...but I don't/can't carry everything.
I think next week we might dive into my shelves and have a closer look at my bag collection...my wife still has more...and more shoes...but let's not go there :)