What’s in Your Bag?
My name is Chris Howey and it’s great to be meeting and working with you all. I have two main bags that I use throughout my week. One is my work backpack that I take to and from work every weekday. The other is my camera bag that I use on the weekend (but honestly only consistently on Sunday) and since this one brings me far more joy and presents the self I feel is more authentic I will be sharing that one with you today.
The daily need for this bag is that it is compact and allows me to carry the tools and essential items that I need when going on photo adventures.
What’s in My Bag:
The first item is the bag itself. I bought this bag when I moved to Singapore in 2013 and was immersing myself in the 365 project (taking a photo a day and posting it to my blog). This bag at the time was truly with me every day and since it was at the time priority number one in my mind it limited what I could carry to and from work due to its size. It was great at creating that separation between work and home. The bag itself is a well-worn canvas shoulder bag in a neutral colour. It’s durable and rain resistant to a degree and I chose it because it didn’t look like a camera bag which appealed to me from a security standpoint but also I liked the aesthetics. It has enough compartments to carry my camera and day adventure essentials.
The second most used item(s) in my bag is the camera itself – a Nikon D850 and the AF-S Zoom-NIKKOR 17–35mmf/2.8D IF-ED lens attached. Technically these are two items but they are normally attached to each other and require each other to function so I am going to treat them as one. This is the longest time period I have owned a digital camera body as when Nikon started making digital cameras and I transitioned from an SLR to DSLR I was replacing my digital camera body every two to three years as technology advanced. The D850 came out in 2017 and the size of the sensor has seemingly been optimized/saturated for this size camera. As newer versions were released the camera body mostly stayed the same size throughout the iterations. Now the next frontier seems to be a reduction in camera body size (mirrorless) to reduce weight, but the lenses will likely always remain the same size. The lenses in my bag are the oldest items.
Aside from the wide-angle lens normally always attached to the camera there is also a telephoto lens in my bag (the AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens). Both lenses have lost their gold colouring on the lettering from years of use. The rubber grips are also starting to loosen, a mixture of use and the humid climates I have lived in over the past 8 years. I have learned to work exclusively within these focal length ranges as they allow my bag to remain lightweight but also provide me with the creative choices I desire when capturing images.
There is a small cloth case that contains two spare batteries which are necessary for days of extended creativity. Normally one battery will last for 700 plus frames.
There are extra memory cards to ensure I have enough digital storage to capture all my images. Over the years I have had memory cards in various sizes, but I have settled on 64 Gigabyte cards as being my ideal size. They are large enough to not have to replace the card too often and not completely devastating if the card corrupts (this thankfully has only happened a couple times).
There is a bottle of spray sunscreen and a bottle of bug spray. Both are necessary for the climate and environment in which I live. I don’t tan, I just burn. Dengue fever is a reality here n Bali so bug spray is a constant necessity.
I have sunglasses (prescription, new in the last 4 years as my eyes age) and a hat in my bag as well both for the practical reasons I listed for the sunscreen and the bug spray.
Text Technologies:
These items can be considered texts in what they reveal about my personal and cultural preferences. They have been purchased from a variety of locations around the world reflecting the mobility I enjoy as an international teacher. Evidence can be found by the variety of languages printed on the items (English, Thai) and the brands which are region-specific (Boots). They explicitly speak to my interest in photography (the bag, camera, lenses, batteries and memory cards) and my desire to be outside exploring inspiring environments (sunglasses, hat, sunscreen and bug spray). What I carry is undeniably for a purpose that I prioritize.
The “text technologies” in my bag are my camera and its accessories. These items help me create expressive texts which visually communicate through my framed world a sense of perspective that carries with it my positionality. In the past, these texts have been shared through blogs to an audience mainly of my acquaintances but not exclusively as the blog is public. The blog format and 365 project included written text to provide context and location details where appropriate. But my images have also been published professionally (through stock photography). My images have appeared in Lonely Planet and other print and digital publications. Within these publications, the creative control and message are no longer my own as the message becomes co-authored by the publication’s context and purpose.
The items in my bag indicate that I am literate in visual communication, but so much of this would remain unseen unless someone was to mine the metadata of my images. I shoot predominantly in manual mode for greater control. Also, the viewer could assume my images were shot on a phone as current mobile technology produces stunning high-quality images with limited skill. I am however literate in the use of DSLR cameras as well as other current mobile technologies.
The narrative of my bag contents is that they are essentially tools to create a larger more public narrative. Although time has shifted the tools’ meaning to a public audience. Whereas in the past the narrative of an SLR or DSLR would have signalled skill today most view it as hipster, retro or even unnecessary given the availability of other more accessible technology. I do not find that most of the items within my bag are of a private nature and for most of the time I am out and about with them most items are visibly outside of my bag. The bag essentially is for transport and function. The design is minimalist and functional which I prefer (a reflection of my preferences).
My bag would have looked the same 10 years ago with slightly different variations in the size of the memory cards. 15 years ago or longer the memory cards would have been canisters of film and the digital batteries would be gone. I would have to think more cautiously about each release of the shutter as each click was literally money. I was limited to 36 images a roll and the image was not instantly viewable. There was more thought to the practicalities of ensuring the camera settings were accurate. The camera would look the same as you would not be able to see inside it to see the guts of it (aside from the sensor and film plate). This is where the technology changes really have occurred. The lens and bag would look the same. The hat, sunglasses, sunscreen and bug spray would look the same aside from a shift in branding which would likely be time period specific.
An archeologist would likely see my bag as a tool kit. Items used to create visual texts. They would likely deem the contents as being practical in nature. They would note its mobility and likely the durable nature of the contents (bag, camera, lenses). They might surmise that the items were well used but also well taken care of. Maybe if the memory card was still working and future technology allowed for it they would get a glimpse into my perspective visually communicated through time.
