Moving Day

My wife and I are in the process of moving to a new home and before the movers arrive for the heavy stuff, we’re moving the valuables ourselves. Aside from TV’s and stereos, monitors, computers, 8 terrabytes of storage drives and my photo archives, I get to clean out the various basement closets full of camera equipment, get organized and  take the opportuntiy to get rid of some equipment I don’t use.

I spent the day building this pile piece by piece and frankly, I’m a little shocked at how much camera gear I have. My friends call me the “high tech redneck” because whenever we go on a hunting or fishing trip, I always have some new gadget to show off. It’s no different with photography gear, I can’t help myself. I buy and sell camera bags like a bond trader on Wall Street but hey, what professional photographer worth his salt does’nt bury their professional insecurities inside a gorgeous new Domke F2? Incidentally, I just sold mine, not big enough. So what’s in the pile, well:

2 Canon 1D MKIII’s,  14 lenses ranging from fish eye to a 500 MM F4, about 5 camera bags, an entire box of chargers and cables, 3 Canon 580 EX II’s, 2 Hyperdrives, 2 Lastolite panels, 5 tripods ranging in size from a tiny pocket one up to a huge Manfrotto unit I can barely carry, a huge Tamrac light box containing 4 different softboxes, an Octa, a Road Rags kit, light stands , a gel kit and a bunch of light reflectors of varying sizes. On top of that, I’ve got another Tamrac bag full of light stands, justins, grips, a Manfrotto laptop holder for studio work, sync cords, laptop cords etc. A backdrop stand, 4 different cloth backdrops and a couple of rolls of seamless, 3 C stands, 5 Pocket Wizards, 2 Pro Foto Acute B’s with extra batteries, 3 600 WS Profoto Compacts in a Pelican Case and complete set of Dado lights in the other Pelican. Would you believe this doen’t include the bag that’s already packed for an assignment in Hong Kong next week?

I’m really starting to wish I could take better pictures with my G9, it’s so much lighter and easier to get around with.

And how much did I manage to get rid of during the clean up? I figure I’ll post the fisheye on FM tomorrow, I don’t really get much use out of it.