All my bag-age

Ok I'm going to admit that I have something that I should get off of
my chest. Ya see, I have a problem and it helps to be open and honest
about it. Here goes … I'm a bag junkie. Where some women have more
shoes than they possibly need, kinda like my wife, but not as many as
they want, I have loads of camera bags, keep getting more and lusting
after ones that I don't have. When we are out my wife will gasp in
delight of some woman's shoes while I will see some dude with a knockout
satchel that leaves me breathless. Yeah, it's really weird.

I do have a practical side to it all, it's not just about more, I use
them just not all of them all the time. I do have preferences: I like
un-fussy bags. I quickly fell in love with Domke bags and have had a
bunch of them over the years. I currently have 6 different Domke bags –
from waist pouches to my cool Ruggedwear F2 that weathers in a lovely
organic way but is nicely waterproof. I have found that they last
forever, are easy to use, have essentially no bulk to them because they
are minimally padded and when you move about don't hang on you like a
piece of furniture. The stuff made by ThinkTank is superbly thought out.
I have their card wallets, a great waist pack made just for audio
recorders, a larger waist pack that I use often and their giant Airport
International backpack that will house an enormous amount of gear. So
much so that when filled it's hard to walk around with. I'm not so hip
on their regular bags as they are very tall/square and don't move that
well when I do. For the "wear and shoot" bag, Domke still rules. I have a
LowePro waist bag, the Sideline Shooter, that is often use for sports
work, and their Computrekker which is my "more gear than I want to have
on my shoulders but also need to carry my laptop" bag. 

I also
have a ton of Pelican cases for shipping my gear to and fro as well as a
host of satchel bags from a variety of sources. But they all serve a
purpose – get my gear somewhere in one piece and if I have to work out
of it be easy to access and out of my way. That said I prefer not to
have a bag on my shoulder ever. A number of years ago I went to a new
chiropractor who took a look at me and promptly asked me if I wore my
camera bag on my left shoulder. AAAK! Yep I did and it showed as my left
shoulder hung just a bit lower than my right. From that time forward I
resolved to put the weight on my hips or not at all. I also stopped
hanging my camera from my neck but from my shoulder. Less neck pain and
less day long strain in general. Huzzah! 

I'm currently on the
prowl for the old Domke Emerald series bags. They were a lovely green
and had brown leather trim. Yummy! I used to have one but it got stolen
and I've never been right in the head since. If you see one, let me
know.

Meanwhile here is something that I found regarding David Allan Harvey, a hero of mine, and his bag fetish. Makes me seem like a rank amateur.