In your bag #200 – Royze

In your bag number 200, Royze
Well, we have reached number 200. A little milestone right there. So, in light of this my friend Royze has very kindly agreed to answer some questions and talk about his gear in a bit more detail. Check it out.

Abdulla Mazrouei a.k.a Royze was born in 1984 in Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates, He is a current B.A. student at Temple University of Japan pursuing a double major in Art and Political Science. Royze has been living in three different continents and speaks 3 languages which helped him create a unique multi-cultural perspective. He expresses his visual communication through digital media and conceptual artwork & uses photography & film as a main platform to express his experience.
Between January 2010 to the end of october, Royze was involved in the production of 2 short films,by two different international teams. The first project “BoxBoy” was lead by a Japanese, tokyo based team, Royze was working as the main Director of Photography. the second movie production project “Dust” was lead by a team from Hollywood, US. Royze was working as Second Director of Photography, filming and also he was involved in project managment and documenting the production and field scouting.
Royze was involved in the production of photographic work, focusing on social issues in Japan, ranging from political, economy and social changes. His ongoing work focuses on contemprorary issues in the Japanese & Global sphere, including “Anti-Nuclear Protests” in Japan. Also his other works that focuses on the community, including “The Tsukiji Dilemma” which is a photographic book that he is seeking to publish in the near future.

The Bag Shot

As everyone know by now carrying gear around can become a pain, and from my experience i’ve learned to keep it minimal all the time
whether I’m shooting on the street or traveling to shoot a location or a concert.

Light gear:

If Im shooting street photography or architecture, I would carry one camera & most of the time it would be Leica M9
(or/and) Leica M3 with two lenses. Usually the 21mm and 50mm. with a small flash (Fuji film Ef-ex 20 Flash)

Wotan craft camera leather holster

Incase I need to put my camera away, I would usually carry my camera holster which keeps
the camera by ready by my side.

Gordy straps

I prefer carrying my cameras with hands straps (Gordy straps), rather than the neck/shoulder strap.
thats for two main reasons,

First, your hands are free all the time and your assured that your camera is the closest it can be
to your hand in case there’s a photo that you don’t want to miss. it basically allows you to react much faster. (incase of dangerous situation too)

Second, your camera gets less bulk if you carry it around with you all day. the strap will not get in the way and the camera will look less conspicuous.

*bonus*
Overtime, your hand will get used to the feel and the shape of your camera. you will be able to use it without having to look or to holding it awkwardly.

Fuji ex-20 flash unit

I have used and experimented with many flash units, some of them are too bulky, conspicuous , twice the size of the camera which made the camera tip over and feel unbalanced.
Some other flashes had too many buttons or the LCD kept me distracted trying to find the right settings.

Fujifilm Ex-20 flash is absolutely the best flash I have used on a range finder, the size of the flash is very convenient
and the full manual controls allows you to work without having to press buttons and looking at an LCD to know what your settings are.
It fits and feels perfect on a Leica body.

The recycle flash time is not bad and the amount of light it produces is more than enough than what you need.
Also it has a switch on the side to control the flash diffuser. 24~90mm

Travel gear:
When I’m doing location or concert shoots, I would carry a different setup.
I would try to fit most of my stuff on a Billingham bag. carrying:

2 x Leica bodies
3 x lenses
1x digital Polaroid
21mm
50mm
90mm

Accessories:
2x flash units on Gorillapods
Canon 580ex II Flash
Fujifilm Ef-ex 20 Flash

2x Memory cards
1x iPad Hyper drive 1TB
iPad

Workflow:

I would transfer all my photographs from one memory card into the hyper drive, then in the mean time while it downloads my photos
I would start shooting with the secondary memory card.
this allows me to work seamlessly without having to carry a laptop to back up my photos, and allows me to carry less memory cards (which can be lost easily).
In case I had to check my photos, I would connect the hyperdrive to my iPad and check/upload photos instantly.

Cameras/lenses:

Leica M3 chrome
Leica M3 Olive paint
Leica M9 Black
Hasselblad 500C/M
Zeiss 120mm F4 Makro-Planar
Leica M 21mm f3.4 Super Elmar
Leica M 35mm f1.4 Summilux ASPH II
Leica M 50mm f2 Summicron
Leica M 50mm f3.4 Elmar
Leica M 90mm f2.5 Summarit
Voigtlander 12mm 5.6 II
Digital Polaroid ZM340

Media:

Astia 100
Illford HP5 400
Kodak Tri-x 400
iPad HyperDrive 1TB

Accessories:
thinkTank necklace (designed&made by Royze)
Bapex Submariner
Skullcandy Aviator Gold brown
Ray Ban Aviator brown
Moleskin notebook
Fujifilm Ef-ex 20 Flash unit
Joby iPhone tripod (for Fuji flash unit)
Joby Gorillapod (for Canon flash unit)

Bags:

Billingham Leica bag
Yoshida Porter iPhone satchel (for extra film)
Wotancraft camera leather holster

Untitled by Royze 　

A few questions
How would you describe your style of photography?

My passion with photography has started from a very young age and has developed over time to the point
where I decided to pursue it academically with double major degrees in Art: Digital media and Political science.

If I would look at all my past work,I believe that I don’t restrict my style of photography to a certain genre.
I also believe that I’m always evolving my taste and find meaning in things I have came to learn from my expirence with travel & photography.
I believe a photograph can be the pure gesture of appreciation and a simple compliment.
Usually shooting a wide variety from nature, still life, landscape, documentry, street, architecture, live events, concerts, fashion events, weddings studio & portraiture.

Untitled by Royze 　

Do you have a method or system for when you are building a project?

I have a simple workflow that I follow when I’m building my projects,
First, If i intend to photograph in a certain area, I would visit the location for the first time and leave my camera behind.
the reason is, every time you travel without your camera, you become more aware of your surroundings, and missing
photo opportunities on purpose will make you observe and imagine photographing
the scene better the second time or third time –when you actually bring your camera!
Second, after learning the surroundings, I would try to find a subject matter that I found interesting or felt an attraction to, and I’d begin to
photograph.
Finally, I choose my photos and arrange them according to a subject matter, or a similar color tone, contrasting images or photos that stand out by them selves.

Untitled by Royze 　

Where would you like to see your photography develop in the future?

I’d love to see my photography where it can be accessible to anyone and everyone– whether it’s an art gallery, digital medium, in a book or on the street.
Having a photograph accessible to everyone to appreciate and gives you the ability to communicate to people from different cultures, age or background through a photograph.

Do you have any upcoming projects that you would like to share?

Im working currently on multiple projects, including a series of 3 street photography books that I would like to share some photos from with you, this series of images focuses on Tsukiji, which is a fish market that has a long history and is regarded as one of the best tourist areas in Tokyo.
The series is named “After hours: Tsukiji” “Tsukiji: Dilemma” and a third book in production.
Those books will be published and released to the public in three forms,

Untitled by Royze 　

Online through iBook App store
Amazon
Single photo prints

500px: Royze.500px.com
Instagram: @Royze
Twitter: @Royze
Facebook: www.facebook.com/royze.photography

Thanks for sharing your bag, your thoughts, your review and your work Royze. This is an epic post and definitely deserving of the #200 tag.
Check out Royze’s work and his links. And make sure you comment. We love it when you do.

Keep them coming folks, we need more submissions, so get your bag on Japancamerahunter.com. Send me a hi resolution image of the bag (please make sure it is horizontal) 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). Send the bag shots here.

Cheers
Japancamerahunter