In your bag 425, Aki Akiwumi
A delightful bag from the UK, wait…no, from the USA….er, I don’t know. Come and have a look at this lovely set up.

I am Aki Akiwumi. I am just a regular English geezer who escaped the streets of gold to live in Washington, DC. I am a street and fine art wedding photographer. I am insanely passionate about film photography even though I only returned to it 8 months ago. I dont know where I have been all these years. Pictures from my film camera all look like they are in 3D. Other than using my digital camera to take the picture of my bag and it’s contents, I havent used it in ages. Anywho…

Bag Intro:

Yashica 124-G:  My first love. My main squeeze!! Actually my first medium format camera. I mainly shot with this camera when I went to Paris.  It is perfect for street photography, because it doesn’t look like I am taking a picture to the regular joe. This camera is always in my bag. I get a few random conversations because of it. Most common thing people say is: “Wow, that’s an old camera!” I really love the quality of the images it makes and the square format. And yes, we are still in love.

Canon AE-1 Program: Another one of my street photography babies. This camera is very useful if i have very little time to shoot. I can take a shot really quickly as I usually meter on camera. I have not been let down yet. Excellent camera. I was assisting a friend of mine on a magazine shoot last year. I just happened to have this camera on me. She invited me to shoot the models with her. Believe it or not, four of my shots got printed. Enough said.

Sekonic 358: My trusted light meter. Once again, my trusted light meter.

Polaroid SX-70: I bought this a while ago and have since got film for this from Impossible Project. Very expensive, so I use it VERY selectively. I sometimes give instant portraits to stranger I shoot. My kind of thank you card. The camera is just incredible to look at!

iPhone 4: I can honestly say that my iPhone and Instagram made a better photographer. The camera is not the best and I never use zoom. This really forces me to focus on composition and to meet the picture. I have to think more before taking a picture. Thank you Steve Jobs and er Instagram billionaires.

35mm and 120 film: Well, where would my cameras be without film? With these two, its about quality and quantity. I love the quality of 120 (12 exposures) and the quantity of 35mm (36 exposures). Usually use Kodak 400 TriX, Kodak Porta 400 and Fujifilm 400h.

iPad and stylus: Because sometimes I read on it. Sometimes I write on it. Sometimes I sketch. But once in Paris, I ran out of film and my iPhone died. I am embarrassed to say, I took a few sunset pictures with it. Not sure waterboarding could make me publish those pictures :)

Moleskin Notepad: For those liberating moments when electronics wont do.

Cereal bars/snacks: I always have these in my bag as a rule. I always leave the house with a full stomach. But to be honest, I forget to eat during the day and sometimes get a sudden pang of hunger. These do the trick until I find real food.

Music: My bose earphones. I favourite thing to do is to be lost in a city and lost in the music. The sound on these bad boys are quite special. I am not sure I will ever change brands. The base is just perfect. In a nutshell, the sound is just sick!

Last but not the least, my camera bag, by Grafea. It took me a while to find bag I really liked. But once I did, I did. Everything listed above fits in perfectly inside.

Thank you for taking the time to read about my gear and bag.

Please feel free to check my pictures on www.mangolens.com. I am on Instagram, twitter and Facebook; username for all three: mangolens

Peace and love.
Aki

Thanks for sharing your fantastic bag with us Aki, I love the SX-70, it is a beauty.
Check out the link and make sure you come and comment.

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