In your bag 471, Vicki Choi
Today we have a lady on the site. Now now Gentlemen, calm down. It is not often that girls feature their bags on here, but they are more than welcome to. Come and have a look inside Vicki’s awesome bag.

I am Vicki and currently reside in the sunshine city Los Angeles in California.

At work, I am part of the Financial Cookbook Team at a large American Corporate .  Outside of work, I like to spend time with my family and friends, explore new things with my cameras and volunteer my time and skills for good causes.  My favorite places to shoot in Los Angeles are Santa Monica Pier and Griffith Observatory.  Feel free to let me know if you know of a place in Los Angeles that’s worth killing my films!

Several years ago I was very interested in starting photography however I never really want to get a DSLR.  More than a year ago, I found my camera, the LOMO LC-A+.   It is light, simple and creative.

Later, I got more cameras: Lomo Sprocket Rocket, the SX-70 Land Model 2 and the Olympus OM-D.  Film cameras are like human eyes, simple, blurry eyesights and no zoom.  I like the souls that live in film photography.  Photography has taught me to look at things differently and constantly try to find interesting subjects or scenes. I like shooting film because my job ends right after I press the shutter.  There is no need for post-processing except for running to a drug store and get the films processed.  I like to get hard copies of my photos and store them in photo albums because I simply don’t trust computers!

Sometimes, I wonder where my love for film photography coming from.  I mean I never really had a hobby in my life.  It was my grandpa, a semi-professional photographer before I was born, always had a passion in photography and took photos for his family and friends.

To me, photography does a perfect job recording moments or things I want to capture.  The outcome really depends on how you look at things.  There is no need to criticize yourself of how you should look at something “right”.  Sometimes I do go out with specific subjects or scenes in mind that I want to shoot.  I also constantly remind myself not to overly trying to take great photos with my cameras, yet the greatest lens you have got are- your eyes.

In my weekend bag, there are LC-A+ or OM-D, Le Petit pocket planner, business card holders with two business cards mixed in (my day job and my board position for a non-profit, APEX.org as shown), some girly stuff, phone and water.

<Clockwise in the picture>

Olympus OM-D- Bought for its speed, fast AF, and viewfinder.  There is so much to learn in this camera and digital photography.  At some point, I think I should pick up Photoshop skills, but right now I will stay away from the post-processing tools and focus on the basics.

Lomo LC-A+-  My very first camera.  A replacement of the discontinued legendary Russian film camera, LC-A.  Its simplicity allows me to focus on the subjects I shoot.  I like to shoot it with chrome or color negative films.

LC-A Back Instant- I bought this for the curiosity of how well it works with the LC-A camera.  The newer technology in these mini Polaroids are good but I like the regular Polaroids better.

Two The Impossible Project Film 600 films.  Hopefully, in the near future, when the TIP films are in mass production, TIP can lower the price a bit.  Am I dreaming?!?

Polaroid SX-70- One day I found this special camouflage Land Model 2 on Etsy.com for a price cheaper than I have seen at some store in Asia.  The results are always fun and unpredictable.

Sprocket Rocket- Love the wide screen and the sprocket holes.  Sometimes, it is a bit challenging for my shaky hands but it produces some photos I really like.  I usually like to feed my white Sprocket Rocket with XPro slide films.

*Flashes on the Polaroid SX-70 and the Olympus OM-D- I don’t like flash.  I think forcefully pouring white light over something is just mean.  Oh well sometimes, the subjects ask for it.

Original SX-70 accessories set- Most recent acquisition (not shown).  I can now use my SX-70 to shoot ladybugs or downtown at night.

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Recently I am so happy that a work of mine got selected and included in a very cool Asian online photography magazine- Fillens (Vol. 20, pg.63).  The name of the magazine is made of two French words- Fille (girl) + Lens, meaning the photography for ladies.  http://fillens.net/  This photo was taken at the beautiful outdoor shopping centre in Los Angeles, The Grove, taken with my LC-A+ last summer.

I usually keep my photos on Facebook and some Polaroids on Flickr.  Feel free to let me know your thoughts about my work!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/77550798@N05/

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10102146673001916.1073741829.2529000&type=3

Thanks, Bellamy!

Thanks Vivki for sharing your abg and your photographic journey with us all. It is a great read. Well done on the magazine feature.
Check out the links and make sure you come and comment.

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Cheers
Japancamerahunter