In your bag 1099, Abram Eric Landes
After another horrible outage and delay we are back getting into the swing of things. And there is actually a bag in the shot too. Check this one out.

After much indecision, I finally landed on this camera setup for a two week trip to rural Taiwan to visit my extended family with my wife and mother-in-law (yeah, I know – some would say “brave soul”). I was lucky enough to visit previously in 2009, so I had a few ideas of what to expect, but I knew that I probably wouldn’t have as much time to do photo walks and street shooting like my last experience. Instead, those experiences were traded for close family time and the local view of daily Taiwanese living.

I shoot weddings, events, and cycling sports full time in the Washinton DC area (www.aelandesphotography.com), which is close to a 100% digital workflow, but I love the mechanics and tempo of shooting with film. Packing was fraught with indecision and anticipation of different shooting conditions (Rain? Security? Time? Daylight?), so I ended up with a variety of formats and lenses.
These included some of my favorite cameras to shoot, namely the Mamiya C330. I knew it would be a brick to hike around, but I couldn’t resist bringing it along I in the F-Stop Loka UL bag.  Because we were unsure of our exact schedule and knowing that quality time spent with the family would be the prerogative, I brought along the Canon 5D3 and a 35mm f/1.4 for the flexibility in many situations and familiarity of functions (changing light conditions like our daytime meals followed by night-market excursions).

The unfamiliar camera I brought along was the new-to-me Canon AW-1. Having a good online reputation and also being robust and waterproof made it fun to shoot with discreetly on the street and out in the country. I wouldn’t be broken-hearted if it was stolen or broken, so I felt inclined to bring it everywhere and shoot from the hip.

The F-Stop Gear Loka UL with a Large Slope ICU held everything with room to spare for jackets, pineapple cakes, and water, and was as comfortable as it could be walking around all day. The iPad/iPod  with the Pelican case and Audio Technia noise canceling headphones help stave off late-night train and plane boredom.

Also, pro-travel tip: small bottles of choice beverages can be packed within the clear plastic carry-on baggie for consumption on the flight. Just don’t get too rowdy.

Mamiya C330 –
– 80mm f/2.8 Blue Dot
– Fuji Acros 100, Fuji Vevia 100, Kodak Ektar 100

Canon 5D3 –
– Canon 35mm f/1.4 L
– Mamiya 645 80mm f/2.8, with Fotodiox Adapter
– Leica R 21mm f/4, with Leitax Adapter

Canon AW-1 –
– Fuji Velvia 50

Holga 120N –
– Kodak TMax 400

Leica Tabletop Tripod and Cable Release

F-Stop Loka UL backpack with Large Slope ICU

Gepe CF Card Holder (128GB worth of cards inside)

Hindsight: I have thinking a lot about the new wave of mirrorless cameras, namely the Sony a7s and forthcoming 28mm f/2 with 21mm adapter. This could have cut weight and visual size significantly from the 5D3 setup, and had me thinking a lot about the approachability of street shooting with a specific camera setup. I think that I stood out more with the 5D3/35mm and Loka bag compared to my previous experience. However, I have no regrets taking the Mamiya C330 with me and using it to do family portraits of my new grandparents on the other side of the world.

Thanks for sharing your bag and your travel tips with us, Abram. Nice to see someone rocking a C330.
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Keep them coming folks, we need more submissions, so get your bag on Japancamerahunter.com. Send me a hi resolution image of the bag. Optimum size is 620×473. Please ensure there is a bag in the shot, unless you don’t use one. The more you can write about yourself the better, make it appealing and tell us a story. Oh and don’t forget your contact details (twitter, flickr, tumbler et al). Send the bag shots here. Please understand that there is a long wait now as there is a backlog of submissions. Not all make the cut, so make sure yours is funny/interesting/quirky. And please make sure the shot is of good quality, as the ones that are not do not go up.
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Japancamerahunter