In your bag No: 1236, David Felix
David was on the site not all that long ago. In fact I usually wouldn’t even allow two bags this close to one another. but this one is very well put together and presented. So I will let it slide. Check it out.

Hi, I’m David Felix (the guy who forgot to send in his last name before: https://www.japancamerahunter.com/2015/05/in-your-bag-no-1183-david/). Hahaha

I have recently returned to the Philippines after a year’s stay in Japan and to be honest, I miss a lot of things about the country. I most especially miss working on my photography project in Japan (The Gaijin Project) which is currently on hold until my return. Here in the Philippines, I reside in Baguio,a place that is relatively colder than other places in the Philippines. It’s known as the City of Pines, the Summer Capital of the Philippines and most recently, as the place where a Filipino drama series was filmed (meh). But more than all these, Baguio holds a special place in my heart because it’s where I spent a good chunk of my life in and if I could, I’d stay here a bit longer.

Before I got back, I was thinking of what to do in terms of my photography. I was going to leave behind and pause my project in Japan and was thinking of whether or not I should start a new one as soon as I arrive. I struggled with the concept and finally settled on one. I realized that even if others would refer to me as a local, I barely knew the place I called home. I realized that this would be a great opportunity for me to roam the town and truly become a local.

After a few weeks here, my friend offered and bartered this Crumpler Six Million Dollar home for a lens I got him in Japan. To be honest, I wasn’t really a fan of the color but it grew on me eventually. I love how well made this bag is and how big enough it is to hold all my stuff. I really do hope this bag will last.

After brainstorming with some friends, I decided to call my project “Pagbalik”. This is a Filipino word that when roughly translated means, “to return”. I found this word to be very appropriate to what I want for my project because: 1) I would be returning to my hometown and 2) I would be returning to my roots in photography (film). The day before I left Japan, I bought myself a Nikon EM on a whim because a friend of mine gave me relatively expensive film as a farewell present and I thought it would be a waste if I used it on my DIY cameras. (I haven’t even used the film yet so yeah haha).

After two weeks of roaming around the town, I stumbled upon a guy who later sold me his Nikon FM with Motor Drive for a decent price. My Nikon FM with a Nikkor 50mm f1.4 now serves as my main camera and my EM with a Nikkor 28mm f3.5 now serves as a back up. Depending on my mood, I also bring along my Petzval 85mm f2.2. To be honest, it’s very difficult to be discreet with this but I love the unique look it gives to my photographs.

In my bag, I also carry around a notebook that contains blueprints and designs of the cameras and other stuff I make. I have six rolls of film that are contained in a wooden box I made so I won’t have to carry around individual boxes or canisters. Even if it gets a lot of smack, I enjoy using expired Kodak Colorplus 200. My uncle brought me to a local studio that was still selling rolls and luckily they offered to sell all of their stock to me for a very decent price. I also carry along a blower, pencil and a small knife because you never know when you’ll need them.

I also carry around a pair of sunglasses, my wallet/money pouch (which includes a 20% discount card for my local developer and has proven to be very helpful) and a book I picked up at a second-hand book shop. (I love the Nat Geo book because of the pictures.)

I am very excited to see where this project will take me and I hope you would be interested in joining me.
You could find my posts here at http://pag-balik.tumblr.com

I’m also thinking of doing some pinhole work around town but I’ll save that for another day or post.

I hope you enjoyed this post! :)
Thank you and God bless!

– David Felix

Thanks for sharing your bag with us, David. That wooden box is very cool. I wish I could make them too.
Check out the links and please 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. Optimum size is 1500 across. 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.

Cheers
Japancamerahunter