In your bag No: 1625 – Lee Basford

Lee alluringly arrays his essential tools of the trade when cycling and working with the best.

I’m an English designer and art director living in Tokyo, often mistaken as a photographer, occasionally a writer.
Making images began early, with a huge influence from documentary photography and skateboard/bicycle freestyle photographers like Spike Jonze and Tobin Yelland who have an ability to capture raw energy with such natural creativity. I began shooting what was around me, developing black and white prints in my bedroom, learning, making mistakes and loving every minute of it. Work in art & design became more of a focus over time, but cameras were always there to capture images through the years; Ricoh, Canon, Lomo, Holga, even briefly APS film.

I continued to document with a resurgence over the last 10 years. After reconditioning an early Minolta SR-T 101 things became more focused, with more cameras and lenses coming and going as my interest developed. Moving to Tokyo in 2013 expedited things with instantly stimulating surroundings in and around the capital, I documented the city and journeys across the country by bike which led to working together with British cycling brand Rapha who had already cemented a strong photographic identity through the beautiful vision of Ben Ingham. Since 2014 photography became an integral part of my work, creating a balance between design (which is mainly studio based), I’ve continued working with Rapha, Paul Smith and others whose trust has taken me all over Japan and pushed me to develop as a photographer. 

My bag is as light as I can make it, using what I need for the day. The basic set up would be a 5D body, 50mm lens and often a single zoom depending on the circumstances. I often need to ride a bike while shooting, so having the minimum amount of equipment is essential, making what I have with me work for the situation has always been a challenge that I’ve enjoyed – it’s often in those situations when adaptation gives you some of the most interesting results. I carry a film camera when weight allows, mainly for incidental photography or more personal shooting. My SR-T with HP5 saved me while shooting in remote Hokkaido when I dropped my main camera in the river, the juxtaposition of styles wasn’t something I’d planned, but it worked really well.

Instagram: @leebasford
Medium: medium.com/@leebasford
Web: humankind.jp

Thanks for sending us your bag shot Lee. Impressive work, looking forward to seeing more!

Keep them coming folks, we need more submissions, so get your bag on Japancamerahunter.com

Send me a high resolution image of the bag. Optimum size is 1500px 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. Snapshots of your gear with a camera phone and no words will not be featured.
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