IN YOUR BAG 1774 – Spencer Bratcher

Here’s my 8L Atom Sling bag from Patagonia. I bought it prior to a trip to Austin TX last year that I knew would involve plenty of walking. It passed the high-speed bar hopping test. Though it’s not a camera bag, it does the job quite comfortably. There’s enough padding on the back panel, and enough layering between that and the outer shell, that rangefinders and point and shoots are adequately protected, just don’t sit down on a bench or bus seat while the pack is on your back.
There’s also a zipper on the front of the sling strap that will fit a few rolls of film. I often find myself swinging this pack around the front of my body as a quick access chest pack over and over to shoot, sometimes wearing it as a chest pack for half the day, which is a very comfortable experience.

This is my lightweight set up for traveling and when I’m on the go. The rangefinder is a Canon VT I found in a great local camera shop in Tulsa OK (the name of the shop escapes me, but they had functioning mini spy film cams that I regret not buying). I used the quick shutter advance trigger that pops out of the bottom of the VT’s body just today to shoot some rapid photos of protesters outside my local courthouse. The body came with no lens, but luckily I was able to source a soviet Jupiter 8 f/2 50mm in great condition via ebay out of Ukraine. It looks gorgeous on the camera in my opinion, and it produces a distinct bokeh that I absolutely love when shot wide open.

The point and shoot is an Olympus XA2 with the A11 flash. It works like a charm, and there’s something so satisfying about sliding open that shell to expose the lens and turn the camera on. The flash indicator pops out of the top of the flash with a very satisfying snap. I’ve gotten the best performance out of this camera when using the flash on city sidewalks at night. I do wish it had manual focus, but I can live with the zone focusing. The zuiko lens is surprisingly sharp. I’ve taken this camera to my best friends’ weddings, in my pocket on random night’s out, on overnight river float trips in kayaks/canoes, in the tree stand when deer hunting, and too many other instances to count. I’ve shot a lot of memories through this camera, and the day it bites the dust will be a sad one.

Film: Typically I prefer the versatility of 400 speed film, but my local camera shop is all out of portra and fuji 400 at the moment.

Air duster: Pretty self explanatory. (microfiber cloth and lens cleaner not pictured).

Watch: Vostok amphibia to tell time and accompany the soviet lens (purchased pre-2022).

Headphones: Some sony bluetooth headphones. Usually playing an ambient piano mix or some three days grace (the duality of man).

Light reading: Some Kurt Vonnegut to make me look cool while I’m not shooting.

Pocket knife: In case of emergency.

That’s the setup! Thanks for taking the time to read my submission, and thanks JCH for all the cool content!

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Japancamerahunter