Free Desktop Wallpaper: December

The free desktop wallpaper for December comes from Coney Island in New York.

Coney Island’s amusement parks retain a kind of shabby charm that really appeals to me. Out of season, with snow on the ground, it has an other-worldy feel and walking along the silent promenade makes you feel like you could be an extra in a Tim Burton film.

The mural on the wall shows Neptune, standing in a seashell-clad chariot pulled by giant seahorses. I love the colours on the wall and they stood out a mile against the monochrome, snow-covered landscape.

December 2008 Wallpaper (1024×768)
December 2008 Wallpaper (1280×800)
December 2008 Wallpaper (1280×1024)
December 2008 Wallpaper (1920×1200)

Scenes from Victory Monument

I was taking photographs at Bangkok’s Victory Monument this morning. The large roundabout forms a transport hub in the centre of the city and, as you can see, is crowded with buses, taxis, cars, bicycles and tuk-tuks at ground level with a pedestrian walkway circling the roundabout and a higher level carrying the BTS Skytrain.

(click to open larger size)

Bangkok is always busy and nowhere illustrates this better than the Victory Monument roundabout. The layers of transport, one above the other, give a sense of the bustling heart of Bangkok. On the ground level, beside the road, street vendors cook up a huge variety of dishes including spicy salads with shredded papaya, fried chicken, pork and shrimp dishes and more variations on noodle dishes than it’s possible to count.

The pedestrian walkway is busy with friends on shopping expeditions, businessmen talking urgently on mobile phones and groups of gossiping schoolchildren whilst the Skytrain rumbles back and forth overhead.

Sadly, in another part of the city, the situation at the international airport is about to play out to what we hope will be a peaceful conclusion. If you’re one of the estimated 100,000 350,000 tourists currently stranded in Bangkok then I hope you’ve been able to get out and enjoy some of the city’s more appealing aspects. Whilst there are probably worse places to be stranded, I hope that you’ll soon be back on schedule and that being stuck in Bangkok isn’t proving to be too much of a nightmare.

Photographer’s back-up strategy

Murphy’s Law states “If it can go wrong, it will“. Gough’s Law adds that “If it can go wrong, it will, and at the worst possible time“.

I shan’t labour the necessity of back-ups because most photographers are probably already acutely aware of the need to have some redundancy built-in to their workflow. However, if you’re not already on top of your back-ups then I hope this post might offer some pointers.

My own workflow has evolved over a number of years yet the crucial elements of my back-up strategy have remained constant. I know from experience that my workflow needs to include steps to create back-ups that are:

• Reliable
• Robust
• Regular

This post will discuss the particular workflow I use and I apologise to PC users as some of the solutions I talk about may be Mac only. If anybody knows PC-alternatives to the Mac solutions, please leave details in the comments.

Testing

Perhaps the best way to identify potential flaws in your own back-up system is to simulate a disaster and to temporarily lose your current back-up devices or media one-by-one and then see how quickly you can return to a normal working state without them. If you back-up to CD, what happens if you lose that CD? Do you have another source for those files? CDs are notoriously fragile and may well be the least robust storage method. What happens if you switch off an external hard-drive? Do you have another drive with those files in place? What happens if your computer grinds to a halt one morning? Do you have a replacement to hand or a means of quickly getting one? What about the files stored on the internal hard-drive? If that’s well and truly fried, which happens more often than you might imagine, how will you replace those files?

The problem with back-ups is that the first time we pay real attention to them might be when we’re trying to recover important files, by which time the opportunity to create some redundancy has long since passed. Unfortunately, the one and only thing we can be absolutely sure of is that every CD, DVD, hard drive and storage device will fail sooner or later, taking your treasured images with them if you haven’t planned for the inevitable.

Principles

When working out my back-up strategy, I wanted to achieve a set up that would give me lots of redundancy options for image files and also allow me to keep interruptions to an absolute minimum if a storage device failed. I needed to:

• Have geographically independent back-ups of my original RAW files, the equivalent of my “negatives”.
• Keep downtime to a minimum if a device holding my working (DNG) files was to fail
• Have online versions of image files, completely independent from my own operation
• Have complete, bootable copies of my computer operating system

Workflow

This is my workflow, step-by-step. The flowchart above will help you follow the process (opens in a new tab/window).

1. Shoot RAW
   My CF cards are numbered and used sequentially. I don’t format until the card is in the camera so that the RAW files remain intact for as long as possible. I use cards sequentially because it appeals to my sense of order but also so that I can identify persistently troublesome cards.
2. Back-up CF cards to 250Gb Hyperdrive Colorspace O in the field
   I stick my CF cards into the Hyperdrive almost as soon as they come out of the camera and leave it in my bag, backing-up one card as I fill the next. It’s a quick and easy way to create an immediate back-up when I’m working. The Hyperdrive has worked well but I find it a little clunky to navigate. If I was buying again I would probably go for a device without a screen display. I rarely view pictures on the Hyperdrive and some of the Jobo devices are smaller, lighter and would probably suit my needs more effectively.
3. Import to Lightroom, creating DNG files and backing-up RAW
   I use Lightroom’s Import dialogue to create DNG files and to back-up RAW files. Even this early on in my workflow I already have four copies of each file, three RAW and one DNG.
   I use Freecom Tough Drives when I’m travelling. They’re encased in tough rubber, have shock-resistant casing around the drive and come with a built-in USB connection.
   Back in the office, I have two LaCie 500Gb drives that are set up in a RAID 1 array. Wikipedia will explain RAID arrays better than I can but basically, RAID 1 works by mirroring one drive to the other. I see the pair as a single drive, reading from and writing to them as a single unit. However, if one fails then I can continue working on the other until the faulty drive is replaced, at which point the mirrored array is automatically re-built. Because I’m effectively using two hard-drives as one, software can read and write much more quickly as it has access to two spinning drives containing identical information. On a Firewire 800 daisy-chain connection, these drives are Billy Whizz!
4. Upload JPEGs to Photoshelter
   When I’ve finished processing files in Lightroom/Photoshop, I upload full-size, high-quality JPEGs to my Photoshelter account. There’s obviously a great advantage in having files off-site and Photoshelter have their own, geographically independent, back-ups in place. The other great advantage of Photoshelter is that I can grant my clients access to files from anywhere in the world and never need to have the physical files with me. I can even access the account through my BlackBerry and have given immediate access to hi-res files from the back of a taxi and, on one occasion, from a boat in the middle of a lake in Cumbria. This is what I like to call “leveraging the technology”.

   Photoshelter also lets me transfer files to my own ISP account using their own, high-bandwidth connection. I upload the JPEGs to Photoshelter, where I have a 1 terrabyte account, and then automatically forward copies to an archive on my own web service. Should Photoshelter ever do a Digital Railroad and shut-down in a matter of days, I won’t need to panic as I have duplicates of all those hi-res files already online.

5. Archive RAW files
   When I’ve finished processing, I’ll archive my original RAW files onto two DVDs, which are then stored in different locations.

Because the smaller external hard drives, including the 250Gb Hyperdrive will inevitably fill up one day, I treat those as temporary storage solutions and consider the following to be my permanent files:

• Original RAW - Duplicate DVDs
• DNG (with original RAW and metadata embedded) - RAID 1 drives
• Hi-res JPEGs (with embedded metadata) - Photoshelter and my ISP

Operating System and System Files

As well as making sure that your image files are backed-up in a robust manner, you’ll also want to make sure that you can recover from a system failure with the minimum of fuss. If your computer starts to choke then you need to have the digital equivalent of the Heimlich Manoeuver ready to put into action.

Apple’s Time Machine solution is terrific in my opinion. I’ve attached a 500Gb drive and this is devoted to Time Machine back-ups. It’s nearly filling up now but I have pretty much every version of every file I’ve worked on since Feb ‘08. The ability to go back in time and to recover old files has proved to be invaluable and given that Time Machine works effortlessly in the background, I’d recommend it to all Mac users.

Shirt Pocket’s SuperDuper software is just that: Super Duper. It gives you a fully-bootable backup of your Mac system. So, should the worst happen and you computer fails to boot properly or develops a software-induced fault, you simply plug-in your SuperDuper drive, hold down the [alt] key as the computer starts-up and it can be prompted to boot from the SuperDuper drive. Genius! There’s a free trial download available so get it, install and run it today. It might just save your life!

The other great advantage of SuperDuper is that is creates an easily accessible clone of your entire system. Because it will now work seamlessly with Time Machine, I have been able to partition a large LaCie Rugged Drive into three. One partition carries my SuperDuper backup, one carries my Time Machine backups and the third carries original versions of vital software, like Lightrom and Photoshop. I can carry this with me on trips and have a portable yet comprehensive back-up solution in my bag.

Expect the unexpected

With Murphy’s Law in mind, we know that every piece of kit we have is likely to fail at some time. Luckily, a little bit of planning can save an awful lot of hassle further down the line and I really recommend that you take a quick look at your back-up practices and try to identify potentially fragile areas. All of these solutions are inexpensive and reasonably quick to implement so there’s really no excuse for not doing having a robust system in place by Monday morning.

Lastly, check your insurance policy. Are your drives and CDs covered under your Home Insurance? Will your policy provide replacements or cover the cost of potentially expensive data recovery exercises. If you’re a professional and have a pro policy, will it reimburse you for any interruptions to your business caused by data loss? Will it cover the costs of replacement gear and pay you for your time as you set up a new system?

The subject of system and image back-ups is not, let’s be honest, the most rivetting one in the world and coming, as I do, from a world of Risk Assessments and Disaster Recovery exercises it’s not a topic that I want to dwell on. Yet, crucially, it’s something that can quickly be taken care of and the investment of a small amount of time and money now will, I promise, save you a whole load of time, expense and heartache further down the road. Now at least if you lose all your hard work you won’t be able to say that I didn’t warn you.

A postcard from Bangkok

Jack Kurtz has asked about the situation in Bangkok and I’ve had a number of e-mails asking what it’s like in the city at present, which are appreciated.

However, before I talk about Bangkok, I awoke to shocking and saddening news from Mumbai this morning. I had tuned in to the BBC World News channel to catch up with any overnight developments in the situation in Bangkok and was dismayed by the news and pictures from India’s business capital.

I’m sure all our thoughts go out to those who have lost friends or family members in the terrorist attacks and we will hope that those still in the city remain safe.

—

With regard to Bangkok, the truth is that even living in the city I have seen little evidence of the protests and demonstrations currently taking place. I have been going about my business, moving around the city, taking pictures, going to the Post Office, fetching groceries etc. without any trouble at all. Consequently, there’s a slight disconnect between my everyday experience and the scenes I’ve watched unfold on the nightly news.

The fact that the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protesters have taken over both the international and domestic airports is troubling and I sympathise for those people stranded and to those who have had to change their holiday plans. Whatever the politics, and I really don’t know enough to comment, I would guess that the damage to Thailand’s reputation and the loss of vital tourist income will have an impact that lasts long after the airports are re-opened.

As for what happens next, it’s impossible to predict. The PAD are refusing to leave the airports until their demands are met, one of which is the resignation of Prime Minister, Somchai Wongsawat. The head of the army, General Anupong Paochind, has called for fresh elections whilst the Prime Minister has rejected calls for his resignation, declaring that he will remain in office. It certainly seems to be stalemate and perhaps the only thing we can be sure of is that something will have to give sooner or later.

You can keep up to date with latest news from the region on the BBC and CNN web sites.

In the meantime, I’m sorry to those people who are due to join me on photo workshops in Bangkok in the next few weeks. I have been in touch with them individually and agreed that we will watch the situation closely, hope that it comes to a swift and peaceful resolution and keep our fingers crossed that we will be able to meet up as planned and spend time capturing the more typical and uplifting aspects of Thai culture.

Talking of which, I took time out this morning to go and enjoy one of my favourite parts of Bangkok. The river taxis that swish up and down the Chao Phray rivera are a great way to see the city. They were packed as usual this morning and there were as many camera-toting tourists as ever. I think the noisy, bustling Bangkok river taxi offers one of my favourite journeys in the world. I was enchanted when I first took a river taxi, several years ago, and although it’s far from comfortable when crowded, it retains it’s charm for me. The Chao Phraya isn’t really the most attractive river in the world if I’m honest but it does have a kind of shabby and aromatic charm that I enjoy.

I hopped off at Memorial Bridge and took a leisurely walk through the fruit, veg and flower market, which is always an experience. I think asparagus must be in season as there was a lot of it on sale today. I took the last remaining table for lunch at a small cafe beside Tha Tien pier, caught up with a friend who sells material prints and caught the river taxi and skytrain back home, enjoying the sight of the recently erected Christmas decorations outside the main shopping malls.

As you can see, the Land of Smiles is still very much living up to its friendly reputation and although the news bulletins are necessarily filled with less inspiring images, it’s not the complete picture.

It’s been a week or more since I last posted but you’re not going to get an apology because according to Leo Babauta, it’s the last thing that readers want to see and I agree

By way of compensation though, I have an article planned on Backup Strategy following a recent discussion on that topic that was never quite concluded (sorry Jackie) and I’m hoping to also post some news from the Bangkok Refugee Centre, where I’ve spent a bit of time recently.

For those of you who either live in Bangkok or who are still here unexpectedly, check out the Bangkok Music Society web site and their Christ Church concert on December 4th. Download the Bangkok Music Society Christmas Concert poster.

mtk.

Photographer’s Location Guide: Budapest

My photographer’s guide to Budapest hits the shops this week in the current edition of the ever-popular Digital Photographer magazine.

The article includes tips on photographing Budapest from Castle Hill and also from the Citadella, which is surely one of the most photogenic spots in any European capital.

One of the interesting things I’ve noticed about writing these location guides is how it’s like an extended memory exercise. Although I’m currently working in Thailand, I’m thinking back and trying to remember things about Budapest: place names, the name of a bridge or a church, the route a tram took. It’s funny how much comes back when prompted and I guess a lot of that information would gradually fade away if I wasn’t forced to recall it.

One of the best locations for photography in Budapest is the Citadella, a hill perched right beside the Danube that affords views up and down the river. As well as the great views, the Citadella is home to a series of very powerful statues. They were originally made to celebrate the might of the Soviet empire so it’s not surprising that they are powerful and imposing works of art. The inscriptions praising the Soviet Union have long since been replaced with something a little less awkward but the statues remain, dramatic examples of an irresisistible force.

The statue in the first picture is especially compelling. The figure’s powerful stance and the long ‘S’-shape formed by his raised arm and extended leg is, I think, unlike any other statue I’ve seen. The fact that it stands a good 20-25 feet above the ground so that visitors are forced to look up into its terrifying face only increase the sense of power. However, as you can see, if you climb onto the plinth of a nearby statue and stand on tip-toe it is possible to get almost level with the figure to include a few of the city’s rooftops in the bottom of the frame.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the small lookout point another statue is heading off in the direction of the rising sun, providing a good opportunity for a striking silhouette. Can anyone tell me which mythical figures these statues represent? Is the first one Hercules and the second one Apollo?

There is a Statue Park outside Budapest which, sadly, I’ve not had the opportunity to visit. It contains acres of old Soviet statues, removed by the Hungarians and turned, somewhat enterprisingly, into a theme park. It’s definitely on my list for next time.

Inspiration for young (and not so young) photographers

There must be something in the air. Or perhaps it’s a phase of the moon. Either way, a cascade of inspiring interviews and quotes have hit my Inbox over the last few days and knowing, as I do, the joy of sharing, I thought I’d do just that.

Firstly, a list of “advice for young photographers” has been posted on the Magnum Blog

I’m not sure why it’s specifically “young” photographers. I’d be stretching the definition of the word if I called myself “young” but there was much that I found interesting. You can download the full PDF from the Magnum blog but I’ve picked out a few of my favourite pieces of advice.

“Get a good pair of walking shoes and…fall in love” Abbas

“Photograph because you love doing it, because you absolutely have to do it, because the chief reward is going to be the process of doing it.” Alex Webb

“…learn as many languages as possible, go to movies, read books visit museums, broaden your mind” Martine Franck

“Be yourself, get up early, and don‘t try too hard” Peter Marlow

“Follow your heart and never give up.” Stuart Franklin

The full article is eight pages long and what I found most interesting was the similarity in what was said. There’s little, if any, talk of how to run a business or how to present a portfolio or how to set up a web site, important though these things clearly are.

Almost all of these highly successful photographers talk about following your passion, about photographing the things that delight and move you.

I think that, as photographers, we all find ourselves occasionally photographing subjects that don’t really inspire us. Whether by the necessity of having to pay the rent or perhaps through an uncertainty that what we really want to photographs will be considered “valid” by those around us.

I guess all artists have a tendency to seek approval, whether in the form of acknowledgment from our peers or through photo competitions or online forums or any of the many other means by which photographic work is judged. The approval of people we respect can be very reassuring. It probably takes a quite determined, perhaps bloody-minded, character to completely dismiss others’ opinions and to be content with their own opinion of the work they’ve produced.

But if the Magnum quotes prove anything, it is that successful photographers share a passion for their art and for their chosen subjects, whatever that may be.

Talking of producing something that you can be truly proud of, Ami Vitale is a photographer who seems to be very much on top of her game. I don’t need to say more about her as Matt Brandon has done the job for me with a terrific interview with Ami over at the Digital Trekker blog.

Photos: Muay Thai (Thai Boxing) training centre

Muay Thai is Thailand’s national sport and no visit to the country would be complete without some experience of the sport. As a spectator I mean. There’s going to be trouble if bus-loads of tourists start climbing out of their air-conditioned coaches and climbing into a Muay Thai boxing-ring.

Having said that, the training centre I visited this morning had its fair share of high-kicking overseas visitors. Muay Thai is a stylish, graceful and powerful form of kick boxing where fighters use their elbows, knees, shins and feet as well as their gloved fists. Visitors come from other countries to train at the Muay Thai centres, which have a reputation for producing fighters with high levels of stamina and fitness.

The Fairtex Muay Thai training centre I photographed this morning is a remarkably peaceful place. Although fighters are busily training in the four roped rings and kicking or punching the collection of swaying punch bags there’s a lot of laughter and smiles. Training is taken seriously of course but there didn’t seem to be an awful lot of posturing and the place certainly didn’t seem especially testosterone-filled.

Despite the fearsome poses, the people training, some as young as thirteen, seemed about as ready to break into a smile as they were to break into a sweat. It probably has a lot to do with the sense of custom, tradition and mutual respect that surrounds Muay Thai. The tradition of Wai Khru is a ritual part of a Muay Thai fight and involves the fighter paying his respects to his teacher.

Experienced Muay Thai fighters are supremely fit and have incredible stamina. I wouldn’t say that I felt especially unfit in their presence but, well, there were one or two press-ups when I got home. I forget if it was one or two but it’s a start, right?

(wait for this page to fully load before clicking an image above)

Review: Think Tank Skin Set, Belt & Harness

This is a long overdue review of the Think Tank Skin Set with accompanying Steroid Belt and Pixel Racing Harness.

Let me start by saying that I’m not sponsored by Think Tank Photo so you should have no fears about my review being in any way biased. However, I should declare that I was supplied with this gear by Think Tank with the express purpose of testing and reviewing it.

This review is the culmination of a year’s extensive testing.

Searching for the Holy Grail

I’ve used all sorts of camera bags. I’ve had a variety of LowePro Trekkers and Computrekkers, which have served me well. I’ve had massive Crumpler bags (Brian’s Bathtub was, I suspect, named literally!), I’ve used classic Domke bags and the even more classic Billingham bags. I’ve had rucksack models, over the shoulder models and slingshot models.

And all, without exception, have been the source of great frustration at one time or another. Either too small to comfortably carry enough gear for a day’s shoot or so big and bulky that even when empty they exceed the maximum size and weight for airline carry-on restrictions.

At one stage my growing collection of day-to-day camera bags threatened to consume my study whilst redundant bags were already taking up valuable storage space in the cupboard beneath the stairs. It reached the point where my Significant Other explained to me in no uncertain terms that if the bags weren’t quickly put up for sale on eBay then I might find myself put up for auction.

And so the search for the Photographer’s Holy Grail: the perfect camera bag, continued.

Rucksacks v Shoulder Bags v Belts & Pouches

I find that rucksacks are better for spreading the heavy load of camera bodies and lenses than over-the-shoulder models but they’re such a hassle to get into. The nightmare memory of desperately trying to rummage in a Crumpler rucksack in search of a lens in Budapest will stay with me for a long time. The light was gorgeous but the setting sun was about to disappear behind Castle Hill and the golden dome of the Parliament Building was threatening to fade to an uninspiring grey at any second. I quickly shrugged the backpack onto the ground, hearing a simultaneous splash and crack as I dropped it into a large puddle, forgetting that I’d just placed a rather expensive polarising filter into the rear pocket. I got the shot but picking up the sodden rucksack and clearing away the splintered glass left me vowing to find a solution that worked.

I’ll cut to the chase and say that I think the Think Tank Skin Set is the closest I’ve come to finding the perfect camera gear carrying solution.

Think Tank Skin Set ($149.00 / £95.00)

The set comprises five Skin pouches. Each is designed for a particular purpose and the size and shape of each varies to accommodate different configurations. I’ll talk about them in terms of my specific gear although they’re flexible enough to be used with variations of bodies, lenses and accessories.

The Skin 50 carries either my 16-35mm 2.8 or my 24-70mm 2.8 lens with, and this is important, the hoods in position. I tend to keep the hoods on my lenses as a matter of course but having to constantly remove and reverse them to squeeze them into rucksacks is annoying and time-consuming. The Skin 50 is also the perfect size for carrying my large pouch of Lee Grad filters.

The Skin 75 easily accommodates my 70-200 2.8 with room to spare and includes a canny “pop-down” section where the bottom extends to allow the lens to be inserted with hood attached. The pop-down section can be zipped back into position at the end of the day but works as a kind of deep drop bag for anything that you want to quickly get out of your hands.

The Skin Strobe carries, unsurprisingly, my 580 EXII flash. What’s more surprising is that I can easily fit it inside with an Omnibounce still attached and I’m pretty sure that it would be large enough to cope with some of the other flash attachments that are on the market.

The Skin Double Wide is ginormous and can easily swallow up large zoom lenses. I tend to keep my 85mm 1.2 in there together with personal items and accessories and perhaps a drink bottle. It’s another pouch that I tend to use to drop things into and is flexible enough to cope with any of the gear that I take out with me.

Finally, the Skin Chimp Cage can carry a spare body, another lens, books, maps or pretty much anything else and also has a pop-down section for extra storage.

Each of the bags is made from rip-stop nylon and after a year of extensive testing, none of the pouches are showing any significant signs of wear and tear. Indeed, they all look remarkably unscathed given the abusive treatment they frequently receive. Each bag also has large pockets which can carry spare batteries, pens, notebooks, memory-cards etc.

Attention to detail

Now here are two of my favourite points about the Skin Set pouches: Firstly, all of the pouches come with a closely-fitting, detachable rain cover that stows in a small zipped section at the bottom of the respective pouch. If it starts chucking down then whipping out the detachable cover is quick, easy and effective. I know what you’re thinking, what if you detach the five individual rain covers on a dry day, they’re going to get mixed up and you’ll never get the right rain cover back inside the right pouch. Don’t fret! With an example of the kind of attention to detail that I find really reassuring, each bag is named with a tag and each rain cover carries a corresponding name tag. It reminds me a little of when my mother used to sew name tags into my P.E. kit and, in the same way that it used to help me quickly find my shorts and T-shirt when my “mates” had dumped them at the bottom of the Lost Property bin, little things like this can save a lot of time and confusion - and potentially damp equipment.

I hate Velcro. I know, I know, it’s very versatile and amazingly clever but it’s so damn noisy. I hate the sound of Velcro closures being ripped open and it’s a bloody nuisance when you’re trying to be quiet and go unnoticed. Skin pouches close with large Velcro squares but Think Tank have included a secret weapon that I think should be a legal requirement wherever Velcro is found. It’s called The Sound Silencer and is a simple device that allows you to fold the Velcro square back on itself, thereby disabling it and leaving you able to open and close the pouch flap without any disturbing ripping sounds. The flap even has small speaker icons on it, which I think is a nice touch.

Steroid Speed Belt ($47.50 / £30.00)

Each pouch carries a “Rotate or Lock” mechanism that allows it to be attached to a Think Tank belt. The pouch can either be locked into a specific position on a belt or left to rotate freely around the belt’s circumference. Locking pouches into place means that you can position them just where you want them whilst leaving them unlocked allows them to be rotated to a position behind you when they’re not needed. It’s a nifty solution that works well in practice.

The Steroid Speed Belt is padded, adjustable and I have little more to say about it other than it transfers the weight of your gear to your hips, is robust and works without hassle.

Pixel Racing Harness ($35.00 / £22.00)

The shoulder harness is designed to attach to a Think Tank belt and after a bit of fiddling around can be adjusted so that there’s a good balance where the weight is spread across your shoulders and around the waist. It attaches securely but there’s still enough wiggle room to swing the belt around your waist by a few degrees, bringing rear-mounted pouches within reach.

The harness also offers an elasticated pocket by each shoulder, which would be ideal for carrying a mobile phone and GPS device but I found that the top of the pocket was so tight that it was difficult to squeeze anything inside it and almost impossible to remove again. A pen or two maybe but nothing larger.

And the proof of the pudding?

The first time I loaded up the pouches and attached them to the belt and harness combination was a telling moment. I was unpacking the car in readiness for a day’s shooting and had slid into the harness and buckled the belt. I laced up my walking boots, picked up a hat and my wallet from the passenger seat and then cursed myself as I looked around the car for my missing camera bag. Such was the difference in terms of weight and comfort from carrying a rucksack that I’d forgotten that I was already carrying all of my gear.

Although the pouches are sizeable, almost tardis-like in terms of what they’ll carry, they never seem bulky when on the belt. I’ve tested the Think Tank gear in all sorts of environments, from day-long treks up Cumbrian mountains to hectic, urban assignments. They’ve accompanied me on trips to Europe, Asia and, most recently, to Bhutan. Because the pouches are detachable it’s possible to change the configuration to suit the job in hand. I can squeeze all the gear I need for a day-long shoot into four pouches or I can just take a spare lens in a single pouch when I’m only going to be out for an hour or two.

I’ve recently removed all of the foam dividers from my travelling carry-on luggage (review to appear here next Tuesday) and now simply load it up with my packed Skin pouches so that when I arrive at my destination I can simply slide the pouches onto the belt and I’m ready to head out.

What’s the catch?

I’ve spoken enthusiastically about the Think Tank pouches, belt and harness because I’m genuinely enthusiastic about them. And after 12 months of continued use, that’s quite something.

However, there are some niggles although they’re little more than that. A balanced review should list the shortcomings as well as the advantages and so they’re listed here although I honestly struggled to think of what to include in this section.

OK. Firstly, when you remove the harness with the pouches attached the whole contraption begins to act like an ill-behaved octopus. Unlike a rucksack, which you can shrug off your shoulders and which will sit politely on the floor where you leave it, a Think Tank belt and pouches lose their shape once removed and it can be a bit of a juggling act to control them. It’s not a big issue but it can be awkward to know which part to grab when you’re getting out of a taxi in a hurry, for example.

It’s also easy to forget just how much gear is stowed in those pouches and it can be tempting to just grab a seat whilst still wearing the harness. That speaks volumes for how comfortable the harness and belt feel but you might find yourself perched on the very edge of a chair with your gear taking up the bulk of the available space behind you.

Oh, also the webbing on the rear of my harness has started to unravel and looks a bit shabby now but I think that’s down to my tendency to lean against walls when I’m waiting for the “decisive moment”.

When the pouches are arranged behind you they can be a bit awkward to reach. The belt will slide round a bit to bring a locked, rear-mounted pouch within reach but there’s some yoga-style twisting involved. I’ve taken to putting the gear I use most regularly into side-mounted pouches and easy to grab items, like drink bottles, into the rear pouches. Think Tank also offer a harness that they’ve called, worryingly, the Belly Dancer, which provides pouch loops at the front. I think both Matt Brandon and David duChemin have said that they’ll be trying this type of harness in future although the image of those two wearing anything known as a “Belly Dancer” is probably not one that you want to dwell on for very long.

Which reminds me of my final point. Although the pouches and belt are ideal for my type of work I was concerned at first that the combination might look a little cumbersome and perhaps draw more attention than I’m comfortable with. I favour camera bags that don’t scream “Look at me, I’ve got lots of gear” and would choose an old army surplus satchel before using a flash, neon, bells and whistles bag. In fact, the pouches get in the way less than a big rucksack does and are probably less conspicuous. It’s also true to say that Style is a land untroubled by a visit from me for many years and the desire to look fashionable is something that I’ve long since stopped worrying about.

Summary

My dream camera bag would condense my gear into a pocket-sized container and magically reduce it to the weight of a feather. Assuming that it’s going to be a while before such a bag hits the shops, the Think Tank Skin Set, belt and harness will remain my preferred camera-lugging gear. The combination of all three removes the back-breaking chore of carrying weighty equipment around and the ability to gain quick access to gear without the hassle of taking off and unzipping a rucksack means that I get shots that might otherwise escape me. That’s no small consideration in my job.

The cost of the Skin Set, Steroid Speed Belt and Pixel Racing Harness is a fraction over $230 / £147, which puts them firmly within the range of anyone looking to buy a decent camera bag. Given the quality of the gear I think that’s a very reasonable price and I wouldn’t worry about paying that for a quality product which I know can help me do my job. Hefty rucksacks can sap energy like a sponge and I know that I shoot for longer and stop less frequently when wearing my Think Tank gear.

The attention to detail is outstanding and small but crucial things like the Velcro silencers are evidence that the bags were designed by working photographers who understand what’s important. The only person who I know isn’t celebrating the ease and comfort offered by my Think Tank gear is my Osteopath.

Pros:

• No more bad back!
• Makes shooting a much more comfortable experience
• Helps, not hinders, me when I’m working
• All gear within reach
• Loads of space inside pouches
• Built-in rain covers
• “Silent mode” velcro suppressor
• Attention to detail in manufacture
• Reasonable price

Cons:

• Can be awkward to reach around to pouches on the back of the belt
• Loses shape when taken off
• Harness webbing could be more rugged
• Shoulder pockets are too small

Prix Pictet contest looks at issues of sustainability

Benoit Aquin has been awarded the first prize of 100,000 Swiss Francs (about $US85,000) as winner of the 2008 Prix Pictet. It is, as far as I know, the largest financial prize in any photographic competition.

The competition aims to highlight environmental issues and this year’s theme asked contestants to focus on “water”. Photographers can only participate after receiving an invitation from the nominations panel and eighteen were eventually shortlisted.

Francis Hodgson, chairman of the judging panel, introduces some of the shortlisted images on the BBC web site including Benoit Aquin’s images from a “dust bowl” China, huge areas turned into a virtual desert as a result of intense arable farming.

Many thanks to my friend Masher for sending me the link.

My Guest Post at The Digital Trekker

Matt Brandon, aka The Digital Trekker, is on holiday at the moment, enjoying the charms on offer in the English Cotswolds. Matt currently lives in Malaysia so I hope he packed a sweater. And an umbrella.

He’s graciously asked me to contribute a guest post on his blog so if you follow this link you will find me revealing some of the contents of my secret notebook, a book into which I copy found quotes, meaningful song lyrics and snippets of overheard conversations.

A new day has dawned, has it not?

I must apologise for stealing Tony Blair’s quote but I also wanted to mention the historic events unfolding in America tonight. I have been watching the results of the American election come in this morning and seen Barack Obama fulfil his goal of becoming President Elect. I was touched by the gracious speech given by John McCain in defeat and pleased for my American friends who have been keen to see a change in the White House. Congratulations!

Next Page »