What’s in my bag?

I have been wanting to do a “What’s in my Bag?” post for the longest time. But I procrastinated time and again because I am simply too lazy to lay out everything I have. So when Jacob from cooksnapeatlove.com asked me to do a guest post for him on this topic, I have no reason to procrastinate anymore.

People always wonder, what is hidden in a food writer’s bag? Nothing magical actually, just many heavy camera and lens. My bag isn’t that tidy. I can have a piece of tissue in this pocket, a battery on another pocket, some coins in some pockets which I always have to dig for them.

I used to carry a Lowepro Flipside 300 backpack wherever I go. But the boy bought me a Billingham camera bag this Valentine’s Day, hence I am using it now. The equipment you see below are definitely not the top notch, but I think it gives good quality pictures for my blog and articles. Most importantly, they are within my budget and lightweight.

Curious what’s in my bag?

Last May, I upgraded my camera from Canon 450D to 7D and I am loving it. It is a high-performance digital SLR with good per-pixel sharpness. I initially wanted to get 5D MKII, but got persuaded to buy this in the end. It’s okay, I love my camera!

The Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 Lens is my walkabout lens. Although it is very fat and heavy when combined with the camera body, I like that it has a fast aperture value of F2.8 which make it ideal for shooting indoor or in low light. And it does not outperform Canon’s similarly spec’d EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM Lens, but it costs less than half as much.

Canon 60mm macro is my love in food photography. It works well, has no downsides and is so much lighter than 100mm macro.

It gives optimum flash coverage and is light in weight!

I dropped the white card in my flash so I have to carry a reflector around. This is a necessity when I am shooting at night without white light and help to eliminate direct, harsh light and shadows.

This 4 extra chargeable batteries are my savior because sometimes, my flash goes out of battery halfway during a food shoot.

A lenspen is a great accessory that removes fingerprints, dust, and other debris that may compromise my image.

And of course I keep a small cloth too. To wipe my camera lens and glasses!

I bought this Coach cardholder while I was travelling in Hokkaido. When I carry the camera bag, I don’t carry my big black wallet because there is no space. So I put my ez-link, namecards, credit cards and money in this cardholder.

How can I miss out my iPhone. I use it to shoot the restaurant menu and stay connected on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. I use it to check emails and play games during my train ride home. Draw Something app is my current obsession!

That’s about all for mine. I can’t carry anymore additional lens because the current weight is already very heavy on my shoulders. Perhaps it is time to change my walkabout lens! Any sponsors? 😀