If my bags could talk, I imagine they would have a lot of questions, the first being what kind of photographer I am. Is he a street photographer? Landscape or portrait? I feel my bags would be utterly confused, and I can see why. Today, I consider myself to be a digital content creator with a focus in content creation for sports promotion, advertising, and branding. However, I feel the way I go about capturing the content I create is still reminiscent of my early days as a photographer. Back then, I literally tried every flavor of photography and I have the accessories to show for it. So, my bags would tell you that they have quite a few siblings and that they are a great representation of my creative process and each one has a special role to play.

Say hello to my Lowepro Whistler BP 450 AW backpack, Winston.

Say hello to Winston. He’s my Lowepro Whistler BP 450 AW pack and he’ll probably tell you that he’s my least favorite based on the fact that I take him to the most remote places and use him in ways that he never thought were possible. Simply put, this pack is built like a tank and I love it because it can lift a heavy and large payload for as long as my legs can handle the weight.

Winston can haul it all.
Winston makes shots like this happen.

Just recently I gutted Winston of all his inserts and loaded him up with a Profoto Pro B-4 generator pack before climbing up the side of a rocky hill to get our shooting location at the very top. Winston also comes with me on a few commercial shoots where I need to carry a little more gear, but not enough to warrant taking a few hard cases. I can literally strap anything to him and he’ll haul it. He’s like the mule of backpacks!

I had a shoot at the Whistler Ski Resort this year and I took Winston with me!

One more reason I love Winston is that, unlike some of our pets, he’s easy to clean after a long and dirty day out in the mud. I simply get a wet cloth and wipe him clean, which is something I can’t do with my other packs.

My Lowepro ProTactic, Tracy. (photo cred: Casey Marshall)

Now, this is Tracy. She’s my Lowepro ProTactic 450 AW backpack and she’ll probably tell you that, while Winston has a knack for travel and adventure, she’s a city kid. I like Tracy’s discrete but versatile profile that allows me to bike around the city with her and not have a pack that screams, “Hey look at me, I’m a camera bag with thousands of dollars worth of equipment inside!”

Out roaming the streets and back alleys with Tracy. (photo cred: Casey Marshall)
One of my favorite composites that involved a scouting trip with Tracy.

In the grander scheme of my creative process, I use Tracy lots when I’m biking around looking for background plates for my next composite. It’s super quick and easy to just stash my camera away or change my lens if I need to, which is a must when browsing through back alleys of the city streets.

The Lowepro ViewPoint CS 80 comes in handy to store all my drives and cables.

The oldest and most experienced member of our backpack family is my ViewPoint BP 250 AW, which was one of my first Lowepro backpacks. For some reason I haven’t given her a name, but she is the most utilized and important bag that I own. I use this bag every day that I’m not shooting, so if I’m commuting to work or heading downtown to the coffee shop to edit, the ViewPoint is my go to. It would tell you that it takes care of my 13” Macbook, my Wacom Intous tablet along with all my portable hard drives, card readers and the millions of cables I need for each. It’s hard to get her a name because she is like my Swiss army knife, first aid and tool kit all wrapped up in one.

I love my all my bags and they play a huge role in how I create my content. But if they really could talk they would try to take credit for all the images I create, I’m certain of that!

-Arthur Ward

Arthur’s Bags

Jessica Medina

About Jessica Medina

Jessica Medina is the WW Marketing Communications Manager for Lowepro. You can reach her at jmedina@daymen.com

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