Editor’s Note: Photo enthusiast Lucas Chudleigh of Prince Albert in Saskatchewan, Canada wrote us about a recent collision between his Honda motorcycle and a Ford pick-up truck. He was wearing a new SlingShot 102 AW at the time, and thankfully, recovered to share this account of a camera protected by its Lowepro bag. In his words, here’s the story.

“I recently purchased a Lowepro SlingShot 102 AW. I bought it for my Canon 60D, which roughly cost $1,500 with the lens—so you can imagine, I wanted the best protection for my investment.

I particularly chose this sling pack to use with my Honda motorcycle. Several weeks ago, I was riding with my camera and lens in the pack. I was doing about 65 kilometers per hour up a busy street. A Ford truck in front of me slammed the brakes as I sat in the middle of the road.

I reacted too slowly. After hitting the brakes, I was thrown from the bike and landed on the camera pack at about 55 kilometers per hour. After landing on the camera bag, I slid about 40 feet on top of the pack until I collided with the truck. So all in all, my camera and the Lowepro bag I carried it in received a substantial beating.

I was rushed to the hospital and my injuries included a fractured hip, shock trauma to my spine and a massive concussion. The following week, I was able to leave the hospital and among the first things I did was check on the state of my camera.

The camera was in 100% perfect condition with not one scratch on it. The lens also was in perfect condition. The pack had three small tears and a broken zipper. I was lucky to survive this accident and I’m absolutely blown away by how well this pack has stood up. I thought maybe this letter also would stand up as a good testimonial to your exceptional bags.”

For Free Bag Friday this week, I have not one, but two Lowepro Pro Roller Attaché x50 bags to award. Here’s how to throw your hat into the ring.

1. Comment on this blog post about how you would use this bag.
2. If you win, promise to send us a photo of you with the bag in action, packed, or a short video of it prepared for a trip, within 14 days of receiving the bag. Your submission will be posted on our Facebook page.
3. All potential winning comments must be posted to this blog by 8 am PDT on Monday, June 20.

Lowepro will randomly pick two comment-entries and notify the winners that day. If you want to see how I use the Pro Roller x50, check out this short video.

If you’ve participated before, you know that there is a lag from the time you post your comment until it appears on the blog. Don’t worry! It will appear. We approve the comments in batches. Good luck, and I hope you win.

Derrick Story is the Photography Evangelist for Lowepro.

One of my favorite moments during the recent LOOK3 Festival was when Martin Bell and Mary Ellen Mark took the stage at the Paramount Theater to show Prom, a movie created by the tandem. Over the course of 4 years, they went to twelve high schools in ten cities, covering a wide range of ethnic and economic groups, and interviewed the teens about life as they perceived it. Martin oversaw the filmmaking while Mary Ellen Mark captured the stills for the book. But when you watch these engaging interviews, it was clear to me that this was a marriage of art.

Mary Ellen Mark talking about “Prom” with Martin Bell standing beside her. Nick Nichols also on stage.

I don’t know how many hours they spent discussing the project at its beginning stages, or how they blended their visions once filming began, but the movie is passionate, funny, touching, unique, and superbly crafted. In a way, it was an icon for LOOK3 itself — talented people working as collaborators to create something bigger than each could do individually.

Participating and helping to sponsor events like LOOK3 is important to Lowepro. Watching the next generation of photographers learn for those who have achieved success is exciting.

Then, bringing it home, if you’re feeling stuck in your creative work, consider partnering with another artist. Who knows… you may find yourself on a stage showing something as wonderful as Prom.

Derrick Story is the Photography Evangelist for Lowepro and covered the LOOK3 Festival of the Photograph as part of the Lowepro sponsorship.

There’s aerial photography, then there are the images by George Steinmetz. He navigates the lightest powered aircraft in the world, a motorized paraglider, to capture pictures for National Geographic and for his personal projects. George describes how he launches the paraglider.

George Steinmetz speaking at the LOOK3 Festival of the Photograph in Charlottesville, Virginia.

“The aircraft consists of three components: the “wing” of a paraglider (similar to an aerobatic parachute), a back-pack mounted motor, and a single-seat harness that ties the three pieces together. It is launched by laying the paraglider out on the ground behind me like a kite, and with the motor idling I run forward, inflating the cells of the glider as it rises overhead. When I give it full throttle, my Fresh Breeze motor has about 175 lbs of forward thrust, which lifts me off the ground after some twenty to 100 steps, depending on altitude and wind conditions.”

On the eve of the LOOK3 Festival of the Photograph, George thrilled a packed theater at the Paramount in downtown Charlottesville, Virginia with his stunning aerial pictures that he’s captured from all over the world. If you’ve never seen his work before, I urge you to visit his web site.

Derrick Story is the Photography Evangelist for Lowepro and is covering the LOOK3 Festival of the Photograph.

Lowepro Flipside 400 AW

The Flipside 400 AW is a high-performance camera backpack designed with large capacity, premium security, all-day comfort, plus protection from the elements with our unique All Weather cover.

And, it’s the selection for this week’s Free Bag Friday. Just add a comment to this blog about how you’d use the bag if you won. We’ll randomly select a winner on Monday, June 6. The winning comment will be posted here and on our Facebook Fan Page.

Good luck everyone… and happy Friday!

We traveled to the Florida Birding and Photo Fest to test our new Scope Photo Travel 350 AW. Among those giving us feedback was Melissa Southern of Next Step Photography Workshops based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Here’s a short movie of Melissa with the Scope Photo Travel.

The camera she uses in this bag is a Nikon D300s. Also, as you’re looking inside the Scope Photo Travel, keep in mind that the design allows you to open the bag in dusty or wet conditions and retrieve a piece of equipment while the other pieces stay clean and dry in their individual compartments. Melissa begins the video by showing you the bag configured in “travel” mode (airlines, etc.). The still image at the end of the movie shows the Scope Photo Travel reconfigured for “working” mode with the camera now in the center compartment (with zoom on) and the scope out for use. There are many interior design options with this backpack.

We anticipate the the Scope Photo Travel will be available in late June 2011 for around $249 US. I’ll keep you posted on our Facebook Fan Page.

Derrick Story is the Photography Evangelist for Lowepro.

When I first started using the Versapack 200 AW, I thought of it as more of a day hike bag. But before a ride one afternoon, I saw the Versapack in my studio and thought, “that would probably be pretty good on the bike too.” So I loaded it up and took it with me for an afternoon trip. Here’s how I packed it.

So now I think of the Versapack as a biking bag that’s also great for hiking…

Derrick Story is the Photography Evangelist for Lowepro.