It’s safe to say that we are more than a little excited (make it ecstatic!) to share an incredible football image with you today.

(C) Robert Beck/Sports Illustrated

It’s courtesy of our Loweprofessional friend, Sports Illustrated staff photographer and all-around great guy Robert Beck.

Robert covered the playoff game between the San Francisco 49ers and the New Orleans Saints last Saturday, January 14.

He captured this stunning shot of the 49er Vernon Davis making the game-winning “grab” at the goal line during the last nine seconds. And he landed the cover of the January 23 issue of the magazine.

This Sunday, January 22 (3:30 pm PST) is the NFC Championship game and Robert will be on the sidelines in Candlestick Park again.

(C) Robert Beck/Sports Illustrated

He even told us to share this with you: “I’ll be there waving to any Lowepro-wearing fans.” That’s a cool promise.

Check out Robert’s cover shot in Sports Illustrated and see more of his thrilling, jaw-dropping and intimate sports images on his web site.

Thank you for being so generous, Robert. And Go Niners (with respect to all New York Giants fans that are Lowepro fans, too.)!

© Derrick Story

One thing that I constantly struggle with is how to store my photography gear and stay organized at the same time. Like many photographers, I find that space is always at a premium in the office.

A tip that I’ve found helpful is to organize my gear in a  rolling case or a stackable shoulder bag. This is an efficient way to manage my gear. I don’t give up too much space, yet I know where every item is.

For large amounts of gear, I use a combination of the Pro Roller x200, Pro Roller x100 and the Magnum 400 AW.  Not only do these bags store everything I need–from camera bodies to multiple lenses–they also help me keep my memory card wallets, hard drives, cables, chargers, light, modifiers, and other necessary items organized effectively.

© Derrick Story

Then I have my “field bags” – the ones I take out for the day. I just grab whatever I need for the day(s) I’m going out shooting, and pack accordingly. My current favorite is the Pro Messenger 200 AW.

For longer assignments, I can also quickly take my Pro Roller x200, already packed and ready to go, and head straight to the airport.

Today we want to send out a big thank you to Ed Heaton for educating us on Creating the Extraordinary during our webinar co-hosted with Nik Software. Here’s a short recap in case you could not attend. You’re invited to check back in a few days and watch Ed’s webinar in its entirety at your leisure. Just check our Ask the Pro page for postings of past webinars and sign-ups for upcoming events.

As Ed told us, choosing a solid, dual-purpose photo backpack for an outdoor shoot is a critical starting point. His choice: the Pro Trekker 400 AW. You’ll find out how he equips for a day out shooting landscapes and the beauty of nature when you tune into the webinar. He also likes slings and shoulder bags for his street shoots.

Other highlights include: shooting RAW using auto focus and manual exposure modes; getting the maximum depth of field with Ed’s ideal ISO setting; why one of his favorite tools is a tripod; and Ed’s hallmark topic: the fundamentals of good light.

Ed Heaton specializes in landscape, nature and travel photography and is based in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

To learn more about his work, please visit his site.

A demonstration of Lowepro's patented weather cover by our colleague Dan at Imaging USA

Our photo specialty colleague Dan demonstrates the built-in All Weather AW Cover™ feature on our new Pro Messenger AW series at the Imaging USA show in New Orleans this week.

Is this a man who knows his Lowepro gear? Yes, as you can see by the other pro products (like a full S&F Series modular set-up) he’s demo-ing at this annual show. If you’re there, please stop by and say hello. We’re at booth 1211.

Follow us on Twitter to get quick news on show highlights.

On my flight to Las Vegas to cover the CES 2012 event, I booked a seat on Bombardier Q400, so I could use my local airport instead of driving 90 minutes to San Francisco International. The tradeoff is that the Q400 is a much smaller plane than those servicing SFO. The overhead compartments are particularly tight.

I decided to go with my most powerful carry-on companions: the Pro Messenger 200 AW and the Pro Roller Lite 150 AW. Both fit under the seat or in the overhead compartment of the 60-seat Bombardier Q400.

To give you an idea of how compact the Pro Roller Lite 150 AW is, here’s a shot of it in the standard US Airline “carry-on luggage check,” and you can see that there’s room to spare. But room to spare here doesn’t mean that it fits in the overhead of a smaller plane. Fortunately, in the case of the Roller Lite 150 AW, it does fit.

Inside of the Pro Roller Lite 150 AW, I have two DSLR bodies and a Olympus PEN. Plus it holds flash, 5 lenses, my iPad, accessories, and more. I put my MacBook Air in the front pocket during travel in an Acme Made sleeve.

I put all of my clothes in the Pro Messenger 200 AW. When I arrive at my destination, I put the personal belongings in the hotel dresser, then load up the photo gear I need for the day in the shoulder bag. I keep the roller locked up in the hotel room. I like to bring a bike cable lock so I can secure it to a stationary object.

I just spent 3 days working in Las Vegas with this combination. I’ve written articles, published photographs, and managed to have a nice meal or two. I love the option of traveling light, but still having the gear I need to get my job done.

Derrick Story is the Photography Evangelist for Lowepro.

Here’s our quick video recap of CES 2012 highlights. We cover the cool, the new, the classic and the next-gen of camera and video hardware and accessories that CES attendees get to see up close.

Our colleague Tim gives a great overview of the flavor of this show and our new booth.

Lowepro at CES 2012 from Lowepro on Vimeo.

Enjoy!

I took my Lowepro Pro Messenger 200 AW around Center Hall at CES to see how much room there was to spare when accommodating the hottest new cameras. This shoulder bag has lots of space, and even more when compact cameras are used.

For example, you could put a half dozen Canon GX 1s in our voluminous Messenger 200 AW.

Lots of elbow room with the Canon GX 1 in the Pro Messenger 200 AW.

The Sony NEX 7 seem dwarfed by the bag.

Sony NEX 7 in the shadow of the Pro Messenger.

The FujiFilm X-Pro1 was bigger than I anticipated. But you could store it with its 3 prime lenses, and still have room for your lunch.

The Fuji X-Pro1 might be bigger than I anticipated, but the Messenger just gobbled it up.

The only camera that gave our bag a run for its money was the flagship Njkon D4. Still room for the body and a couple lenses, but the glass you mount on the body will determine its position in the Pro Messenger 200 AW.

The big dog, Nikon D4.

Aside from all the camera fittings, I kept an iPad 2 in the front pocket, lots of accessories, spare lenses, and snacks in the Pro Messener 200 AW today while working at CES. And I loved the way it felt against my side as I navigated from booth to booth.

You can see more shots from the CES 2012 show floor on The Digital Story Flickr page.

Derrick Story is the Photography Evangelist for Lowepro.