The Gear Should Help You Photograph, Not Distract You
After four decades of professional photography, I’ve learned that the best equipment is the equipment that lets me concentrate on the photograph.
I’ve used plenty of camera bags over the years. Some protect the equipment well but make it difficult to access. Others are comfortable to carry but require too much digging when I need to change lenses or grab something quickly.
For me, a good camera bag needs to become part of the workflow without getting in the way.
That’s one of the reasons I’ve continued using the Bevis Gear Top Shelf camera bag.
I originally wrote about the bag after taking it through Europe with my Nikon setup, testing it through long walking days, crowded locations, and changing conditions. That experience gave me a good understanding of how it works as a travel camera bag.
Read my original Bevis Gear review
This time, I wanted to look at it from a different perspective: how it fits into my photography workflow.
Experimenting With Black & White Photography
Recently, I’ve been experimenting with Nikon’s custom Black & White shooting mode.
I’ve modified the settings to create my own interpretation of a look influenced by infrared film. I’m not trying to recreate infrared film exactly. Instead, I’m interested in creating photographs with strong contrast, deep blacks, dramatic skies, and unusual tonal separation.
Shooting this way changes how I approach a scene.
I’m looking less at color and more at light, shadows, shapes, and texture.
This photograph is a good example. The mountains, sky, and weathered wooden ladder become simple graphic elements. Without color, the relationship between the dark landscape and bright sky becomes much more important.
This second photograph works in a similar way. The dead tree becomes the dominant subject because of the contrast between its branches and the sky.
This is what I enjoy about black and white photography. Removing color can make you see familiar subjects differently.
Why Accessibility Matters
When I’m out photographing, I don’t want to think about my camera bag.
If I see something interesting, I want my camera and lenses to be accessible without having to stop and completely unpack my equipment.
That’s where the Bevis Gear Top Shelf fits into my workflow.
The bag’s open layout and quick-access design make it easy to get to my equipment while I’m working. It can also be used in different carrying configurations, allowing me to move between backpack and sling-style use depending on what I’m doing.
For me, that’s more important than having a bag with endless compartments.
I want the equipment to be ready when I need it.
The Bag Should Disappear
A camera bag doesn’t make the photograph.
The photographer does.
But the right camera bag can make the process easier.
Whether I’m photographing a corporate executive in Houston, covering an event, traveling, or simply walking around looking for something interesting, I want my attention on the subject and the light.
The Bevis Gear Top Shelf helps by keeping my equipment organized and accessible without becoming something I constantly have to manage.
That’s exactly what I look for in a professional photographer camera bag.
Photography Is Still About Looking
After 40 years of photography, I still enjoy experimenting.
Cameras change. Lenses change. Technology changes. But the fundamental challenge remains the same:
Look at something differently and find a way to make someone else see it.
The black and white photographs I’m creating now are another way of exploring that idea.
The Nikon settings are part of the process. The landscape is part of the process. And the equipment I carry needs to support that process.
The Bevis Gear Top Shelf has become one of those pieces of equipment that simply fits into the way I work.
And when I’m standing somewhere looking at a potential photograph, that’s exactly what I want from my camera bag.
I want to think about the photograph, not the bag.
Photography Beyond the Corporate World
Although much of my professional work involves corporate headshots, executive portraits, and events, photography has always extended beyond those assignments.
I also photograph weddings, where being prepared for the unexpected is just as important. A wedding day moves quickly, and some of the best photographs happen between the planned moments. Having the right camera and lenses accessible means being ready when something unplanned happens.
That same approach to accessibility and preparation is part of why I value a camera bag like the Bevis Gear Top Shelf.
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