IPCPR 2016: What’s In My Bag – Brooks Whittington

And now, a look at all the stuff I am carrying around every day of the trade show:

1. Cell phone — Obviously necessary, and thankfully we get fairly good coverage on the floor. Also, the IPCPR has a pretty nice app that makes it easy to navigate where you are at all times.
2. SD cards — Kinda need them to shoot photos, but since we are shooting large JPG instead of RAW (since the lighting on the floor is relatively consistent unless you are shooting products that are being lit by external lights) a 64GB card offers plenty of space, especially since we are trying to keep the videos under two minutes.
3. Mints — Cause you know, cigars.
4. Credentials — A fairly typical credential, albeit with the Internet Media designation, instead of, you know, just Media. We paid extra to be able to get onto the floor an hour before most other people.
5. Hand sanitizer — I try to keep using this all day, but still seem to get sick either during my time in Vegas or immediately after every year regardless.
6. Canon 5D MKIII with 24-70 f2.8 lens and RØDE Stereo VideoMic X microphone — Not as heavy as you would think, but still a bit awkward when you are carrying it all around together.
7. Warped cigar case — One of the best cigar cases I have used, but I don’t smoke on the floor for the most part, as it is hard to keep a cigar lit while shooting/talking/running around. Still nice to have, just in case.
8. Ziplock bag with Boveda — To put any samples we are given in before the Vegas weather makes them unsmokable.
9. Apple MacBook Pro — A YUUGE step up from my last laptop, which I purchased in 2009. The new computer takes everything I ask it to do in stride and then some.
10. Sugar Free Red Bull — Just in case I need a boost on the floor, although as with cigars, I have to stop to drink it for the most part. Thanks to Patrick for bringing up a case.
11. Jetline Super Torch — We bought about 10 of these before we came to Las Vegas, and they have come in handy, no doubt.
12. Butane Gas Gold Man Jet Torch — We bought too many of these, so we give them out whenever it seems appropriate. Which is probably never.
13. Lamy pen — Charlie loves these pens, but I honestly couldn’t care less. I think he has a pen problem, but far be it for me to judge.
14. Reporter’s notebook — I bought about 500 of these back when I was shooting for newspapers, a time almost before Charlie was born for those of you counting, and honestly I prefer them to anything else on the market due to the strength of the pages and cover.
15. Business cards — Yes, they are made of wood. No, you should not light your cigars with them.
16. Canon 14mm f2.8 lens — I probably won’t use this, but it is there if I need it, so I got that going for me.
17. Lowepro Pro Roller x300 AW — This is an older version that I used back when I was traveling to shoot photographs on a weekly basis. Easy to roll, and fits everything nicely with no wasted space.