PCA 2021: What’s In My Bag — Brooks Whittington

Another year at the PCA (formally IPCPR) Convention & Trade Show, another post explaining what we carry around while covering all of the booths. This year’s show floor is much smaller, which means I could make some fairly significant changes: gone are the rolling bag, the drinks, the flash, business cards and the second camera. All were sacrificed on the altar of cutting weight and bulk, where every ounce is  a big deal while walking more than 10,000 steps in a nine-hour day on the trade show floor.

Here’s what’s actually in my bag:

• Sony A7rIV Camera with 16-35mm f/2.8 lens — I finally wised up and decided to shoot with just one body and (zoom) lens instead of two cameras with prime lenses. Easier, yes. Lighter, absolutely. But I am pretty sure my old newspaper photo editor is rolling around in his grave.
• Apple Watch 3 — This has become indispensable for any number of reasons, but just the fact that I don’t have to put my crap down to check my phone for texts or Basecamp messages—or even to respond to them—makes it one of the most important things I carry around.
• Tom Bihn Backpack — I grabbed this from Charlie in order to switch over from the Lowepro Pro Roller x300 AW I have used in the past to try and cut down on the bulk I am carrying around.
• Monopod — While it does a great job at keeping the camera steady for videos, but really annoying to carry around all day.
• Sennheiser AVX Microphone — I still think they look a bit dorky and hate having to hand these to people to use, but it produces excellent sound for videos, especially when there is other noise around.
• Hand Sanitizer — These days, I never go anywhere without some.
• Credentials — Still made of crappy paper, still annoying as hell.
• Apple iPhone X — Absolute necessity for any of one thousand reasons.
• Cell Phone Charger — A new Anker charger I grabbed from the office. It has a (built-in) Lighting cord and fully charges my cell phone in about 45 minutes.
• Reporter’s Notebook — These are the same kind I used when I was shooting photojournalism back in the late 90’s. Sturdy, cheap and they fit nicely in my back pocket.
• Pen — Cheap pen I picked up somewhere in the office.
• Boveda Event Humidor Bag — Almost as necessary as the cameras and cell phone due to the extremely dry conditions in Vegas, which are murderous on cigars.
• Snickers Bar — Not as dry as a breakfast bar when I eat it, meaning I don’t have to have a drink to wash it down.
• XIKAR XO Cutter — Light, easy to use and cuts great.
• Palio Vesuvio — Works like a charm (almost) every time and extremely light, making it easy to carry around.
• Pills — A variety of different pills, including Motrin and Excedrin. What can I say, I am getting old.