THE SPCSHP //

So I have a big four-day shoot in Baltimore next week, and I had to hit up my boys at Borrow Lenses for some supplemental gear that I really can’t do without on a shoot like this. I placed the order a few weeks ago and had the package delivered to a FedEx place in Arlington, VA for me to pickup today, so I wouldn’t have to travel with it. 

My wife and I are in Washington DC for a few days celebrating her big 3-0 before I head over to Baltimore on Monday for the shoot, but I had to pick up the package of photo gear at the FedEx place first. The FedEx place was about two miles away from our hotel and I knew I didn’t want to pay for a cab or walk and have to carry the box, so I needed another option. Enter Capital Bikeshare - Capital Bikeshare is this awesome deal in DC where you can rent a bike for awhile, cruise around, and then dock it at one of many convenient depots around town. Perfect. I snagged a bike outside of our hotel and hit it. The bikes have these nice little racks in front with a bungee cord to strap things down with, which I thought would be perfect for the box I was going to pickup.

I rode the 2 miles (all uphill) to the FedEx place and gave them my I.D. - after a few minutes they returned with a GIANT box, signed it over, and sent me on my way. I walked out the front door and took this picture.

Now I had a HUGE box with almost $8,000 worth of photography gear, and a bike that didn’t want it. I started out trying to strap the thing on, and that wasn’t happening, so I just started walking with the box under one arm, and steering the bike with the other. There wasn’t another bike depot anywhere nearby, so I couldn’t ditch the bike. After a while I stopped and rested the box on the seat of the bike, from where it immediately slid into the perfect stupid-cruising position, which I enjoyed for the rest of the two mile downhill back to the hotel.

Anyway, that’s how I handle thousands of dollars of photography gear. 

Now to the good part - here’s my gear pile. I can’t tell you how excited I am about all this stuff. Some is rented, most is mine - all is awesome. 

Canon 5D Mark II Body

Canon 7D Body with double battery pack

Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS

Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 L

Canon 50mm f/1.8

Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 L

Canon 15mm f/2.8

Canon 580 EXII Speedlight

Manfrotto tripod

Manfrotto monopod

Memory card case

Card reader

AA Battery case

And I’ll be rocking all of this with my brand new LowePro pack I got at B&H in New York last month. The lens versatility with these two camera bodies is basically unbeatable. I can’t wait to get cracking with all this stuff. 

Also, as soon as I got back to my hotel room with my rented gear box, I looked out the window and saw a wedding taking place several floors below. Here’s the difference between a 15mm and a 300mm lens:

As always, I love this job.