Skiing with the Cotton Carrier Camera Vest.
A couple of months ago I was asked by OPG to try out a new camera carrying system by Cotton Carrier.
Their Camera Vest system works much like a Baby Bjorn for cameras, holding a camera snug to your chest and distributing the weight comfortably on your shoulders and torso. When I am on my shooting adventures, I usually carry my camera and a spare lens or two in a waist pouch, which I position so that the gear compartment is in front of me. This has always seemed to be the best way to have my camera easily accessible for action shots, but either I'm getting older (o.k., I know I am) or my gear is getting heavier because I'm finding the waist pouch option is increasingly putting pressure on my lower back. I was eager to try out the Cotton Carrier vest to see if it fit my shooting style. After a few outings over the winter and this spring, I've decided it will be my "go to" system for adventure shooting.
To see how the system works, you can check out the above video made by the Cotton Carrier crew. Basically, a mounting plate attaches to the bottom of the camera, which then slips into the mount on the vest. A Velcro strap can be placed across the camera to keep it snug, a feature I found to be very helpful at keeping my camera from swing around and banging into rocks and trees as I made way way along the trail, especially on steep climbs. You can also attach a leash to the camera to prevent accidental drops.
In addition, you have the option of adding a second mounting holster down near your hip, where you can mount a second camera or a longer lens that has a tripod collar. Once the camera is in the mount, it won't come out until you turn it 90 degrees and pull it up, so there's no risk of it falling out of the mount. The vest distributes the camera's weight very well. I spent one day cross country skiing about 8 miles and did not all feel encumbered by my camera and felt no pain from carrying the camera at the end of the day. And being able to access my camera and start shooting in just a few seconds is a great advantage that I'm looking forward to having this summer as my shooting schedule fills up.
If you are a plodder who mainly shoots landscapes with a tripod, this system may not be for you, as you do have to remove the Cotton Carrier mounting plate to then attach your regular quick release plate. However, if you're an active shooter who wants to have your camera at the ready, this is a great way to carry your camera comfortably.
You can see all of the Cotton Carrier products at the Outdoor Photo Gear website here: Cotton Carrier
Until next time…
-Jerry
Find out more about Jerry at his website, and follow him on Twitter at @jerrymonkman
Real World Freelance Photography
Monday, April 19th, 2010When I first became a full-time nature and adventure photographer nine years ago, I expected I’d spend most of my time exploring beautiful places and having wilderness “wow” moments most days. I knew I would need to also spend time in the studio running the business side of my career, but I had no idea how all-consuming that could be become. After my first year shooting full-time, I analyzed how I spent my time and realized I had only been out shooting around 50 days in the past year. I was a photographer, yet had taken pictures less than two months out of the year!
Part of the equation was the fact that I was a new dad, but more importantly, I let myself get wrapped up in dealing with the more mundane aspects of the job – marketing, figuring out what my website was about, and at that time, filing and scanning slides. It is so easy to let those things take over, especially when you are first starting out and feeling the pressure of “making it.”
Of course, nine years later, that pressure hasn’t gone away, and is worse in some ways due to the state of the industry and the fact I now have two kids. But…I’m a photographer and to succeed as a photographer I need to be constantly making new pictures and letting my craft evolve. The day to day business stuff is very important, but without the pictures and the craft, it’s a waste of time. Over the past several years, I’ve worked hard to develop efficiencies in my business and hired outside help so that I can get the business stuff done and still take pictures. I now get out and shoot around 120 days/year. I wish it were more, but that seems like a good number to me.
That still leaves about 130 – 150 days when I’m in the studio instead of out shooting, but since I live in New England, about half those days aren’t worth being outside anyway! What I did for a day a few weeks ago is fairly typical:
Signed and matted a print for client coming by.
Met with our accountant to go over 2009 taxes. By the way, he said not to worry too much about owing anything – one upside of a down economy!
Uploaded 280 new images to our Photoshelter site.
Exported a Lightroom catalag with 500 images to a thumb drive which I mailed to my part-time keywording assistant.
Chatted on the phone for half an hour with one of our best conservation clients.
Printed and cut 10 prints for above client for an event they are having later this month in Maine.
Selected images and created a Photoshelter gallery for the 2011 Wilderness Society calendar.
Set up a video shoot for later in the week.
Went to the post office (twice).
Scheduled a personal Lightroom consultation for next month with a former workshop student.
Provided high-res links to a commercial client.
Tweeted, Facebooked, LinkedIn-ed and spent the usual minutes studying my bit.ly results, YouTube counts, and Google Analytics for signs that what I’m doing is making a difference (it is.)
Ate dinner, rode bikes with the kids, put them to bed, and processed and captioned about 30 new images while watching Chuck (House was a rerun.)
Crashed at ten.
Pretty typical day. Glamorous, huh?
Until next time…
-Jerry
Find out more about Jerry at his website, and follow him on Twitter at @jerrymonkman
Tags: Business of Photography, freelance. business, jerry monkman, photography, Techinicalities
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