Search for a Camera Bag : Part III - The Final Report

Part III of III

I have finally reached the end of my quest for a Camera Bag. In Part I, I discussed the "ideal" camera bag and started my search by comparing some of the popular retail options available.  Moving on to Part II, I added several excellent Camera Bag options available from the handmade realm.  I also provided a comparison sheet for all the bags we had discussed and revealed my choice of the Porteen Gear Camera Bag.

Yesterday my bag arrived, only 2 days after I had ordered it.  Now, that's impressively quick shipping from MI to TX.  I'd also like to take a moment to say that Robyn of Porteen Gear has been nothing but exceptionally attentive and responsive throughout the entire research and purchasing process.  And no, she did not know I was going to review her bag... so it wasn't special treatment.

Packaging

The bag was excellently packed and covered in plastic to protect it from any weather elements on its trip.  Inside the plastic wrapping, the bag was carefully wrapped in complimentary tissue paper, tied with a ribbon, and closed with a Porteen logo sticker.  These lovely touches made it feel like I was receiving a gift for myself in the mail, and that's just a nice way to make your customers feel!  The inside of the bag was thoroughly packed with bubble wrap as well, so it presented perfectly straight out of the box.

First Impressions
I have to say, the colors of this bag are exactly as they were pictured in the online store.  I guess that is one of the many advantages of purchasing from a photographer!  All was as I expected it to be.  Robyn has a great eye for color, allowing her to combine multiple fabrics that compliment each other and work together to create one truly cohesive look.

An Apron fit for a Crafter

I received my custom made Crafter's Apron from Laura of childsPLAYdesigns this week, and I love it!  Laura was wonderfully patient with me as I picked out the perfect fabric to compliment The Curious Cake Shoppe, and she allowed me to design the layout of the pockets as they would work best for me.  Allow this apron has been extremely helpful in all my crafting endeavors this week, I mainly ordered it to serve as an extra set of hands at my craft shows.

The bottom pocket is the perfect size to hold my money pouch, and I also have pockets for my cell phone, business cards, pen, price tags, and lots of miscellanea. I love it so much, I even got in front of the camera again.  I don't think this is going to turn into a habit, but who knows!

Too bad I can't fold up my camera and put it in one of those pockets...

Search for a Camera Bag : Part II - Handmade

Part II of III -- (click here for Part I: Retail)

As you may start to realize, the search for the perfect camera bag took the better part of a week. Looking for a good handmade bag took almost 2 days in and of itself.  I would like to mention that although many of the bags in Part I are cheaper than the bags featured in Part II, that is an intentional move. MANY of the camera bags I looked at were $125+, but I wasn't willing to pay that much for a retail bag. So, when I saw the price starting to climb, I came back over to the Handmade Universe and did some research.

Search for a Camera Bag : Part I - Retail

Part I of III
I was recently the lucky recipient of an amazing new Canon EOS 60D. I'm thrilled, but cautious. It doesn't quite fit in my old camera bag, so I'm hesitant about taking it out into the world. I can't wait to get out there and start shooting, but I want to take my gear with me and not worry about something breaking. Luckily, I was able to get an additional discount on the camera he bought, which cleared up some cash for a camera bag. And the hunt began...

The Caped Rabbit

About three years ago, I ventured to the Cottonwood Arts Festival and fell in love with two sculpture artists: Sumati and Michael Colpitts. Amongst their many creations, they make these gorgeous Caped Rabbits. The detail is amazing, and each piece is made by hand--you'll find no molds or casts here. Unfortunately, I was not able to take any of their work home that day. But, I have been visiting their shows ever since that first day, waiting patiently until I found a piece as perfect as the one that stole my heart that first day. Today, we found him.

We promptly took him to a nearby park and had a little photo-shoot. We found the above tree/trunk in the middle of a walking trail, it was perfect!

Since we live in Texas, we had to stop by a bluebonnet field and grab a couple of shoots there too. What, you didn't know that bluebonnet pictures are a mandatory requirement of Texas residents?

On the way out, we ran into this lovely protective bird.

We tried to stay out of her way, but accidentally stumbled upon the nest anyways.

No worries, we didn't disturb the eggs in any way. I am curious to know what kind of bird this was, though. Does anyone know? You can't see it here, but her eyes matched that orange on her wings perfectly. Just beautiful!

A New Toy

My birthday is in May. As you can imagine, it's quite the surprise to receive a birthday gift almost a month early. Even more so, to open the box and find something as spectacular as this.



Yep, my husband surprised me with a Canon EOS 60D. He had this grand plan for the reveal. I was setup at a Craft Show and he was going to show up taking pictures of my booth with MY camera! How thoughtful is that? My reaction recorded on my own gift. Too bad the wind was so terrible that he had to show up early and help me literally hold my canopy and products down. No matter, the whole plan has me gushing as you can see. The truth is, it was a very sweet thought and that really IS all that matters. Besides, a new camera doesn't need a big reveal to be breath-taking. I couldn't be happier.



Mosley and Lola were absolutely speechless. I can't wait to see what this baby can do when I actually KNOW how to use it.