I hope everyone had a great Labor Day. I enjoyed some wonderful days, but now I'm back with a Tip for Tuesday. For quite some time now, I've been look for a camera bag that will accommodate my camera gear, as well as personal items, like cell phone, wallet, glasses... you get the idea. Most camera bags seem designed primarily for men who, generally, keep these personal items actually on their person. I have spent more money looking for a bag that I felt protected both my camera and personal items in ONE place. (Did I hear an AMEN from the female photographers out there?) I felt like I was always making a choice of which items to secure. While taking photos, my small purse was not my primary concern, and, conversely, I have dangled my camera unprotected from my shoulder while trying to get from point A to point B, purchase tickets in a crowd, etc. Looking back, I am amazed all items survived unscathed and weren't subject to pickpockets or damage in some fashion.

Before our trip to Oregon, I was determined to find a bag that I felt a little more comfortable carrying, that also secured all my gear in one place. I ordered a Lowepro Passport Sling Bag and was very pleased with the durability, versitility, and space it provided. I have since discovered camera bags that look more like purses, but they come with a hefty price tag for me to take hiking to a waterfall. It just isn't me to have a pink patent leather purse strapped to my wrist while I'm on some new adventure. This Sling Bag bad boy was under $60. I took pictures of it upon it's arrival so I could show you - oh, the other stuff in the box - uhmmm, Amazon threw it in 'cause I'm a good kid. Okay, not REALLY; but I wanted to see who was still reading. :-)

I hesitate to add this photo, but I'm going to make you feel really good about yourselves and your photography knowledge when I admit this. I snapped several shots and was puzzled when they were not sharp. No. I didn't use a tripod, but they shouldn't be THIS bad. Luckily, this little exercise helped me realize that the lens I was using didn't have the Vibration Reduction feature. This little "practice" session saved me from loosing all the shots from my trip due to blurry hand-held photos. Live and learn - - from my mistakes that is. It's the least I can do for saving my trip photos. The extra laugh is free of charge.

Tip: Photography Bag