Adorama's grand jam session
It was a dark and stormy night on the Rhine river in Cologne, Germany, during a Photokina photo exhibition some years ago. Seated on the hotel ship Deutschland, which was secured to the dock, I was having little luck eking out anything in the way of useful new product information from a nervous public-relations exec of a major company without anything much new to show. The wind picked up. The ship rolled. The PR pitch, and the ship’s, became more desperate.
Finally reaching behind his chair, he plucked out a peculiarly shaped black object. “Here’s the best thing the company never made this year,” he said.
It was a vertical shoulder case, clearly stamped “sample.” Aside from its blackness, I judged it might be suitable for the Mad Hatter’s dispatch case, certainly passable for carrying sandwiches. “Take it and go,” he said. And I did.
Leaving the Rhine rock-and-roll and returning to my hotel, I poked at the peculiar case. Overall, it measured 13 inches high, 10 inches wide, and 6 inches deep. Unzipping the main compartment, I was somewhat surprised to find at the bottom the familiar movable inserts of a camera cradle for a 35mm or 21¼4 camera plus lenses and a flash unit. Above the cradle was sufficient space even for a folded raincoat or umbrella. It had a zippered net bag to hold film.
Then I caught the drift of the case. It was ideal for just what I was doing—covering Photokina. Photo equipment and my folded gray background for product shots fit nicely in the center, and all the photos, press releases, catalogs, magazines, note pads, and whatnots could slip into the slim outer pockets vertically and remain perfectly flat and unscathed.
While most PC or Mac notebook computers might be too bulky, my 5.25x9.75x1.25-inch Sony notebook fit well. And since the odd size of the case wouldn’t betray the camera equipment or computer within, there would be less chance of it being snatched.
The case and I have since been inseparable at all photo shows and business conventions. Of course, when it’s strictly picture taking, I pick one of my camera-equipment-only bags, the size depending on what I must carry for any particular shooting.
|
