Street Photography Gear and Accessories I've been using in 2018

Street Photography Gear and Accessories that I've been using in 2018:It's been a couple of weeks or so since I returned from Tokyo and I've been flat out with wedding edits, family day in the life shoots and organising some new workshops for the new year.

Thanks for all the comments on the Tokyo vlog that I did by the way.

It's great to see the community building here and on my YouTube channel and I really hope that I'm getting content out that you find interesting and engaging.

Now, one of the things that came up many times in the comments on the Tokyo vlog was:

"What's your usual set up for Street Photography?".

So that's the focus of this post. As usual these days, I've created a video to walk through all my Street Photography Gear and Accessories I've been using in 2018 which you can see here:

I go through what I would typically take on a Street Photography day out.

Bear in mind, of course, I'm a Fujifilm shooter - so my gear is Fujifilm orientated.

This doesn't mean of course that you can't use other brands to get enjoyment from shooting street.One of my best friends who I shoot with regularly shoots with a Leica M9 and I'm in awe of his pictures - but it's more a testament to his skill than anything else.

So, I guess, the point I'm trying to make is that it's not just about the gear you use - but I do find it intriguing myself having a peek into other people's camera bags and sometimes I'll get ideas from them for some items that I may find useful.

A typical day, by the way, is what I would class as a day out shooting for fun.

Not a workshop or a commission, just a day when I grab a bag and go out and shoot for myself or with some friends.

It's important that I travel light on these days.

If I'm heading to London, for example, I'll have to get a train and spend the whole day moving about the city.

I definitely don't want to carry lots of stuff with me and for that reason, I typically go with non-interchangeable cameras these days.

Street Photography Gear - The Bag

If you remember way back when I did my 2018 Wedding Gear bag video, I mentioned that I used the Filson David Alan Harvey Magnum bag.

I still use that for weddings, but it's not a bag I use now for Street Photography.

Instead, I use a WotanCraft Trooper messenger bag.

I'll link to all this stuff at the end of the post as well. The WotanCraft is a great bag for me when I shooting on the streets because it's not only small but it's compact, water-resistant and has a really neat modular system which allows for easy storing of batteries etc.

I hate having batteries bobbing around loosely in the bag so this one works really well.

You'll see that it stores everything that I need for the day and despite its small footprint, it stretches and moulds itself around the contents really well.

It's a really neat bag and it's the one you can see me wearing in the Tokyo Vlog.

I've had a lot of bags of course - haven't we all?

And this is one that ticks a vast majority of the boxes for me when I need to carry a few bodies, laptop and peripherals etc.

Street Photography Gear - Accessories

First, we have the Lee Filter System.

I carry a 10 stop ND filter with me and also the Lee Seven X100 adapter which you need for the X100 system of course.

I use this very very infrequently, but oddly enough, it's something that comes with me every time I shoot.

It packs away pretty flat and has little weight so there is no issue there.

Of course, remember the X100 system has a 3 stop ND filter built-in too, so you can effectively stack the physical ND filter on top of the built-in one if you so wish.

This is useful in extremely bright light, or if you want to do some long exposure stuff.

As I said, I rarely use it, but always take it - for people who like to get creative with long exposures I would suggest an ND filter would be essential.

On that point, there is, of course, no point doing long exposures unless you have some kind of stabilisation.

Now, remember we are talking about Street Photography so I don't want to be taking a full tripod system with me, but I do want something to stabilise should I want to do any long exposure, or, in fact, any time-lapse or perhaps a quick bit of filming.

For that, I have my trusty and tiny Manfrotto Pixi handheld tripod.

This is perfect for small mirrorless cameras (though probably not going to take something like an X-H1 with a large zoom on it).

It's incredibly light, incredibly strong and has easy positioning and angle alignment. This is definitely something that I would take everywhere with me - and in fact, I have two, as I take one to weddings with me as well.

Great piece of kit that is cheap and well built.

I've had mine for years now. I always use Sandisk Extreme 95mbs cards with my cameras and they've never let me down. I have a handful of batteries of course with me on the day and you can see I have both the standard Fujifilm batteries and the older NP-95s which will become obvious in a moment. Something that is new to me, but works amazingly well, is the little Instamic microphone system. AMAZING. This little box can be used for filming if I'm vlogging for example, or I can use it to record ambient sound that I may want to use in future videos. It's a unique little thing.

You just switch it on, and it starts recording clean stereo audio on its inbuilt microphone. If I decide I want to do some kind of vlog or interview then it can just clip, pretty discretely, onto my shirt and it's much better audio than the onboard cameras. I wouldn't say it's cheap, but I think it's reasonably priced for what it does. Just be aware if you order an Instamic from outside of the US, as I did, then you'll have to pay the import duties when it gets to your neck of the woods.

That wasn't expensive either but it's just worth bearing in mind. The instamic is also water-resistant and very durable. It just sits in my bag and I can use it if I need to. I have my Apple Earpods - which I've yet to lose one of. Actually, I'm not much of an apple user. I have an iPhone and that's it - but these are great. I got them really because I have a smartwatch which I can store music on.

So when I go running, I can use these ear pods connected to my watch to listen to music - saves me taking my massive iPhone with me when I'm running. Nice tech - works really well - though I do feel a little bit like a wannabe spaceman when out in them. And of course, we have my beloved Surface Book.

BY FAR THE BEST LAPTOP I've EVER OWNED. This is not the latest model, I think they just released some new ones, but it's insanely good if you are a windows user.I have all my Adobe applications on there, including Premiere Pro and it works like a dream.

Any of my active edits are synced via drop box using smart previews so I don't need to clog up the drive with lots of images.

It's just great. The pen is amazing, the screen detaches to turn into a brilliant editing tablet and this is definitely something I couldn't be without.

It has an SD card reader, a couple of USB drives, headphone socket etc too.

A perfect mobile office for me. Love it. And it just sits in the bag there. I don't take a charger for this laptop as it is perfectly good for many hours of work on a full charge.

Street Photography Gear - Cameras

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Remember, this is just typical gear I'd grab for a day out. Firstly, of course, is X100F.

Needless to say, the X100 range of cameras has been a mainstay in for my photography since 2011.

I also have the WCL - wide conversion lens - that I still take with me.

I don't take the Tele Converter these days as the X100F has a built-in digital teleconverter though I have to be honest and say that 99% of my images are shot with the standard 23mm lens.

It's an amazing thing but you know what I think the most important thing about the X100F is? That it's fun to use. I just enjoy it. That's very important to me.

Alright, the other camera, of course, is the X100Fs little teeny brother, the X70.

This will often just be in my jeans pocket or coat pocket when I'm shooting street.I do use it, but not as much as the X100F.

Unfortunately, it's hard to get hold of the X70 these days and there doesn't seem to be any indication from Fujifilm that they will update this line any time in the future - which is sad as I feel it's an amazing Street Photography camera. Of course, some will not like the fact it doesn't have a viewfinder and if I'm honest, it's not the most ergonomically easiest camera to use but it's so small and works so well.

Mine is very battered now, as you can see - I explained what happened to it in a previous video so I won't dwell on it. Needless to say, combined with the X100F I think it's a must-have in my street photography camera bag. Alright, that's it - pretty small setup I know but the bag carries everything I need for a typical day shooting:

Two cameras, laptop, filters, tripod, etc. All good to go.

OK - so, as always, thanks again for bearing with me. I hope this post was useful and please, any questions about this post leave them in the comments below - have a fantastic day, enjoy shooting and shall see you next time.

2019 Workshops: https://www.kevinmullinsworkshops.co.uk

Bag:

Wotancraft Bag: https://bit.ly/2SdC78w

Cameras:

Fujifilm X100F: https://amzn.to/2KHYHmx

Fujifilm X70:

Computer:

Microsoft Surface Book: https://amzn.to/2QtR7Bj

Accessories:

Simplr Straps: https://simplr.us/

Instamic: https://instamic.io/

Manfrotto Pixi: https://amzn.to/2PXKeIY

Lee Filter Ring X100: https://amzn.to/2PVtLoB