Though I have given up on the idea of the "perfect" camera bag, I am nevertheless always on the hunt for a better bag for my different needs. I have large roller bags and backpacks to accommodate both my photographic and audio gear, but I have been in need of a smaller bag since the one I have been using for over 10 years was in desperate need of last rights. My research led me to the Think Tank Storyteller 10 bag.
My need for a smaller bag included the ability to carry either a small mirrorless or DSLR body and one or two lenses, as well as my iPad mini. This bag would serve me for both a day of street photography or when on assignment. Using a backpack or roller bag was fine when traveling to and from my destinations, but when I was actively shooting I needed a bag that I could carry on me and provide me quick and easy access.
In the past month of using the Storyteller 10, I have found that this bag has helped meet my needs whether I am using my DSLR or mirrorless kit. Not only does it easily store either body-type, I can also include one or two lenses. With my DSLR kit, the bag easily accepts the body with a moderate zoom attached to its lens hood as well as a fast 85mm lens. With my mirrorless system, I am able to pack 2-3 lenses along with the body.
Weighing in at just 1.5 pounds, the bag helped keep weight to a minimum, which was a concern for me. I have long-avoided the use of shoulder bags because of the strain they produce on my neck and shoulders. However, I found that the bag with a modest bit of kit did not produce the usual discomfort. This was helped greatly with the adjustable padding on the shoulder strap.
The bag is designed with a flip-top lid that bends away from the body providing easy access to the bag's contents. The flip-top itself features a small compartment for batteries as well as two pockets for memory cards. The bag includes a front-facing compartment that includes both a mesh and a zippered pocket when stowing away my phone, notepad. This is also the compartment where the rain guard is stowed, which further protects the bag whose brushed and ballistic polyester includes a water-resistant coating. The bag also includes a rear-slip pocket and an expandable side-pocket for a water bottle or flash.
The interior of the bag which measures 11"x9.8"x4.9" is easily divided using removable closed-cell foam dividers, which allowed me to customize the bag for any combination of kit that I was using. Having a built-in pocket for my tablet has been an essential feature for me as I am downloading images to it while in the field as well as sharing my portfolio with people that I meet during my shooting sessions.
Having used a variety of ThinkTank bags over the years, I found the Storyteller 10 build quality to be as good as all their bags that I have used and continue to use. I use ThinkTank bags that I purchased over a decade ago and they are still holding up beautifully.
On days when I do not need to tow my laptop, the Storyteller 10 has quickly become my go-to bag when I want to carry more than just a single camera body and lens. This bag will be especially important to me when traveling as I will be able to easily compress the bag and stow it in my check-in luggage and later use it for my day-shooting when traveling around the country and abroad.
The Storyteller 10 is a solid bag that provides great versatility for anyone looking for a modest-sized bag that doesn't compromise on design and construction.
David Hobby is the lead instructor for all X-Peditions trips.
He spent 20 years as a staff photojournalist, completing more than 10,000 assignments before leaving The Baltimore Sun in 2006 to found Strobist.com. Over the following 15 years, Strobist grew to be the world’s most popular resource for professional-level photographic lighting education.
Valérie Jardin is an award-winning French photographer who has developed a unique style that is both evocative and authentic. Her work is characterized by a strong sense of narrative, capturing candid moments that reveal the human experience in all its complexity and beauty. With a discerning eye for composition and a keen understanding of light and shadow, Valérie Jardin creates emotionally charged photographs of everyday moments.
Rob Hammer is a photographer based in Denver, Colorado, who shoots for commercial clients like Nike, Adidas, Foot Locker, Fox Sports, and Smithsonian and produces other personal documentary exemplary art projects, including American barbershops, basketball culture, duck hunting, and real Cowboys in the American West.
Mikko Takkunen is a photo editor at The New York Times’s Foreign desk, where he spent more than five years between 2016 and 2021 in Hong Kong as the desk’s Asia photo editor. He began taking these photographs in early 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and continued until the summer of 2021 when he left Hong Kong. His latest monograph is titled, Hong Kong.
Ivan McClellan is a photojournalist and designer based in Portland, Oregon. His work reveals marginalized aspects of black culture and challenges broad assumptions and myths about racial identity in America.
In 2015, photographer Ivan McClellan attended the Roy LeBlanc Invitational in Oklahoma, the country’s longest-running Black rodeo, at the invitation of Charles Perry, director and producer of The Black Cowbo
For over 40 years, Jay Silverman has excelled as a leading Director, Producer, and Photographer specializing in award-winning films, television, digital, and print campaigns.
Jay’s narrative films have been awarded numerous Best Feature and Audience Awards at festivals nationwide. His current dramatic feature ‘Camera’, stars Golden Globe, Emmy, and Grammy Award Winner Beau Bridges, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Scotty Tovar, Bruce Davison, and Miguel Gabriel.
Petronella Lugemwa is a storyteller, speaker, educator, and Creative Director of Petronella Photography – an award-winning destination wedding and family photography studio based out of the New York area. She specializes in helping multicultural, interracial, or mixed couples celebrate their love in a modern way and believes that what makes you different makes you beautiful.
Martin Parr CBE (born 23 May 1952) is a British documentary photographer, photojournalist, and photobook collector. He is known for his photographic projects, which take an intimate, satirical, and anthropological look at aspects of modern life. He particularly documents the social classes of England and, more broadly, the wealth of the Western world.
Alex Kilbee has over 20 years of professional photography experience. He received his formal education in South Africa at the prestigious Pretoria Technikon Photography School. He runs The Photographic Eye, one of the most respected photography YouTube channels.
Jesse Lenz is a self-taught photographer and multidisciplinary artist. As an illustrator he has created images for the most well-respected publications around the world, including TIME, The New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, and many others. He is the founder and director of Charcoal Book Club, Charcoal Press, and the Chico Hot Springs Portfolio Review. From 2011-2018 he also co-founded and published The Collective Quarterly and The Coyote Journal. He lives on a farm in rural Ohio. He latest monograph is titled Seraphim.
Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind.
Elinor Carucci (born 1971) is an Israeli American photographer and educator living in New York City. She is noted for her intimate portraits of her family's lives.[2][3][4] She has published four monographs: Closer (2002), Diary of a Dancer (2005), Mother (2013), and Midlife (2019). She teaches at the School of Visual Arts in New York.
Shortly after RBG’s passing in September 2020, Time magazine commissioned Carucci to write a commemorative piece on the late justice, focused on the stories behind her legendary collars.
Barbara Peacock is a photographer and director living in Portland, Maine. Since having started American Bedroom in 2016, she has won the Getty Editorial Grant, the Women Photograph/Getty Grant, three LensCulture Awards, four Top 50 Critical Mass Awards, and was named one of the Top 100 Photographers in America 2020.
Nick Carver is a working photographer and photography instructor based in Southern California with over eighteen years shooting experience and a professional career spanning more than a decade. Although his teaching and commercial work hinges primarily on digital photography, his passion is fueled by a love for analog film and creating fine art prints. Nick has sought to educate, entertain, and inspire other photographers both in the classroom and through his YouTube videos.
Robbie Quinn is an award-winning, New York–based commercial photographer specializing in environmental portraits. His work, which has brought him to more than a dozen countries, speaks to current issues, including race, immigration, gender identity, and sexual orientation, emphasizing promoting diversity and inclusion.
Rachelle Steele is a Master Photographer based out of Northern California. She is most known for dynamic black and white environmental portraiture and her ability to fill a single frame with design elements of intense storytelling and passionate compositions. Her unique background brings depth and power to her images, communicating something from the eye, heart, and mind.
Joel Meyerowtiz is an award-winning photographer whose work has appeared in over 350 exhibitions in museums and galleries worldwide. Celebrated as a pioneer of color photography, he is a two-time Guggenheim Fellow, a recipient of both the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities awards and The Royal Society’s Centenary Medal. He has published over 53 books. His latest release is titled. The Pleasure of Seeing.
Kirsten Elstner is the founder and director of National Geographic Photo Camp, whose mission is to work with youth from diverse communities worldwide, guiding them as they use photography to tell their own stories and develop meaningful connections with others.
George Lange is a photographer whose pictures have appeared in almost all major magazines, ranging from Entertainment Weekly to Esquire. George has shot advertising photos for many movies and TV shows, including; Seinfeld, The Today Show, Cake Boss, and Jim Carrey’s movies. Most recently, he has worked with Norwest Venture Partners, Twilio, the Richard King Mellon Foundation, and the Grammy Award-winning Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. George's new book, Picturing Joy: Stories of Connection, is a lively guide to George’s approach to life and the highlights of his career.
Michael Rababy documents US American gambling culture in his new book, Casinoland - Tired of Winning. Rows of shrill slot machines, glowing billboards, and gaudy splendor appear alongside exhausted faces, tired looks, and lost games. Rababy’s realistic camera view scrutinizes the glamorous appearance of the gleaming gambling halls and exposes their mendacious promises of wealth.