Gear Update – I love my Boda Bag!

Here’s a quick gear update. I’m posting this because it was the topic of a lot of discussion during the workshop I taught last month and it’s always a topic whenever a bunch of photographers get together. Let me first say that I paid for the Boda bag I’m about to talk about. I got it at Photoshop World Orlando, so I got a show discount but I still paid for it just like everyone else. My review is based totally on the way I really feel about the bag.

The Back StoryI’ve been wanting a bag for a while now. I first saw the Boda bag being used by (the critically acclaimed) Jeff Revell from Photowalk Pro My travel system is pretty good. I use a smaller Tamrac Expedition backpack and it holds what I need it to hold while I’m traveling. Plus it frees up my hands while getting things out of the car, going through airport security or just walking somewhere with other things in my hands. The problem I’ve had with it is that it’s not that great for shooting. Why? Because it’s on my back. If you ever want to changes lenses or grab something from the bag you’ve got take it off your back and lay it on the ground. Then if you decide to quickly walk somewhere you’ve got to grab it and move it. Oh, and don’t forget to zip it up (I learned the hard way when I lens fell out). Anyway, so I’ve wanted something for when I go on the actual photo shoot out in the field. Something that was easy to keep my lenses, filters, batteries, a flash, and anything else I may need. The Boda bag has successfully filled those shoes.

What is it?
The Boda Bag is a lens bag. It comes in two sizes: small and large. I have the large one. So what is a lens bag? Well, it’s not a camera bag. It’s meant to hold lenses. You hold your camera and keep this bag slung around your shoulder to change lenses, filters, etc… really fast. Now, keep in mind, even though it’s not a camera bag, you can fit a camera body in it. Depending on the lens, you may have to disconnect it but I was able to fit my Nikon D300 (with battery grip) with a 70-200 lens attached. That’s all it fit in the main compartment though. But it is great for a quick trip.

How did it hold up?
I first got to use this bag on my trip to the Great Smokies last month. I checked the bag (with no gear in it) inside my luggage (I actually stored socks, some t-shirts, and my illegal drugs to save space ) and carried on my backpack with all the gear in it on the plane. The bag held up like a champ. Here’s what I put inside once I went out into the field to shoot:
- 70-200 VR lens
- 12-24 lens
- 50mm lens
- 1.4 extender
- 3 filters (polarizing, neutral density, and graduated neutral density)
- extra battery
- extra CF cards
- flashlight
- oh, and some snacks (you gotta have snacks!)

Everything fit perfectly and the best part is that everything had it’s own place. Nothing was stuffed and nothing bulged out of the bag. Every compartment zipped closed perfectly and from looking at it you’d never know if it was empty or full. It wasn’t too heavy and it stayed put. You can even zip open the top and it has a snap on the back side of it to keep the top open and out of your way if you’re digging in there often.

Is it a shoulder bag or a waist bag?
It’s actually both. I opted to keep it as an over the shoulder bag over the optional waist belt. It goes over your opposite shoulder and hangs diagonal across you so it doesn’t go anywhere. I just felt like too much of a dork with a big fanny pack on – Sorry

Pros
- Small
- Easy to get to your stuff
- Perfect for those few-hour photo walks or short outings
- Weatherproof (and we did get rained on)
- made very sturdy
- lots of compartments to store stuff

Cons
The main con is also one of the pros. It’s size. It really depends on how much gear you need when you’re out there. But anything bigger and it would be hard to lug around. It’s meant for a minimal amount of gear. I did wish I could fit my camera body, 70-200 lens, and maybe one more in there but I’m ok with keeping it the size that it is.

The large size that I have rings in at $195 and the smaller version at $165. NAPP members get a discount if you go to the discounts area on the NAPP member website. Here’s their website in case you want to find out more info or see photos of the bag.

Presets – Keyword Sets

Happy Wednesday everyone. I just got back from teaching at the Adobe/CDW event in Philadelphia and it went over great. It was nice to meet some of the blog readers there and many thanks to everyone who came up and said hi. Now on to the presets…

A new style of presetThis week marks a brand new style of preset – keyword sets. If you’ve never seen or heard of them before you’ll find these guys in the Library Module on the right hand side in the Keywording panel. Essentially keyword sets are lists of common keywords for common types of photography. If you expand the keyword set you’ll see there are some defaults that ship with Lightroom: Outdoor Photography, Portrait Photography, and Landscape Photography. Well I’ve started to create my own and thought I’d share them with you since I’ve really been trying to be good about keywording my photos often. And since these keyword sets are straight from my library you can guess the first batch of them are going to be ones that I use a lot lately. I’ve created one called “Children” and another called “Baseball”. This mainly comes from the fact that I love to take photos of my kids, other peoples kids, and also my kids playing sports I realize that not all of you can use these but if they get you thinking about keywording more (and using keyword sets more) then I think that’s a good thing. Plus, I’ll start to add more as the weeks go on.

Installing the Keyword Sets
Installing keyword sets is a little different from installing regular presets in Lightroom. Mainly because there is no official “import” option for them. So here’s what you do.
1) First download and unzip the file that has the two keyword sets in it and place them on your desktop.
2) Navigate to the folder where keyword sets are stored.
Mac: (your computer name)/ Library / App Support / Adobe / Lightroom / Keyword Sets
PC: C > Docs/Settings > (your name) > Application Data (may be hidden) > Adobe > Lightroom > Keyword Sets
3) Drag the two keyword set template files into the “Keyword Sets” folder.
4) Restart Lightroom.

Using the Keyword SetsUsing the keyword sets is simple. Just select the set from the list. Then click on any keyword in the set to apply it to your selected photos. It makes the process of keywording a lot simpler, as you don’t have to type the keywords in anymore.

Well folks, that’s all she wrote. And by she, I mean me. Actually I have no idea what I mean so I’m going to stop now. It’s late I hope you enjoy and make sure you let me know what you think of this new kind of preset. Also, share any thoughts you have for some other ideas for keyword sets. Until next time!

Click here to download Matt’s Children and Baseball Keyword Sets