Epiphanie Bags & Why I Love ‘Em March 31, 2010

Normally I don’t post twice in one week, but the chance at winning one of these bags at www.beyond-snapshots.com or a Canon 5D Mark II made it worth it. The airline coupon wouldn’t be bad either. Maybe then I’d get to see some more of Europe! 🙂 Anyways, here’s why I want to win one of these bags:

Let’s just say that I think these bags are genius. I bought a giant brown purse from Maurice’s about a year ago so that I could carry my camera in the same bag as my wallet, but it’s obnoxious, and there’s hardly any protection for my camera in there. (Just imagine: it’s in the same pocket as my keys!)

So, when I found the Epiphanie bags site, I fell in love. Not only are they big enough to hold both my camera and my purse items, but it also looks more like a purse than a camera bag. How great is that? Every other camera bag I’ve found is so blah and looks like a guy should carry it.

Now I really want one … but it’s being put on my “wants” list rather than my “needs” list until I can figure out where I’m getting the money to pay for it.

So, here are the photos I’m deciding between for the red bag contest. I need votes to decide which one I want to post for the contest:

or

What do you think?

Oh, and have you seen all the beautiful new products & contest for pro photographers on http://www.DesignAglow.com? I want to win stuff from them too.

Spy Cameras August 11, 2009

Sometimes, I wish that the cool gadgets in spy movies were real. And who’s to tell me that some of the things aren’t already in existence. The one that particularly comes to mind, however, is a microscopic camera. Oh, what I wouldn’t give to have a high resolution, microscopic camera with a remote clicker or even no clicker at all.

I know that it makes me sound extra creepy, but there are just some places that it would look tacky to lift up a camera lens to my face. For example, I rode on the back of my dad’s Harley Davidson to visit my grandma shortly before I left for camp. Looking into the back of my dad’s sleek black helmet, I couldn’t help but enjoy the reflection. It was incredible to see the road panning out behind me on both sides while still smiling back at myself. Yes, I know, that sounds so conceited, but it was cool to see my face framed by the road and scenery flying by.

Sometimes I wish the same thing when I’m driving. It’s pretty distracting to whip out my camera while I’m navigating mountainous curves and still staying on the road. Trust me, I’ve tried. Attempting to take pictures while driving is worse than texting while driving. And we all know how that’s frowned upon. Even Time Magazine said so:

That’s why spy cameras that could take photos of what I see would a great tool for me to own. I would love to be able to share certain sights with people even though I don’t have time or convenience to whip out my Canon. I would love to be able to capture a smile that only I have seen, one that I see regularly in my mind, but that I worry I will forget so easily someday.

Something like this spy camera in a pen would be awesome, but that still requires me to have to whip it out and take the picture, not to mention the size of the photos is small. I want something that doesn’t really require the use of my hands, and I get high-resolution photos from it, too. Plus, I don’t want people to know I have it.

I know, I ask for a lot in a camera, but so many of the best photos are candids, and I would rather not break the already brief moment for those fleeting shots, especially while driving.

So, what gadget from movies do you wish you could have in real life? What cool tool would make your life either simpler or just plain more exciting?