Graduation Portraits | A. Wortz

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This past week, I had the great pleasure of taking graduation portraits of one of my favorite people - A. Wortz. This incredibly talented and creative woman finally completed her degree from Syracuse University, and these are some of the moments I was able to capture with her and her partner Erin. Both A. and Erin are two of my closest friends which made for an incredibly entertaining shoot. 

If you'd like to check out the full gallery from A.'s graduation shoot, click here!

GEAR REVIEW | The Rolltop Camera Bag by Brevite Design

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As a photographer, one of the most frustrating things that can happen to you is your gear not working the way it needs to, and camera bags are no exception to that. If your bag is too big, you're hauling around a massive pack that's not easy to transport and adds excessive weight that you have to carry. If your bag is too small, you're left holding half of your gear in your hands while trying to take photos or travel from location to location, potentially putting your gear at risk of damage. When purchasing a camera bag, your goal is to find something that's easy to carry around, fits all your gear needs, and isn't too cumbersome to work with. Enter: The Rolltop camera bag by Brevite.

The Brand

Brevite is the best camera bag company you've probably never heard of. They specialize in sleek, modern camera bags that can double as your gear bag or your favorite weekend bag thanks to its removable modular insert that comes standard with any Brevite backpack.

The Brevite camera bag line is small but mighty with three bags currently available for purchase, and two more designs available for pre-order and slated to drop in June. The company has a limited lifetime guarantee on every bag in addition to a 100-day trial that allows you to return your bag for a full refund if you don't like it (but spoiler alert: I doubt you'll want to return your bag once you get your hands on it).

The Rolltop

What first drew me to The Rolltop was the fact that it was specifically designed to withstand the elements. The bag itself is made from a soft, water-resistant material and also comes equipped with a rain cover that's hidden on the bottom of the bag. As a drum corps photographer, it's imperative to have gear that fully protects your equipment from rain and extreme heat at the drop of a hat, and The Rolltop perfectly delivers that sense of security.

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What makes this bag (and all of the Brevite bags) unique is all of the features packed into it. The Rolltop has a capacity of up to 25 liters, a laptop sleeve that holds up to a 15" laptop, a tripod holder, a lens cap buckle, plentiful pockets for all of your small accessories, a large top compartment for clothes or miscellaneous items, and a quick-access side zipper to easily get to your gear compartment. All of that is in addition to the removable modular insert that comes standard with the Brevite backpacks. It's seriously amazing how much you can fit into this bag (over-packers rejoice!) and all while being comfortable to carry. While this bag may be considered a little pricey coming in at $185, I truly believe there isn't a better bag available that comes with all of the features you can find in The Rolltop.

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Pros:

  • Capacity - this thing holds a LOT of stuff (Brevite states The Rolltop has a capacity of 22.5-25 liters)
  • Has a light magnetic closure at the lip of the rolltop for added security
  • Features a large, dual side pocket perfect for holding a water bottle, tripod or any other item that you need easy access to 
  • Removable lens cap buckle on the strap of the bag (so you NEVER misplace your lens cap again!)
  • Built-in rain cover that easily folds up and hides on the underside of the bag
  • Comes with a modular insert so you can uniquely lay out your gear bag to best suit your needs. Additionally, this modular insert has side zippers that line up with easy-access openings on the side of the backpack so you can access your gear without putting down your bag

Cons:

  • Personally, I think the straps of this bag are a little... aggressive. While the straps are definitely sturdy and well-padded, part of me feels like a hiker every time I put this bag on my shoulders. The more you walk around with this bag on your back, the more you get used to it. However, this was a bit of an adjustment for me to initally get over
  • The outermost front pocket has a lot of awkwardly-sized compartments. I wish the Brevite website included some photos of examples of what to best put in those pockets because some of them I'm completely clueless as to how to utilize them to their full potential 
  • I wish the buckle that secures the rolltop closure had just a little bit longer of an adjustable cord. While I have easily secured all of my camera gear and clothes for a weekend getaway, I would have preferred to have a little more wiggle room even if I don't end up utilizing it

 

My Overall Grade:

A-

A perfect blend of style, functionality, and durability culminates in a bag that is perfect for any photographer that is frequently on the go. If you have a lot of gear and a lot of ground to cover, look no further than The Rolltop by Brevite.

Have you purchased a Brevite bag or are looking into purchasing one? Which one would be the best fit for YOUR needs? Let me know in the comments below!

Where you can find Brevite: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

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Carolina Crown | January Camp

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Another month, another weekend camp with Carolina Crown!

This camp was incredibly meaningful to me. Not only was it the first official camp of the 2018 season, but it also officially marked four years since attending my first drum corps camp. It's crazy to think how far I've come since then - from upgrading equipment to becoming more confident in my skills. 

This camp, my main focus was creating better images straight out of the camera. Instead of focusing on lens changes and swapping around my equipment, I decided to ditch my camera bag completely and stick with just my Canon f/1.8 50mm prime lens. If I'm just being honest, that 50mm lens is my favorite tool in my camera bag. Even though I own lenses that are 'fancier' in many respects, I think it's important to get back to the basics every now and then.

To finish off my photos, I was trying out a bunch of the presets I've downloaded in the past few months and wasn't entirely happy with the look of any of them. So, after many hours and a bit of determination, I made my own Lightroom preset! I was inspired by an aged film look, and I think the overall look of the final product is really pretty. Check out a small sampling below, or click here to view the full photoset!

If you have any questions about my gear or any suggestions for future posts, leave them below! I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks for stopping by! 

-Natalie

Where I Wander // Nov. 23rd

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Thanksgiving weekend was really meaningful for me. Not just because it as the first Thanksgiving I spent in Syracuse with my husband, but because on November 23rd, I completed a goal that I had been working towards for the last two and a half months.

Location: Baldwinsville, NY

Since mid-September, I spent four days a week training to complete my first 5K race. While running 3.1 miles for most people doesn't sound like a huge deal, it was an incredibly difficult thing for me to overcome. While I played lacrosse, did marching band, and danced all throughout high school, running has never been something I enjoyed. My knees and ankles were always achey if I spent too much time on them, or did any sort of hard, physical activity. Because of that, I took up yoga and tried to convince myself that was enough physical activity for me.

But after this past season of drum corps, I was determined to break out of my shell and try to start running more consistently. What started out as something I viewed as a cruel joke I was playing on myself ended up being something that I actually enjoyed doing. I can't say I consider myself fast (yet), the feeling of running with thousands of other people is so exhilerating. 

So, on November 23rd, I woke up at 7am, donned my warmest running clothes, and drove to Baldwinsville to compete in my first 5K. The race route was a bit more hilly than I had trained for, yet I still ended up smashing my previous PR by almost 30 seconds with my official race time being 31:05. 

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So here we are now - two weeks after my first race and still feeling that runners high. And to make it even better, I just completed my first week of training to run a HALF MARATHON in April. 

Here's to new adventures!

Carolina Crown | November Camp

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Nothing makes the new drum corps season feel more real than the first audition camp of the year. It has been almost two years since I last went to an audition camp, so I was understandably feeling a healthy mix of both excitement and nerves over spending the weekend with Carolina Crown. Nevertheless, I stuffed entirely too many things in my carry-on bag, braved the Syracuse early-winter snow, and flew to Charlotte, North Carolina to begin my weekend of work.

Audition camps, for me, are a great opportunity to work at my own pace and really concentrate on what I'm doing in the moment. Since most of the corps is broken up into sectionals for a large portion of the weekend, that allows me to have the freedom to pick which section I want to be with at any given time. I started my Saturday with the front ensemble, then moved to the snare line, bass line, and then spent a couple of minutes with the conductors until lunch time. From there, I hung out with the guard for a larger portion of the evening before calling it a day and spending the rest of my evening dumping my footage on my hard drive and catching up with my friends on the admin team. 

Sunday was a bit of a whirlwind since parents would be arriving in the afternoon for the 'show and tell' portion of the weekend. This is the time of the weekend where every section exhibits a couple of excerpts that they learned throughout the weekend for the parents as well as the other sections. Show and tell is especially exciting for me because while I have seen every section throughout the weekend, I usually do not stay with one section for more than 30/45 minutes, so I definitely don't see in full what every section does. I always feel super proud of the kids at the end of show and tell. Not going to lie, I got goosebumps after hearing the brass line. 

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Overall, I had an extremely fun weekend. I met a lot of cool people, did some really great work, and got to catch up with friends and staff members that, for the most part, I hadn't seen since August. While camp weekends are ususally pretty stressful, they're so worth going to. 

If you'd like to see the full photoset from November camp, click here!

Did you audition for a corps this weekend, or maybe volunteer with one in November? Tell me about your corps experiences below!

Thanks for reading!