Heh. D’ya like that? That’s what I’m telling The Hubs anyway. Because $399 is what this:
DID NOT cost me! My huge, stylishly aged leather camera bag / traveling office cost me a grand total of $40!
If you remember, I’m not much in to current fashion trends. I’m not a fashionista in the traditional sense of the word. First, there’s my penchant for funky hats. I wear a lot of hats.
Then, there is my collection of BoHo and gypsy skirts (18 and counting), my shawls, my Nerdy T-Shirt collection (I’ve lost count on those again), my corsets, my reclaimed costume pieces, men’s cardigan collection, and, well, you get the idea.
So, when I needed to get a larger camera bag, I just didn’t want “the norm”. Don’t get me wrong – they’re perfectly serviceable and useful. But I get tired of carrying my favorite purses (normally 2nd hand messenger bags or handcrafted sling bags), *plus* a lunky camera bag that looks, well, blah. They are just boring. You know the type I mean…
I love things with history. Battle scars. Stories to tell. But, as I’m not intending on raiding tombs or climbing mountains anytime soon, achieving this look was going to prove to be difficult:
(Yes, that’s a totally gratuitous shot of Indiana Jones. Because there’s never a bad time for a bit of the yummy Dr. Jones.)
So, I hopped on to The Google and decided to look for a camera bag that I really liked, looked like it had belonged to some world traveler of daring-do, and fit the bill to work as both a purse and a camera bag. Oh, I found some, all right. But, I realized that their prices ranged from “luxury car payment” to “next month’s mortgage.”
These are beautiful, aren’t they? I was drooling, until I found that one on the right there is definitely in the “Next Month’s Mortgage” range. The one on the left is smaller in size, which brought the price down to “Luxury Car Payment.” LOL
Not being independently wealthy, I decided to turn to my trusty Thrift Stores and Resale Shops. I found this baby at a flea market, on the floor of one of the stalls, shoved behind some old purses and shoes.
Gorgeous, worn, heavy leather, more pockets than I could think what to do with, a huge, gusseted center compartment, a full-size padded laptop section…it was perfect and only $8! But, it was not a camera bag. It was so big, all my equipment would just rattle around inside.
I was going to try to do all the measurements and sew up dividers, but then it dawned on me – I’m not that clever. If I thought of making a camera bag out of a regular bag, someone else did, too. And, then, I found THIS on Amazon:
It was exactly what I needed, only $30, and I didn’t have to sew a thing! It fits inside my awesome leather bag with room to spare. Holds all my equipment and there’s room in the bag for my laptop, my tablet, items I need for the business, and all the stuff I normally carry in my purse.
And when I don’t need my whole kit for a shoot – say, on a day when I’m out to take pictures for myself and do some thrifting – I can just pop my camera bag insert into one of my favorite bags!
So, for a grand total of $40, I got a giant leather camera bag, bigger than the beautiful, expensive ones, for a fraction of the price!
I bet Indy would be jealous…and he could afford mine on a teacher’s salary, too! 
Let me know what you think!
(I would love for you to come back to visit, so please SUBSCRIBE using one of the buttons I have up there at the top on the left. And be sure to find me on Facebook for behind the scenes stuff and general goofiness. I’m on Twitter, too, but be warned – I have been known to accidentally tweet-bomb during baseball season!)
