More to come…stay tuned.

An original post to Life as we see it, the official blog of Solheim Photography.

More to come…stay tuned.

An original post to Life as we see it, the official blog of Solheim Photography.

Camera bags in general are somewhat non-distinct. Dark colored. Functional and boring. Some call them man bags. But over the last few years or so, some female photographers took action. They probably figured that as long as we’re in this industry and as long as we’re always carting around our cameras, we may as well have a bag that has some personality. Style. Color. Something like a purse or handbag. But roomy and pretty. To be honest, I’ve never been the kind of person that changed purses very often or had a purse to match every outfit or occasion. No, I’ve always been practical about my purses. I needed one for everyday work. And one for dressy evening occasions. But when I retired from the corporate hi-tech world, my needs changed and I usually carry around a black boring fanny pack and (you guessed it) my camera bag. I began to miss having a nice leather bag to carry my stuff. I missed the elegance and soft velvety leather I found in the classic Coach handbags. And I began to want need a camera bag that matched me.

But as I searched for camera bags, I realized that like purses, I needed different ones for different reasons. Mainly because of size but also because of the different occasions I use my camera. And after a few years of collecting, I believe I finally have a complete line of camera bags that match me in color, style and function and for different occasions such as portrait sessions, school activities and travel. With my new Epiphanie bag, my collection is now complete and each has a specific purpose for which I use it.

Jill-e camera bag is my storage bag. It holds all of my camera gear. It rolls around and saves my back. It is made of red leather. If you didn’t know what was in it, you wouldn’t guess it was a camera bag at all…just a nice red leather travel bag on wheels. It usually stays in my car at a shoot. I just like to have all of my stuff with me when I go on location. Not real practical for on-the-shoot use, though.

Shootsac lens bag is my workhorse during shoots. This is the bag I wear on-the-shoot that carries my extra lenses, car keys, iPhone, CF cards, etc. It’s lightweight and hugs my lenses tightly so that I never worry they’ll fall out. I also have a couple of different covers – one is a solid bright red and the other is a colorful floral one.

Glee bag from The Joy Bag collection. My other workhorse camera bag on-the-shoot. When I decide to carry two cameras where one is loaded with my 70 mm – 200 mm lens, this is it. With my camera and zoom lens in here, I don’t worry that I’m going to bump my camera into something while I’m shooting with the other.

IT bag by The Joy Bag collection. This is a camera bag insert that you could put in any tote bag. It makes any tote bag a camera bag with its cushiony sides and velcro inserts. This is the ultimate in flexibility! I have a black tote bag I put this in and use it when I want to bring several non-camera-gear type things in a single bag with my camera. It holds a bit more than my new Epiphanie bag. It just suffers from lack of style and color. Otherwise, it’s quite useful.

Lola bag by Epiphanie. This brings me to my newest and sweetest acquisition. One look at it and you just know what I mean by personality. This is the smallest of my camera bags and I anticipate using this one practically everyday. It’s large enough to carry my camera loaded with a 50mm lens and my 24-70mm zoom lens along with a few lens cleaning supplies and extra CF cards. It also carries my wallet and an assortment of other necessities (e.g., checkbook, chapstick, pens, iPhone, Digital Elph point-n-shoot camera, business cards, reading glasses). Another nice thing about this bag besides the many pockets? The interior is in lavender  (rather than black), so it’s easy to find things.

Yea, yea, I know. Most people ask a professional photographer, what’s in your camera bag, hoping to glean a bit of information about what gear that photographer finds most useful and necessary for her work. But as I mentioned earlier, I’m still in the writing-about-something-different mode and decided to answer the what is your camera bag question. And honestly, it’s a question I’ve been getting just as often. Hope this helps!

More to come…stay tuned.

An original post to Life as we see it, the official blog of Solheim Photography.

We did have a wondrous break in Norway with family and friends. Though we won’t see them again until the summer (physically that is, we do have Skype), the photos (of course, the photos!) will help us hold onto the fun times we shared. And with that, a few last photos from our New Year’s Eve celebrations. Enjoy!

Game time is a favorite way to pass the hours until midnight, particularly for the kids.

Fireworks everywhere! My in-laws live on a hill, so, we were able to enjoy fireworks shows all around us. The kids were fascinated by their own sparklers. And my husband set the long exposure on his camera and painted the night sky with a sparkler as he captured some of the fireworks exploding around us. (And if you’re curious, I took the people shots with my 50mm 1.2L at 1.6, 1/100 and ISO 6400 on my  5D MkII, no flash.)

It began to snow during the fireworks and those snowflakes are the big hexagon shapes on the images. Unfortunately, that snow also lightened the sky, making it difficult to capture many fantastic fireworks shots. But my husband managed to capture a few in the distance.

The morning after, we were greeted by a blanket of white snow. Just a spectacular sight, especially after the snow had melted away the previous two days.

And of course, the flag was raised to mark this important annual event. Oh and by the way, the presence of the snowplow incites just as much excitement in our girls as the trucks on recycling day at home.

More to come…stay tuned.

An original post to Life as we see it, the official blog of Solheim Photography.

My new obsession this year is what I call the button-nose nissen with lots of hair and a long cap. The round table of little red-scarved women eating porridge depicts a favorite tradition on julaften (Christmas Eve), particularly for children. And instead of a gingerbread house, one of the cousins decided to build a gingerbread Hogwarts train:Christmas goats of straw are frequent visitors during Christmas…
Red crocheted hearts, heart-shaped woven bag ornaments, wooden angels and nissen of tree branches…

Another thing I love about Norwegian traditions? Many families keep their Christmas decor up through the twelve days of Christmas, typically around the 5th of January. And it’s one we’ve decided to maintain.

More to come…stay tuned.

An original post to Life as we see it, the official blog of Solheim Photography.

A little sledding…a little skating…

a little falling…whoops!

More to come…stay tuned.

An original post to Life as we see it, the official blog of Solheim Photography.

Farmor and seven grandchildren between 2 and 8 years of age ready to create their masterpieces:

A little post-baking playtime indoors…

And it’s time to head outside for a little iceball making, snowman construction and sledding:

Oh yes, this is the land of the midnight sun…and dusk at high noon. It’s no wonder that at 5:30 in the afternoon, it’s pitch dark already…and playing outside in the snow and dark seems to have its own special attraction for the kids:

More to come…stay tuned.

An original post to Life as we see it, the official blog of Solheim Photography.

At 7 years old, our girls are quite the seasoned travellers and make specific requests for the trip when they know the stops along the way, like Heathrow. Dining at the Giraffe restaurant in Terminal 5 at Heathrow International Airport in London is one of those requests when it comes to travelling to Europe. The menu has a broad international selection of dishes but their main interest is in collecting more of those cute, colorful little plastic giraffes they give out. But it’s these little things that they’ll talk about in future years when they’re on their own travelling the world, so of course we are happy to oblige.

More to come…stay tuned.

An original post to Life as we see it, the official blog of Solheim Photography.

[Please note: The last day to place your order for holiday cards is Nov. 28th - so don't wait!]

and of course, favorites from past years:

I’d called for his big brother to join us. Suddenly, his head pops up above the top of the ladder with a look that makes me laugh…a little mischievous…and very playful….

And I knew they were just getting started. Check it out.

More to come…stay tuned.

An original post to Life as we see it, the official blog of Solheim Photography.