Back in 1988, when I heard Tracy Chapman’s song Fast Car for the first time, I had no real clue as to what she was singing about. I was too young to even comprehend. But somehow, the song has been stuck in my head ever since. Only years later, I more or less understood the underlying meaning of the lyrics: the song’s narrator wants to escape her poor and miserable life but faces the harsh truth when it becomes clear she is trapped in the same hopeless cycle of poverty as her parents. It’s also about the disappointment of chasing dreams which will never be fulfilled. I have no personal similarities with such a family situation, yet I can apply and implement some parts of the song’s lyrics into my own life.

An Endless Road

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Last year, I enjoyed a four-week overland journey through China and Tibet, with Kathmandu being the final destination. Since this was an organized holiday, I deliberately limited myself regarding photo gear. I normally use lenses with fixed focal lengths, but since this was an organized group holiday, it seemed much more convenient to take an all-round zoom with me so I didn’t have to change lenses. Which gear I used can be found in this article: Travelling Light: Nikon D3200.

Click on the image below to visit the photo gallery.

China

Imagine a movie scene where the main character enters a store, chooses a camera bag and says: “This is the bag.” Nah. That is never going to happen. Not in a million years. There is no perfect bag. Every situation needs another bag. And no, I don’t have a camera bag fetish. Honestly, I really don’t :-)

The Domke F-803 has been around for several years now. It first caught my attention only a few weeks ago when I was searching for a more compact and lightweight shoulder bag to carry my mirrorless camera system. Although the Think Tank Retrospective 7 is an amazing bag, it’s quite a large bag, which is also rather thick when you only need a handful of gear. Because it offers lots of space, it gets easily filled with gear you don’t really need. The Retrospective 5 is an option to consider as well, but it’s not wide enough to accommodate two bodies and several lenses next to each other. Putting some accessories or a camera body in the front pocket makes the Retrospective 5 too bulky for my taste. Enter the Domke F-803: a slim messenger-style camera bag which lets me only pack the essentials.

Domke F-803 Camera Satchel

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