How do you store your equipment?

Question

As my photographic equipment is getting bigger (new lenses, new addons, new bodies) I think I need a better storing solution. Currently I just keep all my stuff in a desk drawer.

How do you store your cameras and lenses? Just to clarify, I don't mean storing it for a long time, I mean when you just stop using the camera for the day (or week).

Bags? Boxes? Bigger desk drawers?

Answer

Personally I have two bags that I keep all of my gear in(sans tripods/lighting). One large lowepro backpack and the lowepro passport sling. I have my sling bag ready to go with a body and 2-3 lenses with batteries, cards, and a flash. This is my versatile kit that I can grab and be covered for any fun family outing, or non paid gig quickly and not worry about what I do or don't have. If it is a bigger assignment or location shoot I'll grab my bigger backpack filled with the rest of my lenses, flash accessories, and other odds and ends. It also stores my on location laptop for transferring photos and checking image focus on site.

My gear either has to fit in my two backpacks, into the category of tripods or light stands, or I don't need it. I try to keep my extra camera gear that isn't needed at a shoot to a minimum. I have one small box that I keep old bodies in for sentimental value, but other then that, the rest of it gets sold before it is ready to be retired to a shelf or box beyond my 2 main gear bags.

You might be saying, yea but I have a ton of stuff and two bags isn't going to do it with my ever expanding collection. Take a look at this two video set of what professional wedding photographer Henry Chen takes on a 3 week trip to China. He goes into in depth detail about every piece of equipment, and you can see how he can fit it all into two bags and literally have everything you would need.

Henry Chen - What's In My Bag 1 & 2

If you are serious about equipment protection, since that was one of the tags you used in the question, I would recommend checking out Pellican cases. You can run them over with Humvee's or throw them in a river and not have any problems.

Your question seems to allude to the fact that you are looking for a piece of furniture or a fixture in your house to store your gear in. For me at least, I do very little photography at my house, so I want my gear in bags ready to go as soon as I see an opportunity. It is for that reason that I try to limit the amount of gear I own to what can fit into two portable bags. It keeps me in the field and not at home trying to organize and store it all.

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