Thirty years is a long time to refine what you carry. Some of it is obvious. Some of it is possibly unique to me. Here's an honest look at what's actually in my bag right now and why.

The bodies

Day to day I'm shooting with two Nikon Z8s and a Nikon Z9. The Z8 is my go to. It's extraordinary what these cameras can do, the 3D tracking focus alone has genuinely changed the way I work. I also love my Nikon Zf (I have a red one naturally!) with a Nikkor Z 28mm f/2.8 SE the silver one which has essentially replaced my iPhone. It's small, discreet, brilliant for travel and street work, and it looks beautiful, in fact it is modelled on my first Nikon camera the FM2.

The lenses

My workhorses are the Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S and the Nikkor Z 70-200mm f/2.8 S. For live work, events and unpredictable situations where you have to think fast, zooms are what you want. You don't have time to change lenses in a pit.

For studio work I love using Nikkor Z 85mm f/1.2 S. It's a heavy lens, you wouldn't want to carry it alongside two other bodies, but for a more considered shoot, it's worth it or when the light is low and I am being discreet and capturing intimate moments silently.

The lens I'm coveting right now is the Nikkor Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena. I loaned one for the Teenage Cancer Trust shows at the Royal Albert Hall and it was a joy. Shooting with a prime lens at a live show is a luxury you can only really afford when you know you've got the shots you need. Once you're past that point, you can start to create rather than just capture. That's always where it gets interesting.

I've also got a very old 16mm prime that I barely use anymore. Manual focus and I have fallen out of love. Once you've had 3D tracking, it genuinely spoils you.

The FM2

I still have my Nikon FM2. It sat quietly for about 30 years before I thought I should probably check whether it actually still works. I took it into a shop, had the battery changed and enquired about a full clean and service, they said just run a roll through it. So I went to Margate and that is what I did. It's a little dark, a little creaky, a bit slower (much like myself) but still a genuine pleasure.

Shooting film until 2004 made me more considered. You had 36 frames and that was it, so every one mattered. What I find strange now is that a lot of younger photographers shooting film aren't interested in keeping their negatives once they've been developed and scanned. I could never do that. My archive of negatives is one of the most important things I own. Look after your archive.

Flash

I carry a Godox V1N with a spare battery in my bag and bring an additional Godox kit of three heads. Even when I think I won't need external lighting, if I'm driving to a job it comes with me. You never know - it's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it!

The non-camera essentials

This is the bit people don't talk about enough. In my bag alongside the cameras you will find: hay fever tablets, hearing aid batteries, and Loop earplugs. I had proper moulded earplugs for years and lost them outside O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire before a Foo Fighters show earlier in the spring. Very annoying. The Loops are doing the job fine and protecting the hearing I still have left after over half my life in a photography pit.

The spider holster

The Spider Holster is genuinely one of the best things I own (this is a single camera version - i will link mine in a separate blog soon). It clips your cameras to your hips rather than hanging them off your shoulders. I recently had shoulder surgery and I think years of carrying heavy gear played a part in that. When I started out I had a huge flight case of medium format kit, lighting stands and a tripod bag, and a rucksack full of 35mm bodies and lenses. I carried a lot. These days I use a roller bag, it's the size of cabin luggage. Train, car, walking a distance. Shoulders are not for camera straps.

Obviously there are jobs where you can't roll a case through a crowd, so I have a rucksack too. You just make the call when you're packing.

The clumsy bit

The most expensive mistake I've made with gear? Being clumsy. Once I forgot to lock a camera into my spider holster properly and while limboing under a stage grill it hit the floor. Luckily it survived. Nikons are robust. But there have been moments.

I also once bought a Leica and immediately discovered that everything was the wrong way round compared to what I was used to. The focusing felt backwards, the layout was alien, and my eyesight is not what it was at 22. I rely on my tools being brilliant I know I can trust them to capture what I want and never let me down.

What 22-year-old me would think

Honestly? She'd be pretty impressed. And she'd immediately want to have a go. I remember meeting Robert Whittaker (who photographed the Beatles and bands like Cream in the sixties) and just staring at his Nikon F cameras. The design, the feel of them. It felt like seeing something sacred. I've never forgotten that moment.

Gear is just a tool. But the right tools matter. And after 30 years, I have the utmost confidence in them, they allow me to capture exactly what I see and never let me down.

I've put together an Amazon store with everything I actually use, from festival kit to the bits that keep the office running. If you buy through my links I may earn a small commission, but honestly the main reason they're there is because it's the easiest way to show you exactly what I mean.

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