“Oh my god, there’s so much camera equipment in here.” If you’re a Transportation Security Administration agent opening up photo legend Larry Chen’s rolling carry-on camera and laptop bag, you might be surprised by how much he can pack in there. When he’s traveling all over the world to capture incredible photos he needs to bring a lot of equipment to make it happen, and it has to fit in a carry-on because if an airline were to ever lose the bag not only would he be out several thousand dollars of equipment, but the job he’s flying to would be totally wrecked.
Do you need to carry three $5,000 Canon camera bodies and seven lenses? Probably not, but Larry does.
It’s always such a treat to get a walk-through of a professional’s everyday use equipment. Larry definitely has more than three bodies and seven lenses, especially considering he’s a Canon professional shooter, but this is his “bare-bones” travel case that keeps him prepared for just about any eventuality and maintains his mobility and job security.
This is a whole lot of overkill for normie car photographers like you or me. There’s not much reason people like us need to carry around $40,000 in bodies and glass. In fact, if you even own that much equipment, you’re probably in overkill mode. The difference between Larry’s setup and my own is pretty similar to the difference between a Spec Miata and a Ferrari 499P Le Mans Hypercar. Both will get the job of driving around a track done, but one of them will produce a much more impressive result. I couldn’t get the best lap time out of a Ferrari 499P, and I couldn’t produce professional-level photography even if I had Larry’s bag. That’s what makes him the best.