Peak Design Everyday Messenger 13 V2

£209/$220 www.peakdesign.com

he Peak Design Everyday Messenger has become an icon in the world of camera messenger bag design. It looks as smart as a briefcase, but it packs in as much camera gear as any regular shoulder bag. For those with larger laptops, there is a 15-inch Messenger 15 model.

This V2 bag is a little different to the V1 edition, with more rounded corners on the lid (a good thing, as the corners on the old one tended to bend upwards) and a smaller, simpler front pocket for stationery, disk drives and other bits of office equipment. This is a better camera bag, but it isn’t as appealing as an office/commuting bag as the old one.

There are so many clever design touches that it’s hard to take them all in straight away. The materials feel firm and durable, and the Everyday Messenger keeps its shape much better than many rivals.

It does have a couple of features and quirks that might not suit everyone. The main compartment is covered only by the lid – there’s no zipper – while the internal FlexFold dividers, clever as they are, seem designed for larger cameras and lenses, so smaller items may rattle around.

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Above: Buttermere, Lake District, Cumbria.

Previous page: Mere Downs, Wiltshire. of contrast and subject brightness range would equip the photographer with a deeper comprehension of light and its behaviour for years to come.

There are many filters available to use in-camera which I endorse wholeheartedly. This is not to suggest that restrained digital manipulation will take the place of filtration. Both are choices made by the creator of the work. Neutral-density graduated filters and polarising filters are very helpful to save perhaps a subtle cloud formation from losing identity, but once again it is a choice.

The effect of a polarising filter can not be replicated successfully using digital manipulation software, as the polarising filter will not only affect the blue sky and accordingly the white clouds set within it, but this filter will remove white-light reflection from numerous surfaces within the image.

I don’t care to do much editing, as I am only familiar with some basic editing techniques. It may be just a little contrast adjustment.

Above:

Chicklade, Wiltshire.

Above: Shangri-La, Yunnan Province, China.

Opposite: Safi, Morocco. globally at a landscape, be too preoccupied with the middle region and perhaps fail to notice conflicting elements on the perimeter. My motto here is take your eye around the edge of the viewfinder twice clockwise and twice anticlockwise, and omit the redundant. I wish I had done then as I do regularly now.

I sometimes photograph in portrait format but since 1978 I have still enjoyed square or rectangular. I do enjoy panoramic but no more than three-to-one format. Each to their own, I guess. enhanced by the process of photography. I maintain that it is a significantly more profound experience with the camera than without it.

Yes, but the decision is always dependent on the way the creator sees the landscape. It is best perhaps to make the decision over monochrome or colour prior to exposure, as this will guide decisions regarding contrast, shadow/highlight detail retention and filtration. Pretend you are putting a monochrome film into your camera and think about how colour values will convert into monochrome.