It’s been a long time since wearing anything, much less a camera, strapped to my belt has felt cool. When my friend lent me her camera for my trip through southeast Asia, though, I figured I’d give the holster a try.
The camera itself is small enough to fit in my pocket. But since she gave it to me in a case and since I want to keep it in at least a little better condition than my previous camera, the one that had taped wrapped around it to keep the batteries inside, I decided to keep her camera in its case.
With the case, it doesn’t fit in my pocket, at least not easily. But wait, I realized, it does have a belt loop on it, a way to strap it to my side.
Heading into people-packed Bangkok, I knew the possibility of getting my camera stolen was probably pretty high. Wearing the camera on my hip seemed to just encourage that possibility. Wearing a shirt untucked, though, kept the camera concealed somewhat, so that’s what I was banking on.
And that’s how I fell in love with the camera holster.
After just a few days, I realized that the practical convenience of the holster outweighed its fashion consequences. I guess that’s how all nerds start out: practical over fashionable.
With the camera always at my side, I could quickly and easily whip it out anytime to grab shots that would otherwise have been missed. And the more I shot this way, the more I realized how much life passes in a normal day.
Normally, I’d break out the camera only for the highlights, like when I’m visiting a cool or exciting place or whatever. With the camera so convenient, though, I’m able to take pictures all the time, like of the foods we eat, the bathroom plants we see, all that good stuff.
Most of all, I’ve found that keeping the camera convenient helps me capture more photos of friends instead of just tourist attractions. ‘Cause when it comes down to it, the biggest attraction of tourism for me is the friends, the people I meet along the way. With the camera and the camera holster, now I can freeze some of that and bring it back with me.
