Hello from the windy and rainy coast of Newfoundland where we’re enjoying the fallout from tropical storm Cristobal!
A few months ago I starting looking for a better way to deal with my 100mm Lee / Singh Ray filters and the various things I end up cramming into my pockets – spare batteries, filter holder, cable release, lens cloths – and found the MindShift Filter Hive. My previous filter wallet, from Lee, was fine, but all it did was carry filters. That was it. And no one I know grabs a camera and a couple filters without needing some other things.
It won’t make my photographs better but it makes the process of making them a little easier, and that in turn makes me a little more patient and perceptive, two things that will dramatically affect the photographs I end up with.
The Filter Hive fits on my belt or clips with a loop around my tripod allowing me to work with it and remain hands-free. It holds several filters at once, allowing me to switch back and forth without putting something in my mouth or between my knees, both techniques that have resulting in scratched filters and a sudden loss of sense of humour. The filters slide in nicely, are kept clean, and the dividers are colour coded, so I know exactly which filter is in which slot – my 3-stop hard grad is between red and green, for example. And to sweeten the deal, there’s room inside for a few extras, and a zipped pocket on the front that’ll hold a couple batteries. It’s the little things that make life easier, and this allows me to keep all the important stuff in one place, clip it to my tripod and go, only having to make sure my camera is slung over my other shoulder. It won’t make my photographs better but it makes the process of making them a little easier, and that in turn makes me a little more patient and perceptive, two things that will dramatically affect the photographs I end up with.
For more information, check them out on the website – I’m sure I’ve missed a couple features. If I remember right, the Filter Hive goes for about $55, and there’s a smaller one, for smaller screw-on filters, called the Filter Nest, if you don’t use the larger Lee-style filters.
Comments
That’s great, but it’s sold out 🙁
B&H has them. Just ordered mine.
Been carrying one of these for a couple of months now & I really like it. Compact but solid. Works well in a bag, or attached to a tripod.
Know what you mean about momentary loss of humour as well. Dropped a Singh-Ray filter & a 105mm lens in the surf a year or so ago. Took a while to laugh about it.
I’ve been looking for something like this for the past year! Well, after reading and spending part of today pondering “A Deeper Frame” and “Vision Driven”, then seeing the link to your website and coming to this very interesting aggregation of your developing vision, it’s somehow apropos to leave with a tip to something utterly practical that, as you said, won’t improve my photography but might help me preserve my sense of humor… heading to the Rockies to hike fourteeners and documents the experiences of fellow hikers in two weeks and this little gadget bag could be the ticket!