I was about to photograph a beautiful family of cheetah in gorgeous morning light when my camera returned an error message and wouldn’t—no matter what I did—focus. It wouldn’t even fire. By the time I got my lens swapped onto another body, the action was all over, and I was down a camera at the beginning of a month-long trip. Or was I?
Back at camp, I discovered the problem: the flange on the camera, the one to which my lenses mount, was loose and needed a small, very particular screwdriver to fix it. Fortunately, I had one, and I was back up and running. It wasn’t the first time I’ve needed something like this to get me out of a jam. A screwdriver or a bit of crazy glue to put my eyeglasses back together. An Arca-Swiss plate for when I’ve lost one, or—more likely—the bolt I need to attach it. A swab to clean my sensor. Enter the Oh Sh*t Kit.
Prefer to watch a less articulate video version of this short article? You can watch it below.
A couple of weeks ago, I sent out a quick video about all the stuff you’d find in my camera bag if you went digging through it and overlooked the obvious gear like cameras and lenses. You can still watch that video or read the article here.
Since then, I’ve been preparing for the coming year, making sure all my gear is where I think it is, and checking that things like the toiletry and pharma kits I take on every trip are stocked with everything I use during a year of travel. And while I was going through it, I thought perhaps there’s more I could show you, and that it might help those of you who travel to make photographs.
One of the strategies I’ve found most helpful is thinking in terms of kits. I have a toiletry kit, a pharma kit, a cable kit, a prosthetics kit, and an Oh Sh*t kit. I know what’s in each, and instead of a packing list that has a bunch of individual items like toothbrush, toothpaste, razor, sunscreen, dental floss, etc., I have one item: toiletry kit. Same with my cable kit. I never have to guess or even double-check that I have my laptop’s USB-C cable or the one that charges my Apple watch. They’re all in there, and I only use them for travel. So when “cable kit” appears on my packing list, I throw it in the bag and know that it’s all there.
The only restocking I need to do happens after a trip. I check it all, add more Tylenol or sunblock, replace anything that got lost or broken, and I’m always ready to go. One of the kits I’ve had with me the longest, and which has gone through many iterations, is my Oh Sh*t Kit. This used to be a lot more robust, but over the years I’ve pared it down or split it into other kits. It used to contain a first-aid kit, but now it lives in my camera bag, whereas the Oh Sh*t Kit lives in my duffel, and if I’m lucky, I won’t need it at all.
Your kit will reflect your particular needs and will account for how remote your work is. But here’s what’s in mine, circa 2026.
My own kit is contained in a Lochby Venture Pouch (above) . It’s not too big, it nestles into my duffle bag anywhere there’s room, and it’s got some nice internal organization. You put all this in a ziploc bag if you wanted; it’s what’s inside that really matters but I have a number of Lochby products and I really like them.
One side of the pouch contains:
- Small microfiber towel, as much for padding as anything else.
- 2 spare insulin pens in case my others break or get stolen by a monkey.
- Gerber Dime multi-tool. This usually goes into the camera bag when I arrive on location so TSA doesn’t take it from me. This has a bunch of handy little tools, including a little set of pliers and scissors which I use more than the other tools combined.
- Wrench set from Small Rig that has hex wrenches and a couple screwdrivers for things like tripod heads, and in my case, my prosthetic leg.
- HOTO Precision screwdriver set that comes with 24 different bits, including those really small Phillips, torx and hex bits you need for things like cameras and eyeglasses. I love this little thing and it replaces the handful of tools I once carried.
- Benchmade Mini Bug Out pocket knife: super simple, just shy of a 3″ blade, and it weighs only 1.5 ounces or about 43 grams. Like the little multi-tool, I keep this in here until I get where I’m going. One less thing to remember to pack and one less thing to lose to TSA.
In the other side of the pouch I have all the little things:
- spare Arca-Swiss plate
- spare lens cloth
- Zeiss lens wipes
- sensor swabs and sensor solution
- small vials of Crazy glue
- extra business cards
- very small bag of extra bolts, screws and bits and pieces for tripods, camera cages, and straps
- 2 x CR2032 batteries for my remote triggers
- pocket-sized duct tape
I also used to have a spare pair of eyeglasses in a larger version of this kit, but I keep those in my carry-on now because they do me no good in the cargo hold if I need them while travelling, but I never go far from home without them. I also used to have a small sewing kit, but I’ve never really had a sewing emergency that would stop me from doing my work, so somewhere along the way, I stopped carrying it.
What about you? Do you bring an emergency kit of any kind when you travel? What’s in your version of your Oh Sh*t Kit? I’d love to hear about it. Am I missing anything? Feel free to chime in on my blog by clicking here.
For the Love of the Photograph,
David
Comments
Hi David,
I want to express my sincere appreciation for your unique style of teaching photography. Whether it is through your weekly Contact Sheets, the various books I have acquired, or the special one “Light, Space & Time”, which I was fortunate enough to win. Your approach consistently resonates with me. You can really get me “in the Mood”.
Hi David,
I enjoy and am inspired by your thoughtful articles. I keep intending to put together a ‘Go’ kit but often I just grab my camera and head out with my dog. Often times (I haven’t learned after 30+ years of photographing..), I am far from home about to take a photo and my battery is depleted. So, I have now put a spare battery in my purse (which is almost always with me), stored in a microfiber glasses bag.
Hi there. Thanks for sharing this valuable info. Please pick me for your giveaway!!!! Thank you.
Hi there.
Please pick me for your giveaway!!!! Thank you.
David,
Your blog contains more thought-provoking, philosophical, humorous, photographic information than any other site I frequent. Please keep it coming, and continue enjoying your travels.
How about a small dental floss in case something needs to be tied together? Glide advanced is really strong.
Gaffing Tape – little piece on blinking leds in hotel rooms. Piece across the lens hood to lens to stop it from moving. Anything else that needs gaffing tape. Binder clip – keep curtains closed. Wood alcohol,( methanol) and medical grade qtips to clean the contacts on camera body and contacts on lenses. I also clean the metal rings where the lense touches the camera body.
I always carry a couple of zip lock ties – have used them for everything from a temporary shoe lace to securing a curtain that flapped a bit much in a storm in the southern ocean. So small and light they are well worth carrying!
I’ve found a toothbrush (not the same one you use for your teeth!) handy for cleaning all the little dust capture points on the camera body and lenses after a day out in the dust. Also good for cleaning filter and adapter ring threads if they get sand or other grit in them.
Great article, David! I really like the idea of having a kit with known contents that you can just treat as a single item (I presume you have a list somewhere of what *should* be in there). I’ve packed most of what is in your $h!t kit, but never segregated it as such.
All I can suggest adding is some Loctite (or Permatex, depending on where you live) to prevent having bolts easily back out on their own but still be removable if needed, and some extra ZipLoc bags and plenty of extra silica gel packets in case of wet cameras/lenses.
I might have overlooked it on your essay, but a sensor cleaning kit.
You didn’t miss anything. I carry that kind of thing in a separate kit that I cover here: https://davidduchemin.com/2025/12/everything-but-the-cameras/ – for some reason I neglected to link to that in this post. That is now fixed. Thanks for the nudge.
The Small Rig tool is fantastic. I was pulling it out of my bag so often as a go to around the house that I bought a second one that sits on my desk.
The other thing I would add is a small battery pack to charge a phone or power a flash light when the internal battery is caught napping .
This is why photography is so expensive! I end up buying 2 of everything! And when something is really good, I end up buying 6 because I give them as gifts. I have found a number of really good little bits and pieces from Small Rig.
One of your best article IMO, David. Not because your others caused me to roll my eyes or have a little regurgitation. It’s because I’ve never even thought about an “Oh Sh*t Kit”.
I’ve lost things and still never thought (well, rarely think) that maybe I should carry extras of things in case of loss, breakage, whatever other fiascos might (maybe the better work is will…?) impose its greeting at the worst possible time like your cheetahs in the gorgeous morning light.
Time to rectify that. Thanks for sharing this helpful tip. It’s one of the many you share with us that open my eyes and make me realize “Wow! What a great thought/product/mindset to implement!” Thanks for being you to all us creatives!
Steve, I’m one of those “learn the hard way” kind of idiots, but every now and then I take the easy route by not repeating a mistake for the 9th time. My Sh*t kit is a result of that strategy. LOL 😂
When a bit remote I include a lighter and a few cotton balls with some vasoline to start a fire. Also light weight emergency blanket.
Agreed, though if I’m working in that kind of context I usually have yet another kit – something more along the lines of a Don’t D!e Kit. 😉