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
The post Oh Sh*t! (When it Hits the Fan, This Kit Helps) first appeared on David duChemin – Photographer, Author, Creative Instigator.
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