Adventure photography is often complicated by the abundance of photography-specific and sport-specific equipment that an individual carries. To remedy this, I aimed to design a technical backpack that considers the holistic experience of taking photographs in rugged conditions; by providing organization and storage for both photography and sports equipment, and improving the accessibility of these items while the bag is actively being worn.

Outdoor action sports, like rock climbing, have experienced tremendous growth in popularity over the last few decades, as the millennial generation seeks refuge from their mundane desk lives. This trend has been famously documented over the years: The Access Fund is but one organization dedicated to addressing the environmental concerns raised by an increase in activity at many of the world’s famous crags. As a new generation of mountaineers and alpinists come to fruition—further pushing the realm of possibility ever forward, there exists a need for documentation that can keep pace. The nature of these sports requires an abundance of safety equipment to be on hand at all times—leaving little room for photography equipment. However, the creation of an all-in-one organizational/storage product for both photography and technical sports equipment would provide an improved experience of documenting and enjoying the outdoors.

Regular backpacks don’t provide enough organizational divisions to store both photographic and climbing equipment properly, nor do they prioritize the protection of their contents. On the other hand, photography backpacks are limited, in that they only prioritize the storage and protection of photographic equipment, and climbing backs are similarly tailored to carry climbing equipment. The nonexistence of a bag that considers both activities implies that valuable gear must be sacrificed in order to facilitate some semblance of organization. This, in return, worsens both the experience of capturing photographs and the experience of exploring the outdoors.

This issue is likely a result of socioeconomic markets being as isolated as they currently are: Companies strive to be the best at what they do, have the largest market share, and differentiate themselves from their competitors, instead of developing products that can compete in multiple markets. At the same time, a product like the one I am proposing could be seen as too niche to be profitable, despite conflicting evidence. Thus, what I believe this all boils down to is that companies often underestimate the nuance of their consumers, meaning that they’re afraid to branch out, and step on each other's toes by creating a product that goes outside of their typical market.

Given the limited timeframe, accessibility to facilities, and materials that I have to work with over this semester, my goal is to make a semi-functional prototype of the backpack with as many of its intended materials as possible. The complexity of the backpack’s design will be similarly limited by the amount of time, money, and access to studio space I deem necessary for producing a finished product—this will likely be discovered after running some material testing and further research into the manufacturing processes needed to produce my final prototype. 

My proposed project takes influence from many aspects of the outdoor sports industry and photographic industry, as it truly aims to balance the needs of both audiences within a singular body. With this in mind, my project will likely gain the interest of both outdoor equipment manufacturers (such as Patagonia, Arc’Teryx, The North Face, etc.) and photography equipment manufacturers (such as F-Stop, Chrome Industries, Manfrotto, etc.) who develop similar products, in addition to the consumer base of adventure photographers that would benefit from the realization of my project.