QH:
Introduce yourself – tell us a little about who you are and what you do!
HANNAH:
My name is Hannah. I’m an avid traveller and a professional wedding photographer with Hannah Redman Images. I’ve always loved travel and have travelled most of Australia as well as the Himalayas, Europe and America. I love the outdoors and spontaneous getaways.
I first found my love of photography through my Mum, who is also a photographer. I started helping her on shoots, and then the passion grew from there! It turns out photography is in the blood as my Great, Great Grandfather was one of the first to pioneer photography in Australia and was named as the ‘Father of Photography’ in Queensland (Thomas Mathewson). I’m also married to my best friend, Sam and have an adorable fur baby called Lyla the Labrador.
QH:
We love your unique leather camera straps! Can you tell us how did the whole Strapped Camera Co. concept come about?
HANNAH:
I was sitting on a plane travelling back from a holiday, and I was thinking about the frustrations I had carrying camera bags or stuffing my pockets with lens caps and batteries while sightseeing. I had lost a lens cap on that trip, which led to me wanting to come up with a practical solution that would help make my life so much easier as a photographer and traveller (and looked great at the same time)! Many sleepless nights and countless cups of coffee later, the first Strapped Camera Co. camera strap design was born – the ‘Companion’.
QH:
So, how did you come up with the camera strap’s unique design and those very savvy built-in storage features?
HANNAH:
I was sick of the basic camera straps that came with my DSLRs, and I was looking for something practical, functional, comfortable and solved the problems I was having with handling all of my camera accessories.
I knew I needed a solution and so I wrote down the ‘dream’ features I’d like to include on a strap – features like pockets for a lens cap, spare battery and memory card. Then I got to work on creating the perfect design. It took about nine different prototypes to perfect the design and to make sure the pockets would fit a standard DSLR battery as well as a lens cap for all of the major camera brands. I also wanted the strap to be easy to adjust and take on and off the camera – so I designed a ‘belt buckle’ attachment piece that makes it all super quick and easy.
QH:
Why did you choose to use Kangaroo leather for your camera strap designs?
HANNAH:
I’m a country girl at heart and have always been passionate about supporting local Australian made and owned products. I’d initially started creating the design with cowhide but had heard about kangaroo leather and thought to myself, ‘what could be more uniquely Australian than kangaroo leather?!’
When I started researching the features of kangaroo leather, I found out that it’s an incredibly light, durable and beautiful leather, and is unique in that it’s more than two times stronger than cowhide. Unlike any other leather, if you were to halve the thickness of kangaroo leather, it maintains the same strength due to the way that its fibers overlap.
I made sure only to source ethically approved kangaroo leather from strict Government approved pest culling programs as ethical treatment of animals has always been important to me. It also helps to support Australian farmers who not only struggle with longterm drought but also the impact of overpopulation of Kangaroos in some regional areas of Australia.
QH:
We think Strapped Camera Co. straps are the ultimate accessory for travel photography. And, obviously, with the current travel restrictions in place, many of us are dreaming of our next big adventures and bucket-list destinations. Tell us, if you could pick anywhere in the world, where would you be packing your camera and heading to as soon as travel opens back up?
HANNAH:
Great question! I’d be packing my camera and heading to Peru. My dream is to hike the trail to Machu Picchu. I’d also love to arrange a visit with my sponsor children in Peru. But, I actually have a wedding to photograph in the Rockies in Canada next year, so that’s more than likely where I’ll be heading first, on my way to Peru!
Discover more about Strapped Camera Co. and shop the camera straps online at strappedcamera.co
