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An interview with Lara Platman
Lara was born in England to a family of tailors and theatrical costume makers. Some of her earliest memories include sewing on sequins and beads to costumes in dressing rooms. Memories defined by creativity and craftsmanship, traits which would ultimately provide guidance toward her vocation as a photographer and journalist.
Lara is a creative hands-on person, with an eye for detail and ready to take on something new. One fairly recent challenge, which would become her biggest passion, is Big Red, an 88” ragtop Land Rover Series 2 which she pulled apart and restored so that she could use it as her daily runaround.
Billingham | 25 Rucksack
What does a normal day look like in the life of Lara Platman?
A typical photographic day for me would be going to a motoring event and playing out in the pit lane, specifically after dusk. I am lucky enough to use Leica cameras and lenses which have very, very wide apertures and allow me to work under poor lighting conditions without having to resort to a flash. So, I have become a bit of a low-light specialist which is just as useful at the track as it is when photographing a stage performance in a theatre with the lights dimmed.
I like to use my photography to tell a story without giving too much away—for the images to ask questions and make the audience work a little bit, without me providing everything on a plate. Each image is the result of careful consideration and composition. As opposed to firing off hundreds of shots, as is often the case in our digital age, I choose to take a few deliberate photographs as if I were still using a roll of film. Every shot counts.
Your work has received much acclaim. Can you tell me about some of your publications?
I work with a number of publications from lifestyle to motorsport, to news as well as interests including crafts, landscapes and even historical topics. I work all over the ship! I used to work much more for historic buildings, the National Trust and British Heritage, then moved on to motorsport and lifestyle whereby my images are becoming more and more female orientated—a niche I feel comfortable with. One which people are beginning to recognise me for and where my photographic signature is better suited.
Taking a closer look at some of the gear you use, how did you first come across Billingham bags?
It started when I left college and I was helping my dad with his antique market stall. I should point out that he and I were always taking pictures, so we always had vintage cameras and went to vintage camera shows. One year, I went to the antique photography market in Bièvre, near Paris, and bought a load of junk—well, that’s what most people would call it, but there were a few special cameras, filters and accessories amongst it all—and it was all stowed in a Billingham 550 complete with its end pockets.
Billingham | 72 Camera Bag
With the two end pockets attached, the 550 is Billingham’s most voluminous bag, which means it can actually get quite heavy for me. It was 1993, I think, when I picked it up and by then it was already 20 years old. Looking at it now, another 28 years later, I love the leather applications and the thick canvas which lends it a safari-type of character. Generally speaking, Billingham bags are built for life and even now, this one is still waterproof. I treat the straps to some moisturiser every couple of years, but the sturdy zips, brass feet and leather toggles all look and feel better today than they did when I picked it up all those years ago.
To be fair, I don’t use the 550 as a camera bag anymore. Instead, it has become my favourite travel bag. The exterior pockets hold my make-up and small garments, the main compartment then takes larger pieces of clothing and my laptop. Thrown in the back of the Land Rover, it looks very much at home with the canvas almost the same colour as Big Red’s roof.
So that ’s how I heard about Billingham. I bought a load of junk and it came in this Billingham bag. I never actually paid for it, which is brilliant, because they were quite expensive at the time.
Have you used other Billingham bags during the course of your career?
Yes, two in particular. The 225 which I keep my Hasselblad kit in, and the bag I love to pieces which is the Hadley Pro. Even though it’s fairly small it fits two Leicas inside. Normally, it carries my M 240 and M 10 P with enough space for four lenses. It isn’t large enough to take a computer, but it does carry the equipment I need as well as a sweater if I need one. The 225 is just big enough to take an A4 catalogue or brochure.
I realise that you have already said Billingham bags are durable, but have you tried any of the later models?
I bought my newest bag about a year ago, the Hadley One. It comes with the new shoulder strap design which means I can leave it on or take it off to suit my needs.
The main reason why this bag quickly became my go-to is because, along with my laptop, I can easily fit in two camera bodies, four lenses, and my Zoom voice recorder. It’s big enough for my camera equipment plus my laptop, with the added comfort of the new strap and a sleeve so that it slips securely onto my hand-luggage trolley when I’m flying. A great all-rounder.
What materials are Billingham using today?
As far as I am concerned, it has to be canvas. But, they do have a new material called FibreNyte which is easier—and keeps clean longer than canvas. I have always opted for canvas because I like the rugged scratchy feeling, the thick texture, and the durability. I know that modern materials are equally as good, if not better, but I drive a 1960’s Land Rover…[laughing].
Billingham | Hadley One
On the Hadley One, the zips are waterproof because of the protective leather flap and, as far as weatherproofing is concerned, Billingham bags have large flaps that more than adequately protect the contents.
The waterproofing of the canvas or FibreNyte is so effective that even if the bag isn’t full, rain won’t collect in the folds, it simply rolls off. It’s quite remarkable. I remember being at Le Mans when the heavens opened. I had a cape on, but the bag wouldn’t always fit underneath and consequently got drenched. I thought, oh my God, everything is going to be completely sodden inside. But it wasn’t, I opened the bag and everything was dry. Nothing gets inside at all, it’s quite an incredible material.
Good exterior. How about gear protection?
Oh, amazing. I’ve dropped a bag and cried, thinking I’d just ruined all my kit. And then I opened it up and nothing has happened at all. The padding inside is brilliant, it’s like a little cocoon in there. Billingham offer additional inserts, or separators, so I tend to add a few extra when I’m travelling. Basically, I take them out of another bag that I’m not using and put them in, just in case I have to stick it in an overhead on a plane and it falls out.
I always think of Pelican cases as the epitome camera protection. Where does Billingham fit in?
I don’t chuck my equipment around or subject it to scenarios where it has to float. As a day-in-day-out bag though, Billingham provides my equipment with more protection than I will normally need.
When I rode to the Isle of Man on my bike, I put a Billingham on the back and never thought twice that my gear was at any risk. But I didn’t come off, so it was spared the ultimate test.
You have to carry your equipment all day. How comfortable is the Hadley One to wear?
I did get a backpack strap for the 225 but, because I put too much in the bag, it became too heavy for me.
I have really grown to appreciate the satchel style strap on the Hadley One because it simply works. It’s like a courier bag. I still have access to camera bodies and lenses without everything flapping around.
Comfort is good for me and the padding is really effective.
Billingham | Hadley Pro
I know from my own experience that events can occur spontaneously and accessibility to a camera can make the difference between getting the shot, or going away empty-handed. How do Billinghams fare?
Well, I’ve got to tell you that getting into these bags is not easy. And that is something I really love because I work in places that aren’t always safe. So if you have to fiddle to get into the bag, I’ll always notice if someone else is trying.
When they’re new, the leather is, of course, taut. But the more you use them, the more beautifully supple it becomes. It’s still a fiddle and I’m ok with that. However, if I am in a studio, then I can set the bag down, fold back the lid and I’ve got a bucketful of readily accessible gear without zips or toggles getting in the way.
How has the Hadley One worn?
I love it. I know I’m always going on about it getting dirty, but that’s because I go to motor race events where there is oil around. The last time one of my bags got covered in oil was while I was asleep under a Ferrari 250 GT short wheel base which had blown its engine and the oil dripped onto my Billingham. But that’s a five-million-pound oil drip, so I’m not too displeased.
My bags have worn really well. They get better with age. I think all canvas and leather products improve with time. In comparison, new materials like GoreTex or nylon start to look shabby after a while.
Pros and Cons?
Cons In its rucksack configuration, I would have preferred a belt strap to prevent it flapping around.
I wish my 550 didn’t have so many zips. I wish it was more leather straps and buttons, like the others.
Other than that, I can’t think of any cons.
Pros After nearly thirty years, I keep coming back to the same brand. So, as far as I am concerned, it’s all pro. Bloody love them.
As you say, you have shared decades with your bags. Are you emotionally attached to any of them?
Definitely. I can tell you a story about each of my bags. The Hadley One is comparatively new, but I think its story will be closely related to my Land Rover.
One thing I’d like to add about my Billinghams is that I have a Noctilux lens that argues with me all the time. Every time I say, “you can’t come on a shoot (because we’re doing daylight and you’re too heavy)”, he’s always in the bag. And I look at the bag and think, “I wasn’t going to take that bag, I was going to take another.” But I have to take that bag (the Hadley One) because everything I want is in there already, and I can’t take the Noctilux out because he would get very annoyed with me.
So, the bags and the cameras each have their own characters because I’m a bit like that. They’re my team, my friends. And we all look after each other. The bags look after my kit, I look after them, and my kit looks after my life.
Billingham | Leisure Range
So yes, I am attached to my bags…possibly quite weirdly, in the same way that people are attached to their motorbikes or cars. I’m attached to my car as well. They are all material objects and we’re not supposed to become attached, but if they get you through the day, then you build relationships.
The Hadley Pro is my city bag; the Hadley One is my events bag; the 550 my travelling bag; and the Galbin is good for putting in a suitcase if I literally just want to take one body and a 35 mm lens.
Final question: what does Lara Platman always have in her bag?
- 1 x Leica M 10 P
- 1 x Leica M 240
- 1 x Leica 28 mm f/1.4
- 1 x Leica 35 mm f/1.4
- 1 x Leica 75 mm f/1.4
- 1 x Leica Noctilux 50 mm f/1.0
- 1 x HP Zbook Laptop
- 1 x Zoom H4n Pro Audio recorder
- Earphones and two lavelier microphones
25 rucksack | £316.67, 72 camera bag | £91.67, Hadley One | £220.83, Hadley Pro | £175.00, Thomas | £245.83, Weekender | £245.83, Overnighter | £195.83
