Gear

What's in the Bag

Everything I carry into abandoned mills, sealed-off hospitals, and the rest of the Northeast's forgotten places. Every piece here has earned its spot through real use in the field, from dusty factory floors to pitch-black basements.

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Navigating the Kit

  • Organized by category: Jump to cameras, drones, power, safety and more, or search for a specific item by name.
  • In the bag or retired: Filter to see what I carry today, or look back at the gear that got me here. Retired gear stays listed for anyone still shooting with it.
  • Always evolving: This list changes as my kit does. Questions about anything here? Reach out by email, in the comments, or on social media.

31 items

Camera & Lenses

A full-frame body with plenty of resolution for high dynamic range work in dark interiors, paired with a wide prime that keeps whole rooms in the frame without heavy distortion.

Tripod

My MeFOTO has never needed replacing, and that's the whole argument for spending more up front. Cheap, flimsy tripods feel economical until you're buying your third one. It's what makes long exposures in pitch-black rooms possible, and it has survived years of infiltration work and some truly unconventional angles 😩.

Pocket Video

The DJI Pocket 3 shoots 4K at up to 120fps and records natively in portrait for Shorts, Reels and TikTok. Stabilized video without hauling out the mirrorless body. It's what the GoPro Karma Grip wanted to be years ago.

Drones

Flying during explorations changed how I tell these stories. A drone shows the scale of a site, where it sits in the neighborhood, and the roofs and yards you can't reach on foot.

  • DJI Mavic Pro Platinum Fly More ComboRetiredNo longer sold
  • DJI Phantom 4 Pro ObsidianRetiredNo longer sold

Portable Power

One day in the Bronx my phone died, Google Maps went with it, and the exploration ended early. I bought my first Anker right after and haven't been without one since. These have rescued friends as often as me, and one borrowed unit never came back.

Respirator

Plenty of buildings have no fresh air at all. You don't want to breathe air that's sat for years with asbestos, mold, dust and dead animals in it. Keep exploring, but stay healthy enough to be out there for decades.

Storage & Memory Cards

The archive lives across several mechanical drives, but Samsung T7 SSDs changed my workflow. The cable in the box won't get you near the advertised 1,000 MB/s; a certified 40Gbps USB4 cable does, which matters with 4K/8K video and RAW files.

Lights

A flashlight to get around, and a panel for filling in dark corners when a tripod exposure isn't enough.

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Last updated September 2026.

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