Author
B.L. Sheldon
Photographer
Willem Verbeeck
Based in the Green Mountains of Vermont, B.L. Sheldon can most often be found behind a desk waxing on about the latest in outdoor gear. But when he isn’t, he’s out riding his bike or trying to tire out his dog.
If you’re anything like us, you’re chomping at the bit when anything with the subject line “Long Weekend” hits your inbox—doubly so when it also involves getting out and burning through a couple of rolls of film. Bonus points if the words “Santa Fe” and “Sedona” are in the mix.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that you’re about to read the recounting of a photo excursion to the American Southwest. But in this case, Long Weekend refers to a new brand of bags and accessories launched by Willem Verbeeck and Allison Simon in collaboration with Seattle-based Moment, and it’s meant to inspire just such trips.
Verbeeck and Simon, two creatives, photographers, and multimedia professionals, launched the brand this week after spending over a year in development. In Verbeeck’s own words, “it’s inspired by our love for road trips, our love for photography—we created these bags to be the perfect bags to take with you anywhere.”
To showcase what they mean, the pair set out on a 24-hour mission in the Bay Area of California to photograph the bags in their intended environment using a Mamiya RZ67 and Portra 400. In a video uploaded to Verbeeck’s YouTube channel, you can see the process he went through to attain the results—Verbeeck even keys you into the contact sheets from the shoots and highlights which shots made the final cut.
But enough about the new brand's launch photography; how do Long Weekend’s products stack up? While we haven’t had the chance to test the bags yet, the spread that Long Weekend has on offer is impressive in itself. Of note is the Santa Fe Shoulder Bag.
Made from 500-denier recycled nylon with ripstop accents and available in two colorways, it hits the highs of both durability and style (read: it won’t disintegrate on you, and it won’t mess with your fit either). The images on the site even show the Santa Fe holding a Polaroid Now in its 3L capacity—so, if you’re like us and tend to carry a point-and-shoot or SLR, it’s safe to say you’d have plenty of room for other essentials like film and a spare lens in the Santa Fe too.
Long Weekend also launched with a smaller 1.5-liter sling called the Sedona Sacoche, adjustable camera straps, a key tag and a sleeper of a release called the Film Pouch. Available in two sizes (a five-roll and a 15-roll), the Film Pouch looks like any other lightweight ripstop nylon pouch. Inside, however, it offers a divider that allows you to keep exposed film on one side and unshot film on the other—simple, effective, no fuss.
Best of all, everything in the collection is under $50. That leaves you plenty of room in the budget for covering film costs, which, you know, isn't getting any cheaper.
Published 11-17-2021
