We recently ran a competition asking for the best customer stories in celebration of Billingham's 50th anniversary. We are pleased today to announce the second of our winners, Ishkhan Ghazarian. He is a professional portrait and commercial photographer, based in Toronto, Canada. In this article he tells the story of a trip he made to Mexico with his Billingham following the aftermath of a hurricane.

My name is Ishkhan Ghazarian, I'm a professional photographer based in Toronto, Canada.

My journey with Billingham started over a decade ago, around the time when my professional photography journey began. One of my mentors, and best friend of a friend of mine, had shown me his bag that he had purchased years before and told me that "this is the one bag every photographer needs and once you have one you won't ever look at other bags the same". I was very intrigued by this conversation and ever since that day of introduction to the world of Billingham, I've always looked forward to the day that I'd be able to buy my own. Fast forward many years, as my passion for the arts turned into my everyday full time business, I was able to finally purchase my very own Billingham! Wouldn't you know it, but he was right! Every photographer needs a Billingham!

My Billingham has travelled across the world. From coast to coast in Canada, visiting the peaks of mountains passing through plenty of US states, including driving up the west coast of California. It's travelled up the pyramids of Mexico, to the top of the majestic Machu Picchu in Peru, and has many adventures planned to come.

A testament to the build, quality, and durability of the Billingham bags starts on one of my adventures in Mexico. We had started our hike towards Sótano de las Golondrinas (Cave of Swallows) which is an open air pit cave, the largest known cave shaft in the world, and the 11th deepest sheer drop in the world. At the time, I was carrying my Billingham Hadley One, which was safely holding my Hasselblad 500C and various other gear. While on our hike, we experienced a torrential downpour from the aftermath of a passing hurricane. With nowhere to stop, we continued trekking on. As it was a sunny day to start with and no umbrellas in site - not that it would've done any good with the wind - we ended up drenched from head to toe leaving not a single dry piece of clothing. Reaching the summit and the opening of the cave, we were greeted with the warm welcome of the sun, and opening up my Billingham to reveal a completely dry interior (not to my surprise) with all my gear safe, made my day!

Over the years, I've always recommended, and will continue to recommend, Billingham as my bag of choice to my friends and fellow creatives. Hearing their reactions and excitement when receiving their bags has definitely left a smile on my face. I truly never leave the house without my Hadley Pro 2020! It's become second nature to always have it by my side. Most folks, as they run out the door, make sure to grab their wallet, phone and keys. Mine is slightly modified, phone-wallet-keys-Billingham! In all seriousness, I couldn't have asked for a better company to produce an even better bag. Wishing everyone there a bright and beautiful future!

Happy 50th Anniversary Billingham, here's to 50 more!

Best regards,

Ishkhan Ghazarian

Thanks again to Ishkhan Ghazarian for sharing his story. You can find Ishkhan here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ishkhanghazarian/
Website: https://www.ishkhanghazarian.com/

While the competition has ended we'd still love to hear your stories. Feel free to submit them here.

The bag featured in this article:

Hadley Pro 2020 Camera Bag