Photographer Earned $42,000 on a Cheap Camera Bag

British photographer John Swannell, who has worked for Vogue, Tatler, and The Sunday Times, told a story about earning $42,000 on a cheap camera bag, PetaPixel reports.

In the interview for Canon, Swannell recalled how he bought a camera bag in one of London thrift shops for only a couple dollars many years ago. He took it to France where he worked with the famous photographer Helmut Newton for several days.

Newton liked the bag so much he wanted to buy it: “Helmut wanted it and wouldn’t take no for an answer,” Swannell says. “He kept on offering me money for it during the shoot and went up to $500 and still I wouldn’t sell it to him.”

Despite several futile attempts, Newton was not ready to give up: “There must be something of mine you want, I have to have that bag!” In response, Swannell said: “Sign me a print from the cover of your book White Women and you can have it.”

“You must be mad! That’s about $3,000!” annoyed Newton said. Seconds after, he grabbed the bag, emptied the contents on the floor, and left with it.

In several days, Swannell received a print posted to his London address, signed by the photographer. In ten years, he sold it for $42,000. “So that old bag wasn’t a bad investment,” he says.