Mar 27, 2010

My favorite photo gear that isn't a camera...

Without a camera, I could not be a photographer, but without good shoes I wouldn't be a very good photojournalist.

The day before the wife and I went for a two week trek in Peru, I stopped by REI and bought a pair of waterproof boots. Little did I know that when I returned and started working at the Tribune I would come to love those boots.
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The salesman suggested these particular boots based on personal experience, saying that they had done well on a trip to Hawaii. He said they held up well on the lava when other peoples' shoes were being shredded. Sold.

Why are they important for being a PJ?

They take away an excuse for not going to take a picture.

We have had a cold, wet winter, which is a story unto itself. The blue truck in the background is mine, and what you cant see is the 2-3" of water and slush under the snow. If I had only sneakers or loafers, I probably would not have ruined them to get photos of these folks playing in the snow.

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Getting this photo involved walking at least 1/2 mile, part on icy road and part through the muddy roadside. If I had only normal shoes on, I may have snapped a photo out the window from the bridge back there.. but probably not because it would have been a crappy photo and I was sliding on the ice like everybody else... both hands on the wheel please.

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One more... If other people have to work in it, we do too...

Oct 13 flooding-a5


I love my cameras, and want newer, nicer, better and shinier ones.

But if even if I had the 1DmkIV that my piggy bank is reserved for, I would miss photos if I didn't have my boots.


Don J.

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