Protecting Your Investment-Be Prepared

Alex at Giants Stadium. Photo courtesy of Eugene Parciascepe, Jr

I spent last Sunday shooting a whole bunch of NCAA college lacrosse games at Inside Lacrosse Magazine’s Big City Classic held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.  There was a chance for rain so I made sure I had all my rain gear with me to stay dry and prevent my photography equipment from getting wet.  Good thing I did because halfway through an all day event, the rain started coming down heavy and non-stop.  I have both the Aquatech Sportsshield and the Think Tank Hydrophobia for my short zoom lenses and long telephotos.  They are a bit pricey but they work extremely well in protecting my sports photography investment during harsh conditions.

There are many economical alternatives to protecting your camera and lenses during rain and snow storms.  In a pinch, some photographers will even use a garbage bag which are easy to store in your camera bag and cost next to nothing.  However, it is not a great fashion statement.  If you do not believe me, just check out the photo below of my good friend John.  He actually has Aquatech rain gear for his stuff, but was too lazy to bring it because there was only a 50% chance of rain so he looks like a bag man on the sidelines as opposed to my more fashion conscious image above where I am donning a Helly Hansen Impertech rain jacket and a leather Barmah cowboy hat that I’ve tested on multi-week un-guided expeditions through the Alaskan Wilderness.

Then you have people like my good friend Vinny who did bring all his gear for inclement weather but laid down on the field turf to pray for clear skies so he would not have to go back up to the press box to retrieve his rain stuff.  When his prayers were not answered, he almost simply shot from underneath the concourse.  I guess sports photographers should take a little advice from the Boy Scouts of America…Be Prepared.