Skip to main content

Having the Right Equipment.


     As a landscape photographer I thought the most important piece of equipment I needed, besides my camera was my backpack. After all, this single item would be carrying my food, water, camera, and other various things needed to shoot landscapes. 
     I now believe that your boots are one of, if not THE most important tools you have going out on any hike. A few weeks earlier I had attempted a difficult hike, caring my camera and some provisions about 30 pounds, while wearing my older Vasque boots. Unfortunately I did not achieve the distance I had hoped. I had blisters and my feet were killing me. I left the trail a defeated person.
     I had been a loyal Vasque boot wearer for the past 10 to 15 years. However, when I needed to get a new pair, they just weren't the same shoe. I tried on several different brands, trying to find that perfect fit that I had come accustom. Finally I went to REI and tried on a pair of Zamberlan's. I knew from the moment I put them on they would be perfect.
      After purchasing my Zamberlan boots, I returned to that same trail, to see how well these "new" boots would actually do. I am happy to say that I made that hike with ease. I even did a bit of exploring off of the main trail to capture some amazing shots. 

     These boots have opened a new door for me. Knowing I can do long hikes caring all my equipment with me... Lets just say I don’t expect to ever leave a trail a defeated person.  
Zamberlan 996 VIOZ GT in Black



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Addicted to taking photographs

     I wonder if I am the only person that must take photos on a regular basis. If there is a day that I don't hit the shutter on a camera, any camera, I just don't feel like my day is done. I love it. I am addicted to it. It calls my name. It's like a drug. It is my passion.      So I find myself carrying my Nikon D3 around with me all the time. Given the size of this unit, not an easy thing to do for the past 3 years. My friends have given the camera a nickname… “Precious”. They know that she comes before a lot of other things, and she is very important to my sanity.      Precious and I have been through a lot. We get out on a regular basis and explore. I can hardly tell she is on my back when we are out there away from civilization. That is, until I get back home and my backs stiff from carrying the extra weight.      She and I work like a team, and she is a great partner. The photos that we...

finding my kidney donor

I can attest that there’s nothing more exciting than finding your organ donor. But imagine coming home after a hard dialysis treatment and wishing you didn’t have to do them anymore and there was no light at the end of the tunnel; only to have your best friend, soulmate and wife tell you that she got a call and that she was an excellent match for a kidney transplant.  I had been battling cancer and dealing with dialysis treatments 3 days a week for 2 years. I had been given the news that my cancer was in stringent remission however, I still needed to do dialysis treatments until I could get accepted into a transplant program. I finally did get accepted into the transplant program at Vanderbilt University, the only problem was with my blood type. I was looking at a six to eight year wait. I was happy just to be in the program.  My journey continued, day after day, dialysis treatment after dialysis treatment. I felt like the walls were closing in on me and there was no end...

Seeing My Toe for the First Time

Today I woke up with a bit of excitement knowing that I would be seeing what my toe now looked like after, the partial amputation to remove the bone infection. This would be one step closer to getting my kidney transplant and one step closer to taking back my life. The fact of the matter is that immediately following the toe surgery, my foot felt normal once again. I was in no pain and my foot more specifically, my big toe, was no longer mad (infected). It felt as it did years before the diagnosis. It felt content and normal. This was a bit alarming as I was use to having neuropathy in my feet and now, it felt normal once again. I felt like I was moving my toe and that all was right in the world once again. But, looking at my foot, I knew it wasn’t. The spot where my big toe once sat was a bit shorter and wrapped with bandages. In addition, my foot was secured in an inflatable boot for stability. I kept thinking to myself… What have I done now? In the days after t...