We Don't Travel Light

On Saturday me and sports reporter Brian Vernellis drove down to Baton Rouge to cover LSU football's spring game. Since I haven't shot football since the high school state finals at the Superdome in New Orleans in December, I forgot what it is like to haul so much equipment around.

We take more stuff to one big event than most people take on month-long vacations. Here's the short list: a 400mm lens and case, perhaps a 300mm, a 80-200mm lens, a 17-35mm lens, possibly our ultra-cool 10mm lens, two camera bodies, my laptop bag and laptop and all that goes along with that, a monopod, knee pads, rain gear, my camera bag, a hip bag and a flash along with who knows what I'm forgetting to tell you about. And then whatever personal items needed for an overnight or longer trip.

There is a little cart to load all that gear on, but getting it from the car into the stadium past thousands of screaming and often drunk college football tailgaters without wiping out on the sidewalk is quite an ordeal. And even then our jobs are just beginning - but that's another blog post altogether.

Not that I'm complaining - I love covering such events. They are fun even when they're stressful, and in the end I usually have good photos to show for my troubles. I just have to roll my eyes when someone says, "You take pictures for a living? That's all?"