Coming across a piece of gear that makes me say "I should have bought this sooner" is always a good sign… not just that I found something worth having, but that I'm still growing as a photographer. Anyone who's worked with me knows I'm incredibly deliberate about how I prep my cameras, so when something actually changes my workflow, it means something.
The Moment Exposure 10L Vest has done exactly that, especially shooting with runners and athletes.
The whole point of a vest like this is keeping your kit on your body and out of your way, and the Exposure 10L actually delivers on that. Every pocket sits right where you'd expect it to be, so you're not thinking about gear, you're thinking about the shot.
When I'm photographing runners, I need to keep up. That means sprinting to the next position, hanging out of a Jeep, or running full stride alongside a subject with a full kit on. I can't stop to dig through a bag. With this vest, I can grab an extra roll of film, swap a battery, or pull a filter with one hand, without breaking stride or missing the moment. (And yes, I see what Moment did there.)
I've lost too many shots fumbling through some labyrinthian case trying to fish out an ND filter. That doesn't happen with this vest.
Having the vest gives me the assurance that I know exactly where everything is without having to take myself out of the moment. I get to be completely streamlined and avoid fumbling for batteries or filters because I know which pocket they're in and where, no need to take my eyes away from shooting to get into a backpack.
Even fully loaded, the vest sits comfortably and stays put. The pocket and strap placement keeps everything from shifting when you're crouching, cutting hard, or chasing a subject. The pockets don't ride too low either, which matters more than people realize; bunching up mid-shoot when you're maneuvering quickly is its own kind of problem.
Leaning out of the Jeep was a big part of me photographing The Speed Project earlier this year. TSP is an ultramarathon relay our team ran across four days, from San Francisco to Las Vegas. As the documenter for the trip, a lot of how I captured our runners was leaning out of the passenger window or sunroof of the car.
The Desert Vest is something I wish I had on me then. It would've let me keep my essentials on me without having to duck back into the vehicle and dig through a bag, potentially making me miss a crucial moment or a beautiful scene our runners were crossing. Things moved incredibly quick while I was in the runner cars, giving me very little time to mess with my gear. I had to be ready to go: hopping out of the Jeep at handoffs, running with our racers to get close-up tracking shots, or sprinting up ahead to give myself space to photograph the runner in the landscape.
Being nimble is the name of the game for these types of projects, and something like the Desert Vest helps me stay present and prepared all throughout.
The interior pockets hold a surprising amount. For these photos, I had a Ricoh GRiii, Fuji X-E5 (with 23mm f/2.8), Fujica GS645, and an Olympus MJU all loaded into the vest at once.
And that's on top of the usual load: a 5-stop GND filter, a CPL filter, about four batteries, an air blower and microfiber cloth, my small Godox iT30 flash, plenty of rolls of 35mm film, and maybe a couple granola bars. That's not a small thing.
If you're shooting on the move and you're tired of your bag slowing you down, the Exposure 10L is worth a serious look.
