jcboy3 wrote:
I didn't say mine were the latest. But I do find the ones I have (which will definitely be the older ones...like me!) too heavy.
I tested some of the first proposed versions of the Domke photog vests many , many years ago while on assignment for Domke's and my newspaper, the Philadelphia Inquirer , covering Mexican sheepherders hired by American sheep ranchers in Wyoming to watch over their flocks in winter grazing . I made dozens of recommendations on materials, pockets, weight, zippers, etc. that got incorporated in later models of the Domke Photog Vest.
No vest is perfect for everyone, none. I do know women photojournalists that wear Domke Photog Vests with no issues, but maybe they dont fit all women properly.
I dont have photos of those first Domke Photog vests, but here are a few shots from that week-long assignment out in the cold Wyoming Wilderness with the Mexican sheepherders, their horses and their sheep dogs. I didn't have a horse so I was following them on foot and a vest was a much better solution for working in those conditions than a camera bag , but my lenses were having a hard time staying in the pockets of that early Domke Photog vest prototype, so I made some recommendations for changes in the pockets and zippers. (I did have my Domke camera bag with me though)
All photos copyright Gerald S. Williams. These are just quick scans from some small B&W prints so dont shoot me on the quality . The last shot won a National Photojournalism Contest First Place Award in the Portrait category.
Some fun: Can you see the two sheep dogs helping herd the sheep in the first shot?
FYI, I found out why the Black Sheep are the most important sheep in the flock. There is no way to count each sheep as they go by, they are moving and all look the same, so the herders interspace black sheep throughout the large herds, and they just count the black sheep. If all the black sheep are accounted for, it is less likely that some sheep have strayed away and need to be found. but if any black sheep are missing the shepherds and their dogs go searching (third shot) , as there are many wolves and coyotes that love sheep for dinner.
And yes the Domke Photog Vests got lighter over the years as new lighter yet stronger materials were available.
Cheers and best to you.