The Water Barrier

Jerry Amster, a photographer with Superstock, has a job most people would envy. He shoots exotic resorts, from the Arctic to the tropics. His camera bag has to stand up to jungles, blizzards and fit into cramped spaces like canoes and small planes.

To meet the demanding requirements of his assignments, Amster chose a Lowepro bag. Yet even he didn't anticipate the adventures he'd have with his Magnum AW. From a frigid Arctic resort, Amster traveled to Fiji for 3-week shoot. On Vatulele, he planned a shot of a diver showing off a lobster he'd just caught.

No problem except that the lobsters were beyond the barrier reefs ringing the island. As his small boat neared the reef, Amster looked ahead and saw 5' surf crashing against the barrier. He quickly pulled out the Magnum's weatherproof AW cover and slipped it over the bag ... just before the breakers crashed over the bow and soaked the whole boat in brine. When Amster opened his Magnum, everything was bone dry: his Nikon F4 and 8008S, 3 zoom lenses, a 17 mm lens, flash unit, filters and battery pack. At that moment, he remembers, "I wished I'd had a raincoat like the Magnum. It worked! The equipment was dry and I was drenched from head to foot. Lowepro makes the best camera bags I've ever tried. Thanks, Lowepro."

Although we didn't think specifically of Fiji, we did design Lowepro AW (All Weather cover) bags for the wet, snowy or sandy conditions which are so hard on photography equipment. We're always pleased to hear that our bags live up to their AW designation.