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For Ron Pogue, photography is, frankly, in his DNA. My grandfather was a photographer during the second world war, and I always had intended to follow in his footsteps. And follow he did: the first images he recalls purposefully taking were on an old Kodak 110 when he was in the first or second grade. Basically, hes been shooting for as long as he can remember.
My father left me access to the family collection of cameras going back to 1892, and I shot with them all. I grew up seeing photography as a magic art, as opposed to a technical practice, Pogue explains.
Studying black and white photography in high school and college, learning color processing and printing while doing his BFAshooting medium and large format color slide filmwas a natural progression for Pogue as well.
I worked in Galleries and labs as the world went digital and saw the new technologies that were to take over, re-learning everything again to finally find the world stage in the new panopticon of social media.
Pogue collaborates with everyone from artists and performers to regular people to try to create images that connect the viewer with the subject as directly as possible.
Theres no beating around the bush here. My personal work often deals with more metaphorical or symbolic imagesatmospheric states or happenstantial occurrences of synchronicity seeming to allude to a larger plan or story.
Having already been shooting for years, Pogue was happy to just get by with an average nylon harness to carry his gear around. But in making the transition to fashion work and higher end weddings, he was embarrassed.
As someone who prides themselves on presentation, the faded black nylon and blatant logo of the gear he was using was all wrong. It was the only piece of my attire that didnt fit. I needed a designer camera harness, but one designed by a photographer for photographers.
Enter HoldFast: a brand that resonates with photographers who appreciate function, form, and the rewards that accompany inspired work.
Pogues first piece of HoldFast gear was the Python Money Maker, with additional camera leashes for extra gear, or to be used as a wrist strap. I searched worlds most badass camera harness you can wear with a tuxedo. The Python Money Maker was the first hit.
As he soon discovered, with HoldFast gear, form and function are not mutually exclusive. One builds up the other, and vice versa. I never doubted for an instant that I had found what I was looking for. It was the first time I had bought anything for my career that wasnt just functional or utilitarian. It is both of those in spades to be sure, but it is also the finest piece of gear I have ever owned.
While Pogue describes his HoldFast gear as superlative, indefatigable, and sublime, (he later added a small black Bison Money Maker for single camera set up & to lighten the everyday load) the feature he finds most helpful? Balance.
By allowing the cameras to hang on either side of the small of your backa design unique to HoldFast gearthe Money Maker is designed to be worn high up on the body, which allows for cameras to naturally hang behind your midline, just around the belt area. This all but eliminates pressure from the lower back and places it across the broadest strongest part of the back...
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