A simple pair of cheap wellies (AKA rain boots) is one of the best value items I’ve ever bought to aid me with my landscape photography.

I’ve lost count of the times my wellies have allowed me to wade across shallow streams to get to otherwise inaccessible viewpoints. My wellies have allowed me to position myself directly in front of waterfalls, when I would otherwise be forced to stand on the banks to the side. They’ve allowed me to cross rivers and explore whole areas which I would otherwise have missed.

I would not have been able to capture some of my favourite waterfall photographs if I wasn’t wearing my cheap rubbery footwear at the time. 

And the fact that my wellies only cost about £8, purchased several years ago from a supermarket, makes them amongst the best value items of all my photography gear.

The only problem I face now is deciding if I should wear them, or my regular hiking boots, when heading out on a photography walk.

Of course, my regular hiking boots are much more comfortable, especially for longer or mountainous walks, and provide better protection for my feet.

But when I know I’m heading on short walks to waterfalls, my wellies (and a couple of pairs of thick socks) provide me enough comfort whilst also enabling me to ford through shallow rivers or boggy areas which would otherwise be impassable.

Even so, I still try to be careful, especially when wadding into rivers with deceptively strong currents, or stepping across surprisingly slippery rocks, so I don’t lose my footing (or my camera gear!).

I now keep a pair of wellies in the boot (trunk) of my car on all my photographic journeys.