by 
(Be sure to take pictures)
By Heather Hogeland & Kim Grimm
Today it’s so easy to take lots of pictures. The digital age is phenomenal and has made it so simple! You can see your photos instantly and either keep them or delete them just as fast. You can edit them quickly, so there is no reason not to take them. You can file them, label them, put them into albums, store them on a cloud and on your computer. Many times your device will even know when and where the photos were taken. Such a huge leap over the old Polaroids and Instamatics of our early days where as you actually had to write that info on the photo!
As the quality of cameras in smartphones and tablets keep getting better, it is easier for you to have lots of great photos! Most EVERYBODY has a smartphone on them, almost every moment, so there’s no excuse for missing a shot. You can shoot some pretty amazing videos too! It may not seem like it now but these are memories that one day you will cherish.
Looking back through pictures that we took back in the day, we get to relive that race down the drag strip in Topeka or the water fights at the Walcott Truckers Jamboree, even the run we made together up and over the grapevine! Those old photos are in pretty poor condition considering the age, the film and processing, not to mention the ‘equipment’ we had to shoot in the mid ’70s, but thank God we have them! We don’t have many, but those we do have are very precious to us! We get to remember the friends and family who are no longer with us, but we get to see that smile or funny face that we loved so much. Where we’ve been helps make us who we are and it’s a pretty nice place to revisit from time to time.
For drivers just getting on the road today, take our word for it, 20 years will go by faster than you can even imagine! So start taking lots of pictures of your first days and years on the road, it’s will be fun to go through them years later. It’s also a great way to share all the places you’ve been with family back home. It brings your stories to life, paints the picture of your day for them, so they can feel more a part of your world.
No matter where you run, all 48 or a dedicated run, the photo opportunities are endless! The sun comes up the sun goes down and in so many places this can be quite spectacular. When the snow stops and the sun comes out it creates an entirely different kind of beauty! There is beauty in a rain storm or a moonlit night sky. Fall presents a plethora of landscape changes that are among my personal favorites to shoot. I am forever searching for that perfect backdrop to use to frame my truck amidst the changing colors of fall leaves. Springtime itself has its own multi colored beauty which oftentimes go unnoticed in our rush to just see green after a long cold winter, but look for it, it’s there!
I personally like taking pictures of my truck and trailer in some of the “challenging” docks and places I have to deliver. It looks pretty impressive to see where you can get that rig without hitting anything! This is a skill and you never stop learning!
Hopefully you will never have to take pictures of an accident but if that ever happens and if you are able, make sure you get a lot of photos, because you are probably going to need them before it’s over.
Taking pictures is a passion for both of us, we have been doing it for years and we encourage others to shoot pictures of lots of different subjects; such as a snowplow at work in the winter or a hummingbird mid flight. There is beauty all around us, things worthy of being photographed, especially a beautiful truck in an unusual or scenic setting. The places we go, this industry we are a part of, is an ever changing entity. It evolves quickly and the equipment itself changes too. What is here today may not be tomorrow. TAKE PICTURES! You won’t regret it. We promise!
Stay Safe Out There And Keep It Shiny!
Heather Hogeland and Kim Grimm are CDL holders and longtime friends with a combined 75 years and 7 million miles of driving experience. Both are writers and have a love for everything trucking, as well as, furry, four-legged friends. Kim is currently a full-time owner-operator and part-time writer. Heather writes for various trucking publications and enjoys traveling with her husband Roger.