I was listening to a podcast recently and heard that some of the most expensive repairs are the result of sand getting into your gear. Traveling to the Caribbean, I am familiar with the fact that sand gets everywhere. I have learned not to change lenses at the beach, and am careful in cleaning lenses afterwards so as not to grind bits of sand into the lens coatings. Having just invested in a very nice tripod (read more about the tripod I selected here), I wanted to do what I could to minimize sand and seawater getting into the locks. In the past, I had resorted to using plastic bags…
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Knowing that we were traveling to Barbuda, where I expected a beautiful night sky, I planned to try to shoot the Milky Way. I had never done it before, but why not? So I did a bit of research and here’s how I planned for shooting the Milky Way and the results. Step 1: Get away from the city! Light pollution of big cities will obscure your view of the night sky, so it’s important to distance yourself as much as possible. Barbuda was pretty far away, so I didn’t expect any difficulty here. What I would find out when setting up was that there was still a significant…
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You will probably see a lot of posts about the “best travel tripod” if you were like me and you were struggling to make a decision as to which to choose. Some articles were more informative than others. What I gleaned from what I read was that what was the “best travel tripod” for one photographer, was not the “best” for another. Here is my choice for the best travel tripod, the Gitzo GT0532 Mountaineer Tripod . It met my needs for support and stability, while at the same time remaining light enough to pack for all our adventures. 1. Carbon Fiber I knew I wanted a carbon fiber…
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I have been frustrated with my tripod for quite some time now, but had not been able to pull the trigger on a new one. Over the last 24 hours, I discovered two very good reasons to say “goodbye” to my old tripod and “hello” to a new Gitzo. I had taken some photos on Saturday using my tripod, but had not taken it down, so last night, I decided to put it away. As I was taking it down, the head disconnected from the mounting plate, causing my camera and my favorite lens, the Canon 24-70/2.8L, to tumble to the floor. The camera appears to be fine, but the…
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This edition of “What’s in My Bag?” is our post-trip report on the camera gear we used for our trip to Eleuthera and Harbour Island in the Bahamas. I’m changing up the gear I use the more trips we take. Let’s take a look to see what was worth the effort, and what just ended up being dead weight. I still love my Think Tank Airport AirStream roller bag, and I can’t think of a better bag for the job. Once again, we encountered a small plane (this time from Miami to North Eleuthera), and all roller bags had to be checked. As is my practice, I put my primary camera body…
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It’s time to start reviewing what photography gear I need to pack for this year’s trip. For travel, it’s important to keep things light, but you do want to make sure you have the gear to get the images you want. I have started keeping track of what I pack and what I use, and you can see my packing list and results from our past trips to Nevis, the British Virgin Islands, and Ireland by clicking those links. This year, we travel to Eleuthera! In anticipation of some great scenery, including the Glass Window Bridge and Lighthouse Beach, I’m beefing up my camera support. I’ve added a Gitzo monopod with…
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We’re back from another trip, and it’s time to look inside my bag to determine what was worth its weight in gold and what wasn’t worth the weight in my carryon. Once again, I used my Think Tank Airport AirStream to carry my gear. I have not found a better bag as far as its size and layout. The build quality on Think Tank products is the best. I have had nothing but good experiences with this bag no matter what the terrain. For more details on this fabulous bag, check out last year’s, “What’s in my Bag? Nevis” page. Before getting into what was packed inside, I should note…
