Have tripod, will travel (by air)

Some thoughts on a vexing question.

When I must have a tripod, here’s what I’m carrying in my Thinktank rollaboard: Induro carbon fiber tripod with small Linhof ball head. (Model numbers change, so I focus on length of the package with the center column in backwards, fully compacted.) Mine measures 20.5 inches. length, dimension for “domestic” carry-on is 21 inches. So this is an exact fit. Measure your carry-on to see what dimension you’re aiming for. Normally, I stick with Gitzo or Manfrotto but for this purpose length is the key. The Induro has worked well. I like Linhof ballheads because they’re compact, precise and you won’t wear one out in this lifetime. A standard tripod head is bulkier and won’t fit in the bag as well.

If you can live without a full-size tripod the large Gorrila pod would be a good choice. I don’t use one but I keep thinking I’ll get one. Also, the Leica tabletop works great. I bought a used one 20 years ago, still works great. In addition to tabletops, this works for door jams, ceilings and I used mine underwater on a Nikonos once.

If you don’t think you’ll be using the tripod a lot, I’d go with a foldable or string tripod. The string tripod will likely be integrated into my tool bag because I now have BlackRapid connection points. Since I started using the BlackRapid strap system all my bodies have stainless eye-rings screwed into the tripod hole. A bit of cord with a small carabiner attached makes the string setup quick and painless.

Several have asked about carrying on a mono pod. I haven’t because I’m 99 percent sure TSA would put this is the same category as a nine iron, YMMV. (Ignore the fact that the removable center column of my tripod is essentially a mono pod, heavily weighted on one end with a ball head.) Don’t get me started.

Since I started using Nikon’s D3 and D3X bodies I’m finding low light easier to tackle without a tripod. Juicing up the ISO setting gives me a fast enough shutter speed to get sharp images while the newer sensors/processors make pulling detail and color out of the dimmest light possible.

The key consideration for me is how many situations I’m able to cover in a given time window. Using a tripod considerably reduces this number, so I tend to roll without one.

Some pictures from Alaska

See gallery

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UW:An Unforgiving Environment for the Camera

There are many challenging aspects of photography but shooting underwater has to be one of biggest.
It would be difficult to come up with a more hostile environment for photographer and camera equipment. Operating two complex systems (camera and SCUBA) is enough to keep two minds busy. Now layer on the creative mental horsepower needed to produce meaningful photographs and you’ll understand why I think this is difficult at best.
See http://www.daviddoubilet.com/ for some of the best underwater images on the planet.

JELLYFISH: I shot this yesterday with a Lumix LX3 pressed up against the dry side of the glass in the Vancouver Aquarium.

Mama don’t take my FX sensors away….

Low light, full-sized sensor...a match made in heaven

Plate throwing with the Greeks

Did the Greeks throw plates and, if so, why?

Do you fly with your tool?

Multi-tool, that is.

I bought the very first Leatherman multi-tool, which if not the first was one of the first to build these devices. Every year or so, they reved these tools and they just keep getting cooler and cooler. See review on Freestyle vs. Skeletool The problem is you can’t take one in carry-on due to the knife blade.

Question for anyone out there that’s reading this….do you fly with your tool? Have you found a multi-tool that serves its purpose yet is deemed safe for the airplane by TSA?

I have an overflowing Craftsman tool chest in my garage…so I don’t really need a multi-tool when I’m home. When I most need one is when I’m on the road. I have a strict “no-check” rule when I’m flying so everything has to go in my carry-on bags. I know there are others out there faced with the same dilemma.

Suburban animals

Sometimes is easy to convince yourself there is a direct relationship between quality of photos and distance traveled to get them. This spring I started shooting a small project based on things at home to get around the distance traveled theory. One benefit of this (aside from avoiding airport security) is that it forces you to be aware of your surroundings. Once you start looking for likely subjects, opportunities arise.

A wide assortment of animals wander through my yard on a daily basis… the deer are the easiest to sneak up on. I’d like to take a look at buzzards next, more than one hundred have settled in my neighborhood.

Instruction manuals on my Kindle2

I have a box full of camera and photo equipment manuals in my gear closet that’s starting to look like the national archive. As the complexity of the equipment has grown, so too has the amount of dead tree media needed to explain how to operate it.
With Nikon’s D3x operating manual approaching one inch in thickness, it has reached the tipping point of what I’m willing to carry with me on the road. I don’t look at the manuals every day but when I need to check something…I really need to check something.
I was pretty excited when I downloaded Nikon’s SB-900 manual in PDF form and was able to upload it to my Kindle2 (Amazon charged about $.50 to do this). I immediately downloaded the D3 and D3x manuals but when I tried to upload to my Kindle2 nothing happened. It took me a while to figure out that this is because the D3 and D3x manuals are encrypted. I was able to copy/paste a version of the manual into a word doc and then upload that as a PDF but the illustrations were stripped out.
As more and more people carry e-reading devices like the Kindle, manufacturers should consider making their manuals available in a compatible format. It’s green, it makes sense and consumers want it.

Google Earth: My new favorite tool

If you’re a photographer and you’re not using Google Earth to make better pictures, you’re missing one of the most significant photography tools in recent years.
Case in point, I have a shoot coming up at the Hoover Dam in a couple of weeks. I have shot in this area many times but will be shooting a different subject this time.
Google Earth’s sunlight time-slider gives me an approximate sun path so I can see where the shadows are falling at different times. It’s not a complete substitute for a scouting trip but it helps me zero in on optimum shoot times.
This is in addition to all the photos already uploaded to Panoramio which help me plan where to shoot from. I used this extensively on a recent trip to China to get a photo preview of the area. Hint: clusters of the little blue Panoramio boxes on Google Earth quickly alert you to heavily traveled (and photographed) locations.
Once you figure out where you want to go, switch over to Google Maps to plan your route. I even used Google Street View to check what looked like a gated entrance to a side road.

A few images from Martha’s Vineyard

A grand summer place.

See the gallery here.