Well, I have a much needed vacation coming up towards the end of summer and I am already thinking about all of the items I want to make sure I have. It was last years vacation that got me inspired to starting taking more photos and this year I want to make sure I have plenty of toys to dabble with.
I of course have my Nikon D40 with it’s 18-50mm kit lens, and my 70-300mm VR lens but I have also added a few more items. The first is a wireless remote to be able to take pictures with out touching the camera. Sure, this may sound lazy but it’s also going to make getting certain types of shots much simpler. For instance, what if, for some reason, I want to be in the shot? Also, when you want to do a long exposer it’s best to mount the camera on something and not touch it. Even pressing the shutter release will move the camera some amount and when you are zoomed into something a millimeter at the camera is inches on the shot. Once I get the camera setup I can do 30 second or longer low light shots and sun rise/sunset shots that I have never been able to get the way I’d like. Assuming I can get up early enough in the AM I may be able to get some killer sun rise shots looking out across the ocean.
I’ve also picked up a tripod. Nothing fancy, just something light and stable. I’ve had little time to experiment so far but I’ve been impressed with how rigid it is as well as how versitale it is to use. I may try and get some sun set shots this evening… if my insane schedule doesn’t get in the way. I think this tripod will be a great complement to my monopod, something I use almost whenever I shoot out doors.
I’ve always been so impressed with the beauty of northern New England. Up in the mountains of New Hampshire and Maine. During the summer it’s green as far as you can see and not usually to hot to bear. Out of the adminitidly limited number of places I’ve been in my life it’s the one I find more relaxing and beautiful. I never get tired of it.
Last year a friend of mine from College came with us on vacation. He flew up from Florida and brought with him a typical point and shoot camera. He is a very passionate person though and as it turns out has an amazing eye for great photos. I’m sure he wasn’t aware of it at the time but he taught me quite a bit about photography simply by taking lots and lots of shots. We were camping that week but I’m such a hardcore geek I brought with me a hugh deep cycle battery as well as a DC/AC converter so we could charge up our laptops. He and I would sit around the fire in the evenings and look over the hundreds of shots we had taken that day. We would make edits to them and then compare what we each found. It was a great time. I know, I know ‘You were camping and your brought your laptop?’ Yes. I did and I don’t regret it. Vacation is about relaxing and doing what you want to do be doing. For me that was paradise. Unfortunalty we got a ton of rain and the temps were well into the high 90s with humidity like you would not believe so we were unable to get everything that we wanted.
Going forward after that I can’t help but want to shoot more. I would rather shoot 1000 images that I delete then miss one keeper. I mean, once you have the gear it cost nothing to take a picture. It’s not like I need to keep buying film and getting the rolls developed. I have a laptop for that!
This year, to avoid the hassle of being rained on for a week (which is basically what happens when we camp) we have rented very minimal Kabins. They are just a room with some beds. I’ll still be cooking with my coleman stove and the heat from the fire. We’ll still be sitting out around that fire at night. The only difference is that when it rains (it’s not an if) we will be dry. Like I said, it’s all about doing what makes you happy on vacation, plus the Kabins are dirt cheap 🙂
I’m looking forward to vacation so keep your eyes peeled for a new batch of vacation shots in 2007!
Topslakr