A few years ago I shot a wedding for a friend, and while we agreed that they were good pictures at the time, I have learned a great deal since then. So I reopened that archive, and took another shot at editing the two best pics from that day. I wish that I had been shooting raw at the time, but we do the best with what we have available. We could go through life saying “Oh if only I knew then what I know now”………..
what a difference cropping and desaturation can make!
As awesome as my gigantic heavy-duty tripod is, I can’t always carry it around. So I have been in the market for something portable and airport friendly………….
Today I finally got the second half of my “travel tripod” and so I can write about it now.
Joby “Gorillapod SLR-Zoom” + Manfrotto 484RC2 ballhead =
This setup is fairly light weight, and extremely flexible. If you haven't seen a GorillaPod before, every one of those ball joints down the legs can flex independently. This allows it to stand on uneven surfaces, wrap around tree branches or whatever, and provide a stable shooting platform in almost any environment. This GorillaPod was designed to hold an SLR and a Zoom lens, but I think my Nikon D80 and the attached 24-60 f2.8 may be too heavy for it. The much lighter 75-300 lens behaves a lot better on it.
It also serves as a light stand!
Finally, I fitted it with a nylon strap and a carabiner, so it can hang on the D-ring of my gadget bag. That black carabiner had some tape on it, so I will be replacing it with one that isn’t gooey!
I have high hopes for this little thing. This November I will take it on it’s trial by fire, when Manami and I travel light to Hawaii.
