phillips

<p>From my morning walk.</p><div></div>

<p>From my morning walk</p><div></div>

<p>I would second Wouter's suggestion about Delft, and also consider the Hague. I think your lens combinations with the full frame are fine for Amsterdam. For the river part of the trip I think that using these lenses on the crop frame body would be a good choice.</p>

<p>For travel purposes with my Nikon D800 I use my Nikon 24-120 f/4 lens over my 24-70 f/2.8. It has a great range for general travel, has VR, and is much lighter than the 24-70 mm lens . A good alternative for me to the 14-24 f/2.8 is the Nikon 20 mm f/1.8 lens. I also have taken my Nikon 70-200 f/4 lens with the 1.4 teleconverter.</p>

<p>Bob, on the Ellwood Mesa in Goleta, CA there are large groves of Eucalyptus trees that are wintering places for Monarchs. If you're in the area drop a note and I'll give you detailed directions, or go to http://www.goletabutterflygrove.com/visit/. I'm very fortunate to have this place about 3 miles from home.</p>

<p>First chance I had to see the wintering Monarchs</p><div></div>

<p>An option that could be interesting photographically and fun for the kids would be to start out in San Francisco-spend a couple of days, then go to Monterey/Carmel; a world class aquarium, a beautiful California Mission Carmel and some great coastline between there and Point Lobos. A trip down Highway1 stopping to shoot Piedras Blancas Lighthouse, visit Hearst Castle, maybe staying in Cambria or San Luis Obispo. This section of the drive is very slow, but with great scenery.A drive down to Los Angeles maybe with a stop in Santa Barbara-both the Mission and Courthouse are great photo opportunities. In Oxnard turn off of the freeway and follow the Coast Highway (US 1)through Malibu and Santa Monica (avoid doing this on a Saturday or Sunday in July) into Los Angeles. Besides Disneyland, the beach areas such as Huntington, and Newport Beach, Corona Del Mar and Laguna Beach have some pretty beach scenes. I'm not too familiar with shooting around the San Diego area, but the cliffs around La Jolla come to mind. As was mentioned earlier, things are spread out in the West much more than on the East Coast</p>

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<p>I have been using the 1542T for a couple of years with the RRS BH-30 head for my Nikon D800 with 14-24mm, 24-70 mm and 70-200 mm (f/4) lenses. This combination allows the legs to be folded back into the head and fits into the Gitzo bag. It has worked out very well-stable, compact, and lightweight.The center column of the 1542T can be removed and the head mounted on top of the base plate if desired to further reduce the weight or for ground level shots.</p>

<p>Image didn't load -try again.</p><div></div>

<p>Thanks Dieter for posting the link. Luckily my 750 isn't affected.</p>

<p>I agree with Leszek that it is pushing it to get to all of those areas in a week. As he said, travel times are significantly longer than you might expect. Highway 89 between Zion, Bryce and Capitol Reef is a beautiful drive and worth the leisurely pace .My suggestion is to spend the time between Zion, Bryce and Capitol Reef. Capitol Reef is significantly less crowded than either Zion or Bryce and well worth spending some time. Steve Howe of Redrock Adventures in Torrey, Utah conducts photo tours of Capitol Reef-and some of the spots such as the Lower Cathedral Valley really call for high clearance or a 4 wheel drive vehicle.</p><div></div>

<p>A Hooded Oriole upset about a Goldfinch interrupting his bath</p><div></div>

<p>While I haven't purchased any EOS open box items, I have purchased other open box items from Adorama, and have never been disappointed.</p>

<p>It's been a long time ago for me, but if you want to get some surfing shots, the "wedge" by the the jetty on the Balboa peninsula used to be a popular place, and as I remember the pier at Huntington Beach-may have changed. Just give a call to a local surf shop to get their suggestions.</p>

<p>The specs on the Elinchrom indicate that it has 5 f/ stops of variability: 1/16 - 1/1 (31 - 500W/s)-are you saying that on the lowest setting the unit is still putting out too much light ?</p>

<p>I might add that traffic on the 405 freeway in Orange County can be quite heavy, and if you're contemplating using it in the early evening on the way to other locations your late afternoon shoots are likely to be of other cars-for areas close to Newport Beach the Coast Highway is normally a better bet. </p>

<p>The Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach has two piers and a long broad walk along the ocean side. Might be some good possibilities for sunset scenes. Farther down the peninsula on the bay side there is a fun zone, which is very active this time of year, as well as a ferry which crosses the bay to Balboa Island-the ferry crossing the bay might be a nice late afternoon/evening shot. For some pretty beach scenes with rocks look for beach access signs in Corona Del Mar, just south of Newport Beach. Laguna Beach, a few miles south of that also has the Pageant of the Masters which begins July 5- a great venue for people photography, as well as some nice beach opportunities. All of these locations are within a 30 minute drive from Costa Mesa. This is the middle of the tourist season, so you might also want to think of sunrise opportunities as well as twilight/evening views.</p>

<p>I agree with Wouter on the advice to skip the f/2.8 zooms. I have the X-T1; there a number of lens combinations available-although a heavier lens, I really like the 18-135 mm f/3.5-5.6- it has excellent image stabilization, is weather resistant and covers a focal length range most used in my travel applications. Beside the weight, my X-T1 and 3 lens outfit (10-24 mm, 23 mm, and 18-135mm) fit under the aircraft seat.</p>

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<p>Too nice of a day to stay inside, but tough butterfly hunting. Nikon D750. 200 mm f/4 Micro Nikkor</p><div></div>

<p>Kyle, I; have transitioned to a hybrid Nikon + Fuji user over the last year- a big step for someone who has Nikon lenses going back for 50 years. I had a short experience with the Sony NEX-6 but never really felt comfortable with it. Having purchased the Fuji, I think the X-T1 with its small size and complement of lenses offers a great alternative to my Nikon gear for a number of situations. I too am impressed with its image quality, especially with the Fuji 10-24 mm f/4 lens for landscapes. The Fuji isn't going to replace my Nikon system-but at the same time it replaces the 20+lbs. of Nikon gear for travel. Today I went to a family get together, taking my Fuji X-T1. Tomorrow morning, I'm off to do some architectural shots with my D800, 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens and an inordinately heavy tripod. It still boils down to the best tool for you in the situation. Looking at your portfolio, I think you are really going to enjoy the X-T1</p>

<p>My wife and I took a Danube River cruise in 2013 and I think that the two lenses you mentioned would cover almost all of the scenes that I was interested in off of the ship. My only thought was the possibility of adding a fast, wide lens, such as the Sigma 24 mm f/1.4. On occasions we were in areas that didn't allow flash or tripods. I really used my lightweight Gitzo tripod for twilight and evening shots. I did encounter a few occasions of scenes along the riverbank where a telephoto of 200 mm would have been nice, and for use on the ship that might be useful. Eric Waller's comment on not letting the weight of the equipment becoming a detracting influence on your enjoyment of the trip is something I can relate to.</p>

<p>I was asked to take some interior shots at Old Mission Santa Barbara.</p><div></div>