david_mcbride

Well. The Belize islands of Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye both have excellent opportunities for unusual shots. Many lizards and flora of interest, good sunrise and sunset sea landscape views, but the big action would seem to be underwater if you snorkel or dive. Have a great trip.

July 10-16, Crested Butte: The "WILDFLOWER FESTIVAL" offers tours to see and photograph wildflowers and butterflies, along with art & photography workshops. 800-545-4505 / 970-349-2571

Could you please post the address (or better yet, directions)and phone number of the Butterfly Pavilion. I'd like to visit it.

NOTE: I am particularly interested in the nature photography aspect of shooting on these islands, the flora and fauna, seascapes, etc.

I'm going to visit Belize's Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker in April

for 9 days. I'd enjoy hearing from anyone who has been there about

the photo opportunities to be found there above ground. I know the

sea contains much for the underwater photographer. My thanks in

advance.

Jay, I've been to St. John twice and did spend time shooting the beaches and flora and fauna. Opportunities abound everywhere. Take a drive around the island and you won't be disappointed as this is one of the most visually appealling islands on the planet. Turquoise waters, powdery beaches surround the place. Wild asses roam the roads. Then underwater you have coral reefs, reef fishes, sea turtles etc. St. Thomas is not as good, IMHO.

Have a blast!!

Take a day and go down south of Albuquerque to the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. Check the archives for other comments on it.

It seems to me that no one has answered this concern of import raised by Bob Atkins, "From what I saw it didn't seem as though it would be as adjustable as the 'real' Wimberly, and looked as though it would

present a pretty heavy "off axis" load on the ballhead, which could lead to trouble. I'm sure all the ball heads are designed for a heavy load vertically down through the axis of the ball and QR system, not offset." I would like to know about this before buying one of these items. Thank you.

Dick, I have been using the regular Arca Swiss B1 with the Canon 1n, 300/2.8, 2x or 1.4X and the power drive booster B1, all on a Gitzo 340 and with the Really Right Stuff plate, to shoot Colorado wildlife for about three months now. My experience has been that the B1 ballhead is an excellent piece of equipment and that any problems I've encountered are from "operator error." Several times, if I'm not paying enough attention to the tension, I've left the whole rig too loose and the body and lens have flopped to the side, fortunately without any damage to anything. Again, I must stress, this was due to my own negligence. I get pretty excited when there's a pair of moose calves on the other end of the lens! The above set-up provides a very secure, stable, and tight platform for me. I want a 600/4 someday and would want a heavier tripod and heavier head to handle the additional weight. Hope this helps.

I read the above and found this URL which might be useful: http://www.wildflower.org/

Mr. Harrison,

The Kirk mount may be seen at:

http://www.kirkphoto.com/supports.html

 

<p>

 

The Rue Mount may be seen at:

http://www.rue.com/supports.html#groofwin

 

<p>

 

Please note that both mounts require the purchase of a separate tripod head, in my case a ballhead, to be fully functional. Thanks to all the respondents so far for all the interesting ideas. David McBride

I would like to know which of the available window mounts will work best from inside a Toyota 4-Runner, our portable blind. It seems there are the Kirk Window Mount, the L.L. Rue "Groofwin" mount, and the less expensive Bogen and Bushnell models. As I will be using telephotos (have the Canon EF 70-200 and 300/2.8 with extenders, desire to have the 600/4 too) on Really Right Stuff plates, the former two are the available ones that seem to meet my needs. Readers' experiences, preferences, and advice will be appreciated.