daniel_geiger

Bought a 1228 when it was the first and only CF tripod out there, approx. 1996 or so. No glue problem, though I do photograph in Southern California. It is quite stable in sea-water, so when I go in the intertidal, I have no problems with any of it.

Re the tripod being to light, I bought a metal hook at a hard ware store for a buck fifty, and hang my backpack (Lowe Supertrecker AW) on it. Compared to the weight of the tripod, the backpack is MUCH heavier, so you certainly get the stability of a metal tripod. The pack usually weighs something like 30-40 pounds (never put it on a scale), I can hang the pack on the 1228 and nothing happens, no leg buckling, not sliding. Even if I use the centerpost -- I know, a nono, but just for the sake of it -- when the centerpost is tighly fixed, it stays right were it is. So the only problem with that solution is the small footprint of the leg section, and the legs sink in in softer soil types. Buy some rubber shoes for garden furniture at the hardware store for a couple of bucks, and you're back in business.

For full disclosure, what do I use on it? Linhof Profi II, Linhof quick release, OM4 with up to 300 f/4.5, Contax RTS III with Adorama x/y platform (much better than the shaky one from Velbon), 100 mmM with extension tubes plus stacked 50 f/1.4, Zeiss 180/2.8. So comparatively it's all light equipment, but even fully elevated with some hanging weight, it is rock-solid. I do contemplate the taller version, but first get a short column.

Doing it for some 20 odd years. Spent a dozen of years at university with just three letters to show for. Now I teach biology in college. It makes quite a difference whether I use the image from the textbook, or whether I use my own, where I know exactly where, how, and why it was taken. Particularly those out the backdoor shots, from the local environment (Southern California) will show that what I teach is actually going on right out there. It makes the material much more relevant.

Then, there is the post-production challenge of identifying those organims. I still have a few where I just go: hmmmm, not the first clue. Forget about birds and mammals, who cares? I get excited by some fungus, or that coat hanger in the creek, that suddenly started to move: my first Nematomorpha!

Lately, I've also started to think about looking at nature in a different way, particularly in terms of wavelengths. Took a bunch of color IR - visible light comparisons. Just started to build a UV-LED flashlight to see nectar guides on plants. Professionally, I work on the evolution of marine snails, so that has nothing to do with my day-to-day work. I like to tinker with my equipment as well, so there is the other in-door challenge, all for the pursuit of an unusual image.

Taking non-traditional nature photos, and leaving birds and mammals by the wayside, has opened a number of publication oportunities. There are truckloads of bird and mammal pictures out there, but how many worms??? Agreed, it's a specialized market, but slowly some of my photos pay the expenses. Some examples are posted under http://www.vetigastropoda.com/SNAP

Then there is what many posters mentioned, the hunting, getting away from the daily grind, etc. apply. I hope I'm getting better, too. I find myself throwing away older images as I file the new ones. When will I throw my current "best" work?