tom_stough

A couple of toads looking for love...Nikon D850, 300mm F4

Just a little snow here in Baltimore...

<p>Number 2</p><div></div>

<p>A couple scanned or copied from slides. The first is from a hike to Mt Katahdin in Maine and the second is the "Old Man Of The Mountain" in New Hampshire a couple of years before it fell down in 2003.</p><div></div>

<p>Grabbing the perfect selfie at the parade…</p><div></div>

<p>2016 Baltimore’s Best “Hon” with entourage …</p><div></div>

<p>Santa at the 2016 Baltimore Christmas Parade preforming “other duties as assigned”…</p><div></div>

<p>Also took a panorama while I was there...</p><div></div>

<p>Moon over east Baltimore from Federal Hill. Due to the weather forecast, I had to take the photo the night before the actual "Super Moon". I think maybe the sky was still too bright and the location could have been better...</p><div></div>

<p>Something a little bigger than usual showed up at the birdbath. </p><div></div>

<p># 2 A little more in view</p><div></div>

<p>A very well adapted insect in the dry grass near Tonto National Monument in Arizona. </p><div></div>

<p>Drama at the Hummingbird feeder...</p><div></div>

<p>On the trail in to Gila Cliff Dwellings in New Mexico.</p><div></div>

<p>From the safety of the car near the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone...</p><div></div>

<p>Dragonfly perched on statue's hand...</p><div></div>

<p>The Thinktank Digital Holster 30 case holds the 80-400 with the hood in shooting position with a D500 camera. They also make a larger model for bigger cameras or cameras with add-on grips. Never been to Africa but I like a case that zips closed for hiking in hot and/or dusty places. I've used this case extensively hiking in the Appalachian mountains and in the Southwestern US and it's worked well for me. </p><div></div>

<p>In Montana last fall looking south into Yellowstone...</p><div></div>

<p>At the Blackfoot reservation in Montana...</p><div></div>

<p>Waiting for sunrise at Sunrise Point in Bryce NP. Scanned from slide.</p><div></div>

<p>I've used the Sensor Gel Stick a couple of times on a D7100 and D750 with mixed results. In both cases the sensor had a number of spots and the gel stick removed most of those that the built in cleaner and hurricane blower would not, but there were always one or two stubborn stops left behind that still required wet cleaning. <br> I had no indication that using the stick left any residue that made further cleaning more difficult and would not hesitate to use it again before resorting to wet cleaning, but it was not the miracle I was hoping for.<br> For wet cleaning I too like the V-swabs, the plastic seems a little firmer and maybe a little easier to get even pressure across the sensor than the other brand I tried before.</p>

<p>I used some of snow bound time to photograph some old slides. This one was originally taken with a Nikon N-90s in 1989 on a cold fall hike in New Hampshire.</p><div></div>

<p>Giving us a look...</p><div></div>

<p>The Think Tank Change Up V2 is a real nice pack that holds a Nikon 70-200 without the camera as well as a flash and another lens or at least two additional lenses without the flash. Not sure it's as small as you are looking for. It measures 11.2” W x 10” H x 5.8” and is really well made.</p>

<p>Richard,<br> I got a Dell XPS 13 for travel out of similar frustration with a Atom processor netbook. I choose the Dell over a Surface Pro because the Dell has two USB ports and a SD card reader. I didn't get the touch screen version in favor of longer battery life so there is no Wacom like functionality (not sure the touch screen version of the Dell does either). The Intel I5 Dell with 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD runs Photoshop and Lightroom fine for the limited editing I do while traveling and the size and battery life are very good.<br> Tom<br> </p>