rick_moore

I'm in Bloomington which is just 25 miles from Brown County. Trees are changing now but

far from what I would call peak color. We're still waiting on a good hard frost believe it or

not. Folks were expecting a good color year but it may be quite short once it hits.

OK - I must be missing something. I have a Quantum battery 1+ that I'd like to use with

my Nikon SB 800 flash. Various sites say the same connection that works with the SB 28 or

SB 80 will work with the 800, but my connector won't work due to the plastic spacers for

the batteries inside the flash. The connection works with the SB 80 and SB 28. Is there a

newer version of the Quantum MKZ3 that I have to get or is there another solution?

The greatest travel accessory I've ever purchased is The Pod bean bag from

Adorama. It's a small bean bag that attaches to your camera via the tripod

mount. It can be used to support or brace the camera on almost anything --

much more versatile than a tabletop tripod. I've been happy with nighttime

and indoor images from London and other destinations with it.

I've traveled with a tripod and I've traveled without one. For professionals,

they're indispensable. If you're not a professional, something like the Pod

makes a lot more sense.

<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3545679.stm

">Link</a>

Some English bird photographers got more than they bargained for when

attempting to photograph a rare U.S. robin.

I'm not exactly a snake photographer but certainly will photograph them if I get

the chance. I got this one last week at Corkscrew Swamp near Naples, Fla.<div></div>

I'm an OP subscriber and somehow ended up with a subscription to

Backpacker Magazine, a sister magazine. I've also received bills that I've

tossed in the trash. I can only assume that they used some type of "negative

checkoff" to claim I asked for a subscription (meaning they sent a notice that I

would have had to reply negatively to in order to refuse the subscription).

I'll be attending a professional conference in Reno July 11-15. My

family is going along and we plan to travel to Yosemite after the

conference. We'll be leaving Reno on Wednesday morning and

heading through the Tioga Pass to the Yosemite Valley. We have

reservations at Camp Curry for that Wednesday evening (the only

accommodations available in the park three months in advance).

IThe drive from Reno to the Valley looks very do-able in terms of

mileage, but I'm wondering about actual travel time considering

the altitude, heavy park traffic in July, etc. We'll have 3 days in the

park before we have to return to Reno for our flight home.

I was in Yellowstone in 1999 and 2001 in June and was not

impressed by the wildflowers. One area I recall quite a few

flowers was the Hellroaring trailhead parking area, located just

north of the Roosevelt Lodge on the road to Mammoth. Possibly

there are better flower displays if you hike a little further on the

trail.

My family went to the Black Hills and Badlands last year about

the 10th or so of June. They're great places and we had lots of

advice from Kent (see post above). Keystone and Hill City both

have reasonable accommodations. The best place we stayed

was at a cabin in Custer State Park (more expensive than hotels

but close to wildlife). Custer is great.

Check out John Herbst's website for lots of photo info on the

area.

http://www.grizzlyjhphoto.com/

<a href="http://wyofoto.com/Teton_Photo_Map.htm">Teton Photo

Map</a>

http://wyofoto.com/Teton_Photo_Map.htm

Check out this site. Schwabacher Landing yields many of the

classic fall Teton shots with Aspens reflecting in the water. I envy

you for your timing.

Colm - I just got back last week from Badlands/Black Hills

vacation. Don't miss the Needles Highway and Iron Mountain

Road for scenics. The drive through Spearfish Canyon from

Deadwood to Spearfish has some beautiful spots, but would

probably be unbeatable in the fall. You can catch it on your way

up to Devil's Tower (which was obscured completely by a cloud

until you were right on it the day I was there).

For the kids, there's Reptile Gardens at Rapid City and the

1880s Train in Hill City. Absolutely don't miss the Alpine Inn in

Hill City for dinner - filet mignon for $9. I'm separately emailing

you some notes I compiled from the Web prior to my trip. Have

fun.

I've been to the Tetons a couple of times - unfortunately always in

June so I haven't been able to get any fall color, etc.

Schwabacher's Landing, Oxbow and the Snake River overlook

are all good spots to photograph. You can also hike a bit from

several locations to get your own shots. The Mormon barns area

allows you to get some interesting shots with buildings in the

foreground, especially good in the morning with the sun behind

you.

If you're not too picky about accommodations, we've stayed at the

Colter Bay tent cabins - they're primitive but cheap, unlike most

everything else in the Jackson area.

We've seen moose on our trips, but no bear (lots of bears in

yellowstone). Bears are a possibility but I wouldn't really worry

about them. Don't get between a mama moose and her calf and

the moose will mostly try to avoid you.

A 0.6 (2 stop) soft edged neutral density grad is a must to retain

blue skies in mountain photography, in my opinion. A warming

filter can also help.

<a href=http://www.photo.net/frequent-questions#links>This

thread</a> on another forum would suggest you don't want the

Acratech if you're shooting a 400 mm 2.8 or larger lens.

If you want a less traveled area and easy morning access to the

Cade's Cove area, then you need to stay in Townsend. There are

several motels there and also reasonably priced cabins

available with hot tubs etc. for a little over $100 a night.

You can still get to the restaurants and other places in Pigeon

Forge or Gatlinburg in less than an hour.

http://www.smokymountains.org/

On the way down, you might want to consider the Cumberland

Gap area.

Roberts Photo in Indianapolis has a used manual focus 500 f4

for $2,500 if you're looking right now. They're a reputable

company to deal with.

http://www.robertsimaging.com/site/

The Canon 500D diopter is similar to the Nikon 6T in quality

although much more expensive. It does, however, come in a

77mm thread that would eliminate any chance of vignetting. You

could get the 6T with a 62-77 step-up ring. The Canon 500D is

$134.95 from Adorama. I bought the Canon specifically for use

on the same lens you're using. Haven't had it for long yet though

to thoroughly test.

<A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0817440593/o/qid=970000398/sr=2-2/102-4398441-9449703">John Shaw's Nature Photography Field Guide</A> - just revised and

ready for release Oct. 1 - Shaw writes to be understood and he's

a great photographer.

Louie - a lot of us are green with envy for your trip. Are you retired,

independently wealthy or what?

Eddy - I've been to Lion Country about 4 years ago. You must remain in

your car and are supposed to keep your windows up all the time. You

may be able to sneak some shots with the window rolled down. I have a

few closeup shots of Lions where you can't tell they're in a Florida

tourist attraction. If this is the place you're thinking of taking

your time with your tripod then "no" you won't be able to. There is a

kind of zoo-like area with birds, lizards, turtles, alligators, etc.

where you can walk around and use your tripod. I think Lion Country

kind of misses the boat by not setting something up more to

accommodate photographers -- maybesome early morning or late evening

shoots from open vehicles. The lions are generally pretty hot and

bored. There is a good variety of animals on the drive and you can go

through as many times as you wish. Kids like it (mine did) and we'd go

back for that reason, but not because of great photography. A better

choice for photography is Butterfly World between Miami and Fort

Lauderdale. You can't use a tripod. Use a close-focusing zoom lens and

a flash. Another better tourist attraction type place for photography

is Alligator World in Orlando. Yes, it's kind of cheesy, but there's

easy access to lots of wading birds and potentially good shots of

alligators. I'm sure there are other wildlife refuges and bird

sanctuaries that others will tell you about.

Chris - If you live near a place that rents lenses, you might want to

consider renting a 400 2.8 just for your trip. You might even find a

place that would rent a 400 5.6 at a very reasonable price if they

have one on their shelf. If you really want to buy, I'd check out

purchasing a Tokina or Sigma 400. They're available used in the $300

range. Have fun!

If you're looking for Nikon big glass try Roberts Imaging in

Indianapolis. They serve a lot of big-time sports photographers and

have a lot of trade-ins on 600 f4s, etc. They have one listed used now

for about $3,100, definitely less than KEH. They'll often deal with

you too.

http://www.robertsimaging.com/

For good used mail order equipment, try Roberts Imaging in

Indianapolis. I recommend them wholeheartedly.

<p>

http://www.robertsimaging.com/used/

<p>

How about this for less than $500?

A Nikon FE for $165 with 24 mm F2.8 for $150, 50mm F1.4 for $45 and

100 F2.8 (E series) for $85. A manual focus camera with three great

primes for $445, if they're all still in stock./

Went to Yellowstone/Grand Teton last year June 12-18. There are a few

spring flowers, but I think the best flowers are in late June and

July. It's in the 60s in the daytime, but can get down to the 20s at

night so be prepared if you're camping or in an unheated cabin. It's a

pretty good time as far as crowds are concerned - they're there, but

not massive yet. There will probably be some entrances that aren't

open yet and probably some snow on certain roads./