Agreed. I have traveled through Asia and there is not much difference in price, if any at all on your quality equipment. I always try to purchase from my local shop and on-line only as a last resort should my local store not have what I am looking for. I am willing to part with a little more cash to support the brick and mortar stores because of the extra personalized service educating and helping me to make the right decisions as to the proper equipment, rather than taking a chance on something I am not familiar with.

Early morning in the rice fields.
I know the challenge is expired, but I tend to be a little bit of a rule breaker.

I would think people spending other peoples money will not have a problem with the price. (Universities and government offices).

Some of the best shots can be taken around 5:00am till dawn. The colors from the illumination are vivid and if you can play with slower shutter speeds (using your tripod) for some really cool effects. Candid shots of the wild antics going on are always amusing (lots of drinking going on). I would also scout the area several miles surrounding the festival grounds and find something picture-worthy and wait for the balloons to get in the background. I have been there several times over the last 30 years and it is always an amazing experience.

For a majority of people the cell phone is all they need as they are just taking snapshots. I use my iPhone 10 at least 90% of the time as the picture quality is excellent for the types of pictures taken of family and those unexpected opportunities. When out taking pictures with my DSLR, I find myself using my iPhone quite a bit as well, especially when I have my 600mm lens attached and need to take a quick shot of something close.

While the cell phone has come a long way, it is not close to replacing my DSLR at this point but it is a valuable tool in my bag. I had upgraded the storage capacity on my phone and it makes an excellent tool to do a first edit of my photos as well as an easy way to share with others. I do believe one day we will have a device that will do everything the DSLRs can do with exceptional image quality negating the need to lug multiple lenses and around 30 pounds of gear to get that perfect shot. When that day gets arrives, I will reluctantly embrace it much in the way I embraced the change from film over to digital (it took me 10 years).

I shot this with my Canon 70d, mounted on a tripod using a 18-55 with a Hoya Pro ND Filter. I was playing around with different shutter speeds and am not completely sure of the settings as it was raining very hard. I had shot another similar shot last year back in Texas with a crane in front of a waterfall. When they are fishing and you are lucky, you can get decent results. I like the composition, just wish I had better command of the focus. I am still at the beginning stage of one of my hobbies.

Sorry about that John.

Taken during rain storm in Ithaca NY.

Thanks! I actually hatve a great hydration pac that also has enough room for my gear. I just found a heavy duty clip that attaches to one of the pack shoulder straps made by Peak Design, Capture Camera Clip ($69.99) that will allow me to have the camera at the ready and not swinging around while not having to deal with the strap around my neck and keeping both hands free. The clip mounts on most straps and belts less than 2.5" wide. I will give this a try an repost the results.

Headed out to Big Bend in May and want to take my 150-600 as well as a couple other lenses. We will be hiking in moderate to rough terrain and I am looking for a good harness that will work well with the large lens that will also work with a backpack/hydration system because of the long hikes. Reality tells me I will be mostly using my smaller lenses and the big lens will be in the pack, but should we stumble on something, I need to be able to harness the large lens that weighs about 6 pounds.

I know this can't be a unique situation for most nature photographers so I would appreciate as much advise on equipment and hacks as I can get.

One day I hope to grow up and shoot a set like these. Great job! Where were these taken at?

I use a Manfrotto ProLite to travel and carry all my gear. It has different access points and holds allot of gear. I also carry a smaller bag for those excursions where I am not packing the big lens. The smaller back pack easily fits inside the larger one. The ProLite is well made and the straps tuck in when you need to stow it on a plane.

A few pics from our trip.

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Here's a few.

Just purchased the Tamron 150-600 G2 and wanted to ask the opinions of the pros on this site what filter is best. This lens is for mostly wildlife photos. I am hearing different opinions as to weather I even need a filter. I also forked out the extra cash for a heavy duty tripod and gimble mount based off a lot of your suggestions. I look forward to your responses.