fishone0 Loc: Kingman AZ

I also have balance problems and I use a cross body strap on my Olympus cameras --also use a 14 to 150mm lens on it

jwn Loc: SOUTHEAST GEORGIA USA

monopod for balance and camera and lens belt for a couple of lenses ??? (search lens belt) it would be "balanced" on your hips and easy access

adm

Ditto the recommendation for micro 4/3, particularly Olympus. You can put a body and at least three lenses in a small camera bag. Total weight is less than a full frame DSLR.

Ed Greding Loc: Texas

I've suffered from back pain for 50 years, and as I get older it worsens due to loss of cartilage and bone density. I like nature photography, so I have to go to a place reachable by auto, and usually with a path to follow. I take a small,light camp chair that folds into a cloth tube that I can set up when my back begins to hurt too much (usually just a few minutes (most box stores sell them, and they're cheap). I pick what appears to be a good place, sit in the chair with my camera, and wait for birds, insects, and anything else that interests me to come close enough to be in reach of my telephoto. A pond or creek bank is ideal. Usually I have some water, and mosquito repellent if needed. To get a good angle I may quietly get up for a brief time. I live (finally) in the country, and that helps.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Hey! Where's the fun in that?

This is the INTERNET! We're supposed to rant, bash, argue pointlessly, second-guess aimlessly with minimal information. It's what we do and it's the reason that Al Gore invented the Internet!

But seriously folks... lots of good ideas here! Many I hadn't thought of. I really can't add much!

I think perhaps the most important point is that someone who has to approach things more slowly and methodically is likely to give more thought and care to their photographs. I know I... and probably many other photographers... shoot too quickly and carelessly at times! (After all, it's only pixels now. Not like we have to buy and process film, right?)

Having only limited gear to work with also can be a positive, taking some of the complexity out of the process. I sometimes just put one prime lens on my camera and stick one or two others in pockets, then go out shooting with them. Forces me to narrow my focus. To complement the five DSLRs and twenty lenses ranging from 10mm to 500mm that I use for work, just for fun and the occasional portrait I'm seriously considering getting an APS-C mirrorless to use with 3 to 4 small primes: a wide angle, a slightly wide normal, and one or two short to moderate telephotos... nothing longer than approx. 135mm full frame equiv. After all, Henri Cartier-Bresson managed to make a lifetime's worth of images mostly just using a Leica rangefinder fitted with a 50mm lens.

In photography there are always limitations on what's possible and compromises we have to make. If it's not one thing, it's another. The key is to "make it work" despite the many possible obstacles.... to turn things to our advantage instead. For example, last weekend I photographed a local horse show. Later in the day the arena was dried out and it was getting very dusty.... Not great conditions to make photos! But I noticed that a backlit subject against a dusty background might make for an interesting image, and tried to work with that....



Another location I shoot fairly regularly often is foggy in the morning. That limits the telephoto focal length I can use, but makes for nice, soft light without harsh shadows, as well as muted backgrounds....



That same location has a small building painted white, which makes a great reflector to "bounce" light onto subjects (at the right times of day, and when they cooperatively pose in just the right place)...



If you like to shoot wildlife with big telephotos, at times you might be able to use your car as a blind, of sorts. All the following were shot from my car:



And you may not need to go very far.... all these were shot in my back yard:



Hmmm... I just noticed... I seem to be biased to shooting birds facing left. I wonder what's up with that?

I hope this helps!

cboysen Loc: Homewood, IL

Thanks!