That personalizes the question about as well as I have seen. I've used two non-Nikon batteries and been slapped both times. Actually, since they simply failed to take/hold a charge and didn't damage my cameras, what I got was more like a "shove off" instead of a slap.

Bob

Nice shots.

Everybody has got to be someplace....but that's not someplace you will ever have to look for me!

Bob

Marsha,

There is a lot of good advice here but don't forget that everyone is responding with what works in their situation. From the looks of your portfolio you are a highly experienced and talented photographer. My suggestion would be that in the final analysis you try to rent or borrow lenses which appeal to you and try them in your circumstances. Only you know the specifics of the lighting, distance, movement, depth of pocketbook in your situation. Only then will you really know that the decision which you make is one which you can live with for the long term.

Bob

A word of caution when using the DEET. I know that it will remove the bluing on firearms (a form of oxidation). I don't know what it might do to the finish on cameras and lenses but I suspect it might destroy that also. If it is freshly sprayed or your hands are sweaty when you have it on them I would be very cautious. Expensive shotguns and expensive cameras without finish aren't pretty to look at.

Bob

Sounds like a great trip, Terry. Be safe and we look forward to stories and pictures when you return.

I've enjoyed browsing your site www.notquitecountrygirl.typepad.com Congratulations and good luck with your book.

Bob

Yesterday I decided that I wanted another Arca-Swiss Quick Release plate for my Benro tripod so I stopped by a local dealer. He had several plates but not the one which I needed (PU-60). When I went home I decided to look on Amazon for one. I found several for +/- $5.95. Since the last one which I had purchased from the local dealer cost me $26.95 I said a not so silent curse and avowed not to buy from him again. I placed an order on line for two of the PU-60 plates. When I got to the place where the shipping was calculated (there was no charge for shipping) I saw that it was shipped from China. Since just this week I had a Mastercard cancelled because of fraudulent charges from China, I immediately cancelled the order for the plates. I then went to the Benro web site and saw that their PU-60 plate was priced at $30. I immediately ordered one and said a quiet apology to my local dealer.

I have heard that some second tier Arca-Swiss plates don't fit well. I have no experience there and for all that I know, the Benro plate and the Chinese plate are machined on the same machines at the same day. What it does point out is that if a manufacturer in China can produce and ship a product for less than a 1/4 of what it costs an American manufacturer to produce the same product there is something seriously wrong with our import regulations!

Bob

It's fascinating to watch their feeding behaviour. They will walk slowly across the grass, then stop and stand very still for a long time and listen and look. Then they race to a spot and stab their beaks into the ground and come up with a 6" night crawler. Who knew that earthworms made a noise when they burrowed.

Bob

Here is a pair of Yellow Crowned Night Herons which come at this time each year. Their progenitors have been coming to our yard for years.

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Just to be clear, I did not take the photo so I don't know the location nor how or whether it was staged. It came to me from a friend and there was no citation of its origin. I reposted it to emphasize an important photographic lesson.

Bob

We've all probably been guilty of having a telephone pole inadvertently sprout out of someone's head somewhere in our photographic past...but this one really drives home the point of being aware of your subject's position.

Bob

And I've wracked my brain but I don't remember any sergeants ever pulling KP.

An old cell phone shot from 2012...but he is still as handsome as ever!

Remarkable skill + great ballistics + superb optics = terrific success! Congrats to the Canucks.

It looks as though that cat's left ear has been tipped. Don't know about FL but here that means that it has been neutered in a CNR (catch, neuter, release) program to attempt to control the number of feral animals.

Lauryne,

One of the best solutions to seeing your screen in bright light is the Hoodman Loupe (Google it). Any time I am out where the sun may be a factor their collapsible model is hanging around my neck. You may not need it often but when you do, there is nothing better. They have different models sized to fit different cameras.

Bob