It depends entirely on the travel. On car trips, especially to see relatives, I take all my gear (Canon SX720, Canon SX50, Nikon D3400, Nikon D610, plus all the lenses), plus my Dell XPS laptop and external hard drives, and sometimes a good tripod. With the Africa and Costa Rica trips, with SEVERE!! limitations on weight, I took the two Canons and lots of cards. On a trip to the Pervian Amazon, with even more severe restrictions, I took a couple of pocket cameras and a small camcorder. Also, when I'm by myself, as opposed to with wife, that dictates when and where I stop to take photos, thus the equipment. But in my amateurish opinion, that Canon SX50 is truly the most flexible and powerful lightweight, small, camera I have ever used.

I don't know if I'm responding to the right question or not, but in all my interactions with publishers, the first question to be answered is: what format, file size, and resolution do your want? The next question to be answered is: How do you want it? (Bring it to you on a flash drive; mail it to you on a CD; put it up in an online folder somewhere, etc., etc., etc.) In all my past experience, going back to the 80s, if the publisher answers those questions the rest is pretty easy.

I've used those filters to make book cover designs, and I've certainly used photos as material for drawings and watercolor paintings, even tracing images in photos to produce pencil and/or ink drawings that were later used in publications. Put technology in the hands of some human, and he or she will use it in a variety of ways. So I have no problems with photograph modification; after all, there is lots of software to help you do it, and only some humans who may discourage it for whatever reason. I guess the real answer is based on whatever you intend to do with the altered image

Barb - I have self-published a LOT of books, although mainly text but with my own cover designs. The first rule is to never pay for anything you can do yourself. The second rule is to decide what you want to have happen with these books - reading for enjoyment, giving them to relatives, etc. That second rule decision should probably dictate what you spend, how you spend it, and what kind of materials you want in that book. In general, the self-publishing industry is not all that great for high quality materials. I've also dealt with major publishing houses on some of my past books, and have ended up doing quite a bit of marketing (along with their help). My web site is www.johnjanovy.com; if you have any specific questions, send me an e-mail. But the first rule is really the most important one, in my view. Good luck!

There is a wildlife refuge at Lakeland, east of Tampa, that is simply spectacular and attracts photographers from all around the country. I can't remember the exact name, but it's popular enough so that you should be able to find it. I was there in mid-November as part of a speaking gig at Florida Southern College, and the place had lots of visitors with long lenses.

They're both nice images, but they're really of a combine at work instead of landscape, where, in my amateur opinion, the planet needs to be the main character.

I've had a 610 for a couple of years and am happy with it, especially given how I use it compared to my other cameras. It has a good-sized sensor, and the lenses that came with it in the kit from Nikon are great. I also bought a wide angle, and use it with a Sigma 150-600 telephoto, with good results (at least for me). When I bought it, I checked all the specs on similar cameras, all from Nikon, and decided that the 610 would give me FF and let me explore the range of photography I wanted it for. No regrets.

Probably the best "advice" I have ever received came from listening to art historians talk about art. As a result of my career as an academic, and my wife's career as educator in a major museum, I had many opportunities to listen to these folks, and many opportunities to study a wide range of art objects, including photographs. So those questions of what people do, why they do it, and what they were trying to achieve were always part of the discussion. I also know professional "art" photographers and have bought some of their work. All this listening, viewing, and occasional buying, seems to make me comfortable with the idea that people capture images because they simply want to, and whatever technology they use, from a pencil to a high-end DSLR, is whatever they have become familiar with, confident that the technology gives them whatever they are searching for when they decide to capture an image. So the main question I ask is not whether my photographs are "good" (although I can sure as hell tell when they are not in focus!), but whether I am personally satisfied with the result.

I have an earlier version of the Epson and am happy with it. I scan the negatives and 2 x 2s at 2400 but you could do it at higher resolution. And yes, you are correct to try to scan everything and put it all on an external hard drive for your descendants.

I'm in almost exactly the same situation - although now 80 and soon to be 81. I've been a reasonably serious photographer since the 50s, with, of course, all the collection of cameras. I'm not necessarily a high end equipment guy. I have Canons - SX50 and SX710 - for travel when weight and space are severely limited, e.g., African safaris, and Nikons for my "good" cameras - D3300 and D3400 (DX) and D610 (FX). My advice, from using all this equipment, would be to go ahead and spring for the new FX lenses. I have the standard ones that came with the D610 package and bought a wide angle to go with them. In general, I use these cameras for different purposes and situations, depending on what my travel situation is, how much control I have over the shooting conditions and opportunities, etc. For example, in Africa I had no control and appreciated the power and flexibility, including video, of the Canons. When I drive somewhere, and have complete control over my schedule, I always take the D610 in addition to whatever else I take. So I'd say buy the FX lenses. You're old enough to splurge on yourself!

I have several Nikons, including full frame, but my go-to cameras for portability and power are the Canon SX50 and Canon SX710 (newer versions are SX60 and SX740). Those Canons are the ones that I've taken when weight and luggage were severely limited and I didn't have any control of the photo situations (e.g., African and Costa Rican trips). In my opinion, the combination of price, power, and flexibility make them ideal for the kind of use you describe. And the video buttons are really easy to reach and use. Here is a link to a video I made to demo the SX50, although it could have been made with the smaller SX710. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJJ0YLmm6dQ

Nice photos. I have a bunch of gear, including full frame Nikons, but I also have an earlier version of the SX60 (SX50), which, because of the extreme flexibility and small size, has been my goto camera on travel in which weight and luggage have been severely restricted. I'm convinced that this camera has an excellent combination of weight, flexibility, and power that makes it ideal for a variety of reasons, and if I had to buy a bridge camera today, it would be the SX60. I especially like the convenience of the video button. Here's a YouTube link to a demo that I made a while back for a similar discussion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJJ0YLmm6dQ

You're going to have fun with this camera.

I know it's out of the way, but I'm completely convinced that the best place to take photos of wind turbines, especially in a sort of narrative way combined with oil pumping units and sometimes active derricks, is between Okarche and El Reno, Oklahoma. Drive south from Okarche on US 81; the big problem will be finding a place to pull off and set up your camera.

I have three Nikons, one of them a full frame, and a bunch of lenses, and yes, I would buy another DSLR. Why? Because mine take great pictures, provide me with more options than my film cameras ever did, and do just fine with my approach to photography. And, I've never been in a situation where mirror noise was an issue, but not everyone can say that.

Periodically there are posts on UHH by people asking for advice on cameras for beginners, or for travel where weight restrictions might apply. Although I’m a very active photographer, take it seriously, and own some nice equipment (including Nikons, D3300, D3400, and D610, plus quite a few lenses), I’m still a rank amateur. But I’ve been in travel situations with serious weight restrictions, where I had no control over the circumstances under which I was taking pictures and videos, and those circumstances required maximum flexibility, e.g., on a couple of African trips, ecotourism in Costa Rica, etc. My go-to equipment in those cases were Canon point-and-shoots, SX50 with SX710 for backup. Admittedly, with those cameras you lose some control, but I found that with the SX50 especially, the flexibility, light weight, and zoom power tended to make up for that loss. I kept the digital zoom turned off unless I really needed it, and switched between auto, athlete, and scene settings to help minimize the camera’s auto-focus behavior. This week I’m at the University of Nebraska’s Cedar Point Biological Station, and thought I’d shoot a quick demo with the SX50 for people who may be looking for a travel camera or one for beginners (SX60 is the newer model). That demo is a two-minute video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/EJJ0YLmm6dQ