My SUV has a roller cover that goes over the back compartment. It is dark colored, so I think that helps. As far as the food thing, there are a lot of hungry people out there. The camera would just be a bonus. In our town, we have food stolen from cars.
I have used a cooler for my equipment, but never use it for long periods of time. It will stay an acceptable temperature level for quite a while without the ice thing.
I also put my labeled camera bags inside nondescript bags that don't scream camera equipment. I purchased an insulated lunch bag and use that as one of my camera bags. So far, no one has stolen my "lunch".
The main thing to keep warm in winter is the battery. Iditarod photographers have told me that they often leave their equipment outside and only keep the batteries warm. That way, the lenses don't fog over when you take the camera outside. Film is a different story. The film will get brittle and break, but digital doesn't. I suppose you could keep the memory cards inside. I never really asked about that.
I'll be doing ANYTHING but shopping on black friday!! Cleaning the bathroom or refrigerator top shopping on black friday in my opinion.
Thanks for the advent of digital, now when you want that special shot, you can delete the bad ones and not have to pay for processing and prints on those 36 exposure rolls. Congratulations on getting the perfect shot. Persistence pays off!! Motor drives are good too.
In my opinion, a snapshot is something you take in the moment with no planning or contemplation of what you want. Like the little kid doing something cute and you want to capture it quickly in the moment before it is gone. A photograph in my opinion requires some thought and planning. Like with the kid, you would consider the background etc for a photograph. For a snapshot, you just shoot the kid being cute and don't worry about it being a winning photo.
You took some of the same photos I did. I thought the Cunningham cabin shot through the window was great, except in my photo taken quite a few years ago, there is a picturesque fence leading toward the mountains. That must be gone. All of this makes me want to go back/
Oxbow Bend and Schwebacher Landing are excellent along with the Snake River overlook.
I do a lot of work with 4-H photography. There are a lot of excellent beginning videos that can be used. Just google for them. Most 4-H county, state or whatever the local in charge is have a set of guidelines and tips to use with clubs. Ask if your local headquarters has anything like that. Also, use beginning photography books that can be purchased at bookstores to get tips and then take photos which you can show to the group that demonstrate the skills needed.
I do a lot of judging in 4-H photography and the biggest mistakes I see are cluttered backgrounds and mom telling them to "center" the subject. Also, they fail to leave room in front of an animal to move. Thus the centering thing.DK
They are trying to get more money. I rarely use 8 or higher because if the card fails, you lose a lot of photos. I stick to 4 gb. I back up my images on the computer and archival gold cds or dvds. Also, I never clear a card after I have downloaded them. Call me paranoid. I store the cards in a safe and the cds and dvd in the gun safe.
DK
I call those photographic memories stored in my memory bank.
Oh yes, I do agree with the person who wants the 10 - 400 with power line filters etc, but I would take it one step further and make it 10- 500
I use Tamron lenses all of the time and have for years, updating them as new models come out. I like the 18 - 270 range and am very satisfied with the lens and all of the lenses I have ever had from Tamron. I shoot Canon and do use the Canon 100 - 400 IS