Having hiked many hundreds of miles with a backpack and sleeping in a tent for many months total I can attest that it is the seams that are most important, especially if they are under stress from heavy items (like cameras and lenses). Quality seams that will hold up under stress require careful planning and execution. I would not trust a $40 backpack with heavy equipment for very long. It may hold up for awhile but probably not over time. If you consider it a item to be replaced periodically than it may work out well for you. Like luvmypets I have found Lowepro bags very durable; I have owned several for many years and have never had one fail. Best of luck finding one that fits all of your needs.

Why thank-you.

Thank-you.

The bird is sitting on a railing outside the window. The background is a reflection in the window.

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You can probable see what I mean in the second shot.

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On a chilly day.

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They are the pneumatocysts (floats) of the algae Macrosystis (giant kelp) that grows off the coast of central California and other areas. It is by the way the fastest growing living thing on the planet; growing up to more that a meter a day. They are "rooted" at the sea floor and the floats keep the fronds close to the surface where there is more sunlight.

I thought I'd try different levels of saturation: as shot, moderately desaturated and monochrome.

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The Covid virus is RNA (which is not a protein) surrounded by a protein coat, not a lipid coat. That is just the first line; many others contain errors that I know of, others I'm not sure of but are probably not true either.

#9

See it at times where I live. The chemical is dihydrogen monoxide.

I used the non-IS version for several years and found it to be an excellent lens. Last year I bought the L version. Both are very sharp lenses, can't say I can tell the difference. I bought the L version for the weather sealing. The IS works and does improve the quality of handheld shots. If you use a tripod I definitely recommend the tripod collar.

Yes, we are short term inhabitants of a small, delicate and very beautiful planet.

If you shoot birds in flight or in trees or in rough terrain be sure to get one that is taller than you are. With a long lens the camera eyepiece gets quite low when aiming the camera up. Ducking awkwardly to compose the shot make for a very unstable rig and as I get older kneeling is a less inviting position to shoot from. I just got the Gitzo 4552L and the Wimberly mono-gimbal. Haven't had a chance to use it much but really like it so far.

It will work on windshields but not chrome. Reflections from metallic surfaces are not polarized.

Nice shots that really capture the conditions in which they live. I especially like the second one where the wave motion is clear and the palms on the upper right edge of the rock are being hit by the wave. They are known as sea palms and are a type of brown algae closely related to the kelps. They are only found in areas of extreme wave action at very low tide. Often, like the ones shown here, are on mussel beds where they attach to the mussels which are then ripped off the rocks by large winter storm waves clearing space for more sea palms. The palms usually survive for only one year and then repopulate the area the following spring when the waves are less intense.