I’ve been looking into fluid heads for a long time, wanting to buy one for video work but not seeing much that I’m happy with. Ideally, I wanted a lightweight one that had an integrated flat base (to work with my existing tripods) and could accept my Really Right Stuff plates, which all my cameras have. Oh, I didn’t want to spend tons of money, either. I recently decided to buy the Sachtler Cine DSLR, and while it’s not perfect, I’m happy with my purchase.

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Earlier this year, I purchased Andy Bigg’s new lightweight Gura Gear bag, given it’s about 3 pounds lighter (almost half the weight) of my old Lowe Pro bag. Although I took it to the Falklands, I’ve held off writing about it because I wanted to wait until after my Africa trip when I had a chance to use the bag as intended on a safari. My overall sentiment is that despite a few shortcomings, this is an excellent bag, and I look forward to seeing what other bags Andy and Co produce!

Two Gentoo penguins check out the Gura Gear bar

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Nature photographers often end up with a lot of free time on trips, whether it’s on airplanes or when the weather’s bad. While there’s often work to be done editing images or writing, sometimes you just can’t work anymore and want a break. Personally, I like to read in my down time. Yet between the weight of my camera bag and the weight of my computer bag, I never wanted to take more than one book with me on a trip and would often end up reading very slowly or re-reading my book. After my trip to Africa, I’ve definitely come to love my Kindle!

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