Wow that's so kind of you. I'vealways been hugely inspired by the photos on this site and I am definitelya better photographer because of all of you. The Galapagos Islands are really beyond belief when it comes to photo opportunities, to the point that it's almost completely unfair. It's really hard not to get good results. I'm so spoiled now, it's going to be hard going back to the usual routine at home of searching hours for bird and wildlife shots.


My lovely wife carried my tripod on her daypack, so I was able to reach for it easily whenever I needed it. The Gitzo traveler tripod is super light, and it handled my 1D3 with the 300 f/2.8 lens quite acceptably (even though it's not rated for it). Without the tripod Ihad some difficulty in achieving 'tack sharp' images, even though there's lots of light available and usually you can get pretty high shutter speeds. So the heavy lens was probably a detriment when hand-holding, and something like the new 70-300 zoom would have been better. But I was glad to have the big aperture when we were in the jungle earlier, where the available light is much lower.


Thanks again,
Jon