Yesterday we drove out to Palisades Parkway in the search of autumn. It took us more then an hour to get there through Manhattan traffic and all the trees turned out to be still green. Instead we found amazing views of Hudson, George Washington Bridge and Manhattan in the background.

However I’m saddened to say that out of over a 100 shots that I took none are even close to resembling how beautiful things really looked. A lot of things are to blame. Sun position wasn’t optimal, a good polarizer would do wonders and a tripod that doesn’t shake when you breath on it would help a lot.

I think I should invest in a new tripod with a good head sooner than later. After listening to recommendations I’m pretty sure that I want to get Manfrotto 055X Pro B for a tripod. As for the head I’m considering Manfrotto 808RC4 3-Way Pan/Tilt Head, but I’m not 100% certain yet. Maybe I should get a ball head instead.

Also today I realized that I never gave a polarizer any serious thought. I really have no idea why, as it is one of the basic things that could dramatically improve the quality of photographs taken outdoors.

Time to start the “budget allocation program” for these things.

1

Alex says:
October 30, 2007 @ 17:35

Just so you know, Manfrotto and Velbon are the same company. And the best place to get those is probably B&H.

2

Alex says:
October 30, 2007 @ 17:41

Wait… I think i meant Bogen. And I see now those links are from B&H. Yeah, so… pretty much ignore what i said.

3

Alex says:
October 30, 2007 @ 17:50

Ok, here’s a better tip… The next time they shoot a movie in Manhattan (they do it fairly often near Union Square, you’ll notice a shed or two with piles… hunreds of very nice tripods. And there’s hardly anyone there. So just grab one and run:) They’re usually neatly arranged by size, so be sure to grab the right one:)

4

Daniel says:
October 30, 2007 @ 22:51

Thanks.

Actually Bogen is a distributer for Manfrotto products in the U.S.

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