There are few places on earth that can captivate the imagination and inspire nature photographers to “get out there” like the tropics. The biological riches of these exciting destinations are unparalleled and these regions are rife with opportunities for nature photography. Consider for example that tiny countries such as Costa Rica host more species of birds than all of North America. Or that in just one square mile of rainforest there may be as many as 50,000 species of insects. The biodiversity is truly incredible!

This summer, I went on the adventure of a lifetime. The journey began on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Yorktown, Virginia, when my three friends, Jenny, Justin, and Dave, and I boarded our bicycles with a plan to ride unassisted across the United States. We expected to take anywhere from 60-70 days to reach Astoria, Oregon, our final destination, and our route had us traveling through ten states along the 4200 mile journey. As a photographer, I wanted to take pictures on the road, to capture the beauty of the country, preserve memories of the trip, and be able to share my journey with friends and family back home. We carried all of our own gear on our bikes, including our food, cooking equipment, clothes, sleeping blankets and pads, and a tent, so hauling my “lightweight” DSLR rig was out of the question. However, I didn’t want to skimp on the quality of my photos with some slow five mega-pixel consumer point-and-shoot either. That’s where the G10 entered the picture.

The most comfortable way to carry your camera and tripod setup from one area to another is to put the whole rig over your shoulder and carry it with the lens hanging out behind you. We all do it. Unfortunately, there have been some photographers reporting the base plate on their Gitzo Systematic tripods working loose. In the worst cases, the photographers’ entire lens and tripod head, complete with base plate have come crashing to the ground when carrying the setup this way! The most common cause for this is that the tension screw that clamps the base plate to the main body of the tripod works its way loose. There simply isn't enough pressure against the plate to hold it in and it falls out, along with whatever is attached to it.

In animal photography, the subject’s eyes must be in focus. If they’re not, most professional wildlife photographers will tell us that we’ve missed the shot. Why? Because when we look at a picture of an animal (or person) our eyes go to the subject’s eyes first. If they’re soft, we have to strain our eyes to try to get them into focus, a frustrating and impossible task.