Part I of III: The Proper Equipment

It's not the Camera, Dude
The difference between a good shooter and a poor one is that the good shooter brings an inherent sense of artistry and compositional flair to the shutter button. They are an artist first, a digital teckkie second. Even a pin-hole camera in the right person's hands can produce awesome and inspiring images.

There is far too much focus on having the right equipment. The fact is, the better, more fully-functioning a person you are, the better your photography will be. A person who is fulfilled in life, who has solid and enduring and inspiring relationships, who treasures LIFE and experiences it fully, who has compassion and empathy for others, and who lives philosophically -- they can become whatever they want to become, because they have learned to feel all their feelings and also to express them.

Photography is an art form and our cameras are our brushes. We express ourselves through our photography. If we dwell too long on the brush there won't be time to paint!

With that in mind, then, let's talk 'equipment', only so long as you understand that the artist inside of us is what counts. There are some interesting tools, however, that can help us express ourselves more fully.

Monopods and Tripods
When you take a photo there is almost always some camera or subject movement that blurs the image. Even under the best of circumstances this happens. Tripods obviously offer the best support for your digital camera. A word of caution, though: when you raise the center column of a tripod you loose much of its original stability, so I recommend against doing that. I remove the long center column from my Gitzos and insert a short, stationery center column which I purchase separately.

Tabletop tripods are convenient, too, especially for the smaller digital bodies and tight places! This one shown happens to be a Leica tabletop but there are many brands out there.

Tripod Heads
Tripod heads are required accessories for tripods and monopods, and they come in many sizes and weight-bearing strength. Here is a good overview of the most popular ball heads and what they cost. You can find more heads and general purchasing guidelines also at Really Right Stuff.

Larger lenses require larger tripod heads.

These days I use the Gitzo 1277M head which will easily hold a 300mm f2.8 lens with tripod collar, plus it is great for managing your camera body as well. It is lightweight with very smooth action. You can get all Gitzo heads with both the ARCA and BOGEN quick-release systems but only Wimberley has especially adapted them to use ARCA plates for the Wimberley Sidekick. See more on that below.

These images illustrate the two different QR systems on similar heads:

Gitzo 1277M (ARCA QR)

Gitzo 1373M (Manfrotto QR)

For the larger telephotos (300mm f2.8 and larger), the WIMBERLY Head and the smaller WIMBERLY Side-kick offer exceptional control and smooth panning for the serious photographer. Its gimbal-type design allows you to rotate your lens around its center of gravity and thus easily manipulate very large lenses. However, like the lenses that they support, the Wimberly heads are pricier than the average ball head. And they are designed exclusively for the ARCA SWISS quick-release system.