I have gotten some new gear lately that I thought you’d like to know about. I am not much of a gear nut. I don’t read reviews, I don’t get into the minutia of specs and I don’t really care what others think about this or that. I care if it works for me and whether it is good enough for me.

The first thing I got was a new tripod. Yes, I already have a great tripod, an everyday tripod but what am I going to do with just one tripod? It doesn’t seem right to have just one tripod. A fella ought to have at least two tripods, right? So I got another Gitzo tripod. I needed one for travel that didn’t have the usual travel tripod problems- thin legs, too short, hard to use, and just not very steady. I had spent a lot of time looking for the perfect travel tripod, that is the perfect travel tripod made by Gitzo. Sorry, but I don’t even look at other tripods. I like Gitzos, the have always been great for me for the 25 years I have been using them and I am myopically loyal. Live with it. I got the 3541LS. It is only 21 inches long when contracted and it is just about 6 feet tall with the ball head on it. I like it so much that I gave it to two of my close photography friends so I wouldn’t be embarrassed when out shooting with them!

The second thing I got was a Nikon 24-120mm lens. I should say that I re-got it. This is the lens that I used 80% of the time on my upcoming dairy farm book. It is wide enough for landscapes and small places and long enough to zoom out for details and nice portraits. I tried other lenses when my original got some nicks in the glass from hard use but none quite matched up with the 24-120. I still like the 18-200 but my go-to lens is the 24-120.