Little Hindrances

    I've spent a bit of time this week thinking about what I need in order to improve my photography, but this time not terms of the photos themselves, but rather the process.

    One of the things that starts to get to me after shooting for a few hours is how my face comes in contact with the camera. The little eye cups that come with our DSLRs are okay for a while, but after you have been out shooting all morning or afternoon they don't seem very nice anymore! In fact I find that the eye cup for the D300 can even hinder my view of the corners of the viewfinder! Now what is the point of having a 100% if you can't see everything in it? As a result of that I've ordered a new eye cup, so I'll come back to this topic once the new one arrives and use it for day or two of shooting.

    What else can cause problems when you are out shooting? Is it hard for you to see the LCD screen on the back of your camera in the afternoon sun? Sometimes it is even bright enough on a cloudy summer day to make it impossible to see your rear LCD, even at it's brightest setting. Sometimes you just give up and hope for the best by taking multiple shots, or one solution is to find some shade. The problem with that is that there isn't always going to be a place in the shade to go, like in the middle of a desert!

   Thankfully there are a few brands that make clip-on LCD hoods that will reduce the light hitting the screen allowing you to get a better view, and I'm going to be trying one of those as well. Those little hoods are also good for protecting the screen of your camera, in case it didn't come with a screen protector. With rotating screens like the ones found on many higher end compacts, EVIL cameras and DSLRs like the Nikon D5000, the need for such protectors may be fading though.

    In the past I have talked about my home made rain covers, but they are a pain for the most part. Hard to get on and off, and the plastic bags ware out from being moved on and off of the camera, because they were not made to protect a camera. As a result I've ordered a Kata E-702 Elements Cover. It is made to fit large DSLRs, like the D300, 7D, D700, 5D MkII, even with battery grips attached, which also means you could get a D3(s/x), 1Ds MkIII or 1D MkIV inside. The included lens attachment is designed to protect lenses up to 200mm, such as a 70-200mm F2.8. I'm hoping it will cover enough of my 300mm F4 AF-S to not need the longer optional cover for telephoto lenses, or my own current home made cover for it. 

    Now none of these things that I have talked about will make me a better photographer, but I'm hoping that with the improved eye cup, LCD cover and rain cover, I'll have a more enjoyable photographic experience when I am out trying to get the perfect shot. There are some other things that can get in the way or hinder us when we are out shooting, but those are a number of things that have stood out to me in the last few months.