As a photographer, I appreciate the tools that I have, and drool over the ones I do not. Over the years, I have been fortunate enough to be able to add pieces along the way. While some of these items may sit for extended periods of time, I can never bring myself to sell them. I always tell myself I will use them someday.

Well, today was a day to play with some of the more neglected toys in my kit!

Kendra and I stopped off to watch the last of the annual Santa Cruz Kayak Surf Festival, an event my main job puts on every year. I got a chance to play with my Nikon 500mm f4 P old school manual focus telephoto and Wimberley sidekick. I also slapped on my Nikon MB-D10 grip and blasted away at 8 fps while manual focusing on kayak and board surfers alike. Fun stuff!

I always thought it would be great to be a professional sports photographer and do the nature thing on the side. NBA, NFL, pro surfing, you name it, if I could get paid shooting high stakes pro sports, that'd be a kick.

And as spring has officially arrived, the wind and bland skies of central California are going to make interesting landscape photos a bit more difficult to come by, if not downright impossible. That's ok, I just gotta diversify and use those neglected toys!

Nikon D300 with MB-D10 grip
Nikkor 500mm f4 P
Shutter Speed Priority Mode: 1/800sec @ f5.6, ISO 200
Wimberley Sidekick, Gitzo Tripod, Markins M20 Ballhead

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