Busy Bee

Not much to post about lately, just life going on as usual - house projects, work projects, weekend visitors, movie outings, and my arch-nemesis, house cleaning! I did get a new camera backpack and camera strap to try out. We're taking a trip via airplane soon, so I thought it would be a good time to test out the camera backpack. I searched all over the internet trying to find one with easy access, sleek design, and good price. In addition with some feedback from friends, I decided to go ahead and get one with a small laptop sleeve in it as well (even though I don't have said laptop yet) and room for at least a shoe-mount flash and maybe 2-3 other lenses (also don't have those yet). I ended up ordering the Kata DR-466 Digital Rucksack with Reflex E camera strap. Additional bonus: there's a $15 rebate currently for the backback I ordered ($20 if you get a more expensive one). The camera strap comes in three sections - a cushy neck section, and then two straps that go on either side of the camera. There are release clips that allow you to remove the neck strap and hook the two ends to D-rings on the backpack straps, transferring and distributing the weight of the camera to your shoulders through the backpack straps and relieving your neck. The neck strap portion has two small zippered compartments - one on either end. I can fit my USB SD card reader and my tiny Nikon ML-L3 wireless remote control in there nicely. I could also put an SD card in there, but with a 16 GB card, I don't really need to carry around extra memory! I did read many online reviews before purchasing, and one thing that I already knew was that the Reflex E strap by itself could be a bit long if you are short, which indeed it is, but at the same time, the end lengths are perfect when you hook it onto the backpack. Really, I think I need the neck portion shortened. But the strap by itself does allow you to carry the camera cross-body and lift the camera to take a photo without having to shimmy your arm back out of the strap or shimmy it around your in order to lift the camera up to eye-level. Thought it was a pretty cool system, so I'll have to review it once I use it more.

Me testing out the new camera backpack and strap with my assistant, Thoth.

Some great bee shots that DH took the other day as they buzzed around our driveway hydrangea - you can see the pollen on the bee's rear in the second photo.