Found and fell in love with your site from another site (google redirect) and have to admit, love all the photos and simplicity that surrounds many of your pictures. I need a suggestion though, I don't take pictures but my wife does and wants a new camera, though she's not a fan of bulk, could you possibly recommend an all-around camera that is good for basic pictures? Price is no object, though nothing I'll regret buying her and having her break (like a Leica).

MATT: Thanks for your kind comments. I appreciate them very much.

It's tough to recommend a specific camera because there are so many variables (available camera models, lens models, form factor, weight, price, photographer shooting style and skill-level, etc). Also, my experiences over the past several years have been limited to just a handful of cameras. The Nikon D90, D7000, and D3s DSLRS; the Canon PowerShot G11; and the Fuji X100 rangefinder-style camera. I sold the D90 and the D7000 last year, so today I primarily use the D3s and the X100 for personal shooting (my wife and kids use the G11, occasionally). The bottom line is that I've only used a small fraction of the cameras that are available on the market today, so please read my response with that in mind.

Here are some brief thoughts on each of the five recent cameras I've owned, in the order that I bought them:

Nikon D90
A quality mid-sized DSLR that I loved. Although the D90 went into production years ago, it's still widely available and there were brand new ones on the shelves of my local camera shop as recently as a few weeks ago. A great camera, but the newer D7000 might be a better choice for its improved low-light performance.

Canon PowerShot G11
Small, compact, well-built, but somewhat dated. I've had it for several years, and although many great reviews have been written about it, I've been disappointed with the pictures I've been able to get out of it. As a result, I haven't used it a lot and I can't recommend it. The current model is the G12, by the way, but the differences are minimal.

Nikon D3s
An incredible camera. By far my favorite, past or present! Amazing low-light performance, built like a tank. Love it, love it, love it! But, I can't recommend it for your wife because it's huge, it weighs a ton, and it's price is approaching Leica territory.

Nikon D7000
This is probably a great little camera, but I sold mine just a few months after I bought it. I intended it to be a small alternative to the D3s - a camera that I'd carry whenever I didn't feel like lugging around the big D3s. But, I couldn't get used to the way the shutter operated. It sounded cheap compared to the D3s, and worse, I couldn't hold the camera still when the shutter was triggered. The way the camera "torqued" each time I released the shutter drove me crazy, so I got rid of it. Still, it might be worth a look. I may have been hopelessly spoiled by the D3s, so I wouldn't rule the D7000 out for your wife.

Fuji X100
A surprisingly nice camera. This might fit the bill for your wife. It's relatively compact (think purse, not pocket) and it takes great photos. I think it can match the image quality I got out of my beloved D90, even though it's smaller and weighs a lot less. There's no zoom feature, though, and the lens is not interchangeable, so if your wife wants a close-up shot, she'll have to BE close-up. For me, the X100 is a nice, carry-all-the-time camera that bridges the gap between my iPhone 4 (which takes terrible pictures, but is oh-so-convenient) and the heavy-weight champ of my collection, the D3s.

Bear Bells and Raccoon Tracks along the Chattahoochee River

During the winter, when the sun sets around 5:30 in the afternoon, I like to go hiking or trail running at dusk, which usually means running around the woods in the dark. With nobody around to complain, I often bring Wilson the Bassador along and let him run off leash. He loves it and I enjoy the company. Occasionally, though, he’ll go tearing off into the darkness after a raccoon or a deer, and once in a while, he takes his sweet time finding his way back. In fact, twice now he’s been missing long enough that I started to worry that he was lost for good.

Finding a black dog in the woods at night isn’t as easy as it sounds, so it occurred to me a while back that Wilson would be easier to find if I attached a bear bell to his collar. So, I picked up a Coghlan’s Bear Bell from REI for $3.95 and was excited to try it out, but it fell off on our very first run, never to be found again (UPDATE: I found the bell five nights later, while running through the same park with an awesome 750 lumen Lupine Piko headlamp). The hook and loop fastener that’s meant to secure the bell simply isn't big or strong enough to do the job. No matter, though. The magnet in the permanently-attached netted pouch kept sticking to the side of the bell, dampening the ring while Wilson ran and rendering the bell useless. On the plus side, the magnetized pouch effectively silenced the bell during transport to and from the trailhead, a feature that is missing from the bear bell I received for Christmas this year.

The Silverfoot Hiker Carabiner Bear Bell was a gift from Santa, presumably intended to be used as the manufacturer envisioned (to warn bears of approaching hikers). Conveniently, it was a perfect replacement for the “dog” bear bell that was lost. The Silverfoot bell sported a superior design, too, utilizing a small carabiner for secure attachment to Wilson’s collar and lacking a clanger-muting magnet. At $10, it’s 150% more expensive than the Coghlan bell, but it seems much less likely to get lost. Unless I fling it away, that is. It drives me crazy when it jingles Rudolph-style while I carry it around in my backpack to and from the trailhead.

The bottom line is that the Silverfoot Hiker Carabiner Bear Bell is the better buy for dogs. It has a more secure attachment mechanism than the Coghlan bell, and it lacks a magnet that may unintentionally stop the bell from ringing. To be honest, though, I suspect a jingle bell and a zip tie from your local craft store would accomplish a similar result for about $1.

Sometimes a photo is technically wrong, but somehow still seems kind of right. For me, this is one of those.

I'm digging the Goruck GR1 backpack. I got it a couple months ago for a photo trip to Yosemite, and I've used it ever since for everything from hiking to business trips. It's now my go-to bag for traveling and anything outdoors. For business trips or other travel, it carries enough clothes for a 4-day trip, plus a MacBook Air and everything else I need, and it's small enough to fit under a seat in an airplane. For walking or hiking, it carries my pro-sized DSLR with several lenses, a tripod, a jacket, food, and water.

Did I mention that the GR1 is tough? Made of 1000D Cordura, it's practically immune from abrasions, and it's water- and mud-resistant, too. I walked in the woods during a steady rain for over an hour today, using it to haul a small camera and tripod along with a 1.5L water bottle and whatever else I left in there from my last trip. As you can see from the photo above, the outside of the bag was fairly drenched towards the end of the trip, but the contents remained dry and well protected.

At $295 plus shipping, the Goruck GR1 isn't cheap. But it's a tough bag that's comfortable to wear. It looks great, it holds a ton of stuff, and it's made in the USA. For me, it's just about perfect.

I love Craigslist. In most markets, it’s free to list your unwanted stuff for sale, and the site gets so much traffic, most things sell pretty fast. The downside is that Craigslist only allows 4 photos per ad, and they are small and poor quality. And that's too bad, because quality photos help buyers see what they're getting.

Enter Flickr.

With Flickr, you can host high-quality versions of your images and display them in your Craigslist ads for free. Just follow these steps:

1. Upload your product photo(s) to Flickr (sign up for a free account here).
   

   Note: If you don’t want your product photos to show up in your Flickr photostream, mark them private. They’ll still show up on Craigslist when you follow these instructions.

2. In a new browser tab (CTRL+T on most browsers), create your ad on Craigslist and enter the description for the stuff you want to sell.
3. From the Flickr tab, open the product photo and select the Grab the HTML/BBCode option from the Share dropdown menu.
   

   

4. Choose the image size you want (I usually select an image size of 640 pixels on the long edge) and click the HTML selection bubble.
5. Select the Flickr-generated code and hit CTRL+C on your keyboard to copy the code.
6. From the Craigslist tab, place your cursor inside your description where you want your product photo to be, and press CTRL+V to paste the Flickr code into your Craigslist ad.
7. Repeat steps 3-6 for each photo you want to insert into your Craigslist ad.
8. The last step before saving your ad is to upload one of your photos directly to Craigslist. That way, your photo will appear next to your listing as well.
9. Save your Craigslist ad and verify that it appears as expected. If the Flickr images you used were marked private, you can log out of Flickr to confirm that they still appear properly in your ad.

Happy selling!

Lloyd and I met at the north entrance of the paved loop at sunrise, and we pulled off the road as soon as we saw our first good-sized group of brightly colored aspens. With temperatures in the mid- to upper-20s (F), we layered up and ventured up a nearby hill to shoot the trees as the sun rose over the horizon and warmed us.

Morning on June Lake Loop (1/180 sec at f/5.6, ISO 200 with Zeiss 21mm f/2.8 lens on Nikon D3s)

Later, we returned to our cars and drove down the road a bit further. With the sun higher in the sky and temperatures rising, we saw a lot of roadside photographers practicing their craft. And to be honest with you, I drove past the first dozen or so feeling just a little bit superior. After all, I'd been hiking well off the road the past few days! But it wasn't long before I saw such a pretty spot that I pulled over myself, shooting shoulder to shoulder with the other tourists. What can I say? It was a nice road!

There's a Bee Near Me (shot roadside, feet on the pavement, 1/90 sec at f/8.0, ISO 200 with Zeiss 100mm f/2.0 Makro lens on Nikon D3s)

I love reflections. Everywhere I go, I find myself looking for reflections and thinking about whether they might make a good photograph. Lucky for me, June Lake Loop afforded many opportunities.

Golden Pond (1/1000 sec at f/5.6, ISO 200 with Zeiss 100mm f/2.0 Makro lens on Nikon D3s)

The photo above was taken just a few steps from the spot where I shot the photo below. It's rare to find a spot where there are good photographic opportunities in multiple directions!

Reflections on Fishing(1/500 sec at f/5.6, ISO 200 with Zeiss 100mm f/2.0 Makro lens on Nikon D3s)

Our last stop gave me an opportunity to explore a bright stand of roadside aspens with Lloyd's awesome Zeiss 25mm f/2.8 lens on my camera (I liked the 25mm lens so much that I bought one when I returned home from my trip).

Autumn Tree Carving (1/500 sec at f/2.8, ISO 200 with Zeiss 25mm f/2.8 lens on Nikon D3s)

Upon reaching the south end of June Lake Loop, Lloyd and I parted ways and I headed toward Reno to catch my flight home. The trip was a fantastic adventure that I thoroughly enjoyed. I learned a lot and I think the experience made me a better photographer. In fact, I'm sold on the idea of hiring a good guide for this type of trip. I can't wait to figure out where I'm going next!

Frozen Star in Creek Bed (1/1500 sec at f/3.3 handheld, ISO 800 with Zeiss 100mm f/2.0 Makro lens on Nikon D3s)

While the meadows and creeks were interesting and scenic, Lloyd and I discussed moving to a lower elevation in search of fall colors. We had both noticed large groups of blazing aspens on our trips up and down Tioga Pass, so we decided to travel back outside the park for a closer look. The valley road to the old Poole Power Plant offered a close up view of these beautiful trees.

Aspen Near the Creek (1/2000 sec at f/1.4, ISO 200 with Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 lens on Nikon D3s)

Lloyd took great care of me by giving me plenty of time and space to explore the roadside and shoot as many photos as I wanted. I used the time to practice some of the techniques he'd shared with me and to simply enjoy the scenery. It was a beautiful spot.

Colorful Creekside (1/350 sec at f/2.8, ISO 200 with Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 lens on Nikon D3s)

Honestly, I think there was enough potential subject matter around Poole Power Plant to keep me busy for two or three days. However, the mountains rose so sharply from this narrow little valley that there are probably only five or six hours of direct sunlight each day. Besides, we wanted to check out nearby Lundy Canyon before it got too dark. We had to move on.

We drove to Lundy Canyon by following the main road north from nearby Lee Vining, but Lloyd told me that it was possible to hike there from Saddlebag Lake, which we had visited the day before. We really hit the jackpot with Lundy Canyon - Lloyd said the fall colors there were the best he'd seen in a long time. The fall colors around Yosemite are a lot different than the ones we have in the Appalachians, but I was still very impressed by the bright colors we saw in the Sierras.

Aspen Near the Trail (1/20 sec at f/11, ISO 200 with Zeiss 100mm f/2.0 Makro lens on Nikon D3s)

It was Lundy Canyon where we took our only "group photo" of the trip.

Self Portrait of Matt Hyatt with Lloyd Chambers

With only one more day left on the trip, and with me still feeling pretty high on the fantastic fall colors we'd seen, we made plans to visit the June Lake Loop the next day. I had heard from several locals that June Lake was bristling with colors. Boy, were they right. I'll post photos soon!

Hiking Towards 20 Lakes Basin (1/2000 sec at f/2.8, ISO 200, with Zeiss 21mm f/2.8 lens on Nikon D3s)

Lloyd was right. The area beyond Saddlebag Lake, known as the "20 Lakes Basin", was breathtakingly beautiful, yet very different from the Yosemite canyon we'd explored the day before. 20 Lakes Basin is a high-elevation area that seems to have been carved out by an ancient glacier, leaving hundreds of low spots and thousands of rocks and boulders strewn about. Many of the low spots are filled with crystal clear water (many brimming with trout!), creating a gorgeous and varied landscape unlike anything I've seen before.

Colored Basin (1/500 sec at f/5.6, ISO 200, with Zeiss 21mm f/2.8 on Nikon D3s)

20 Lakes Basin sits at an elevation just over 10,000 feet, and the plants found there are different than the ones we saw the day before. During autumn, this brightly colored ground-hugging foliage glows hues of red and yellow, at times creating a dazzling display against the rocky terrain.

Backlit Fall Foliage (1/500 sec at f/8.0, ISO 200 with Zeiss 100mm f/2.0 Makro lens on Nikon D3s)

I don't know if it was the thin air at the high elevation, or the lack of adequate sleep during the previous two nights, but I felt very groggy and had a mild headache the entire day. At one point, I even laid down on a rock and took a brief nap in the sun! Lloyd was very patient and gave me plenty of opportunities to stop and take pictures (or to rest, or both). I was grateful, though, since the frequent stops gave me time to focus on the details of the unique landscape.

Eking Out a Living (1/750 sec at f/2.4, ISO 200 with Zeiss 100mm f/2.0 Makro lens on Nikon D3s)

Despite the fact that I wasn't feeling my best, the day spent exploring the 20 Lakes Basin was fascinating and I enjoyed it a lot. However, it was days 3 and 4 of my Yosemite trip that really blew me away. That's when we found some of the most amazing fall colors I've ever seen. Stay tuned for another update soon, and I'll show you what I'm talking about.