TerribleTer

Yes, my friends, I ended up backpacking for the entire summer, and I summited Mt. Katahdin on August 16 and finished the Appalachian Trail--camera in hand!  Unfortunately, I couldn't take my Nikon D7000, which simply weighs too much to carry in conjunction with a backpack.  Instead, I bought a Nikon Coolpix 600 for the occasion, which weighs just 1.3 lbs., and I carried it around my neck for over 1200 miles.  It's not a bad little camera, and it has 60X optical zoom, which is great for getting wildlife, but the quality of the pictures just isn't as good.  Or maybe I'm too much of a perfectionist.  I'll probably post a

My dear friends and fellow art lovers on DA: in the next few weeks I will be doing some extended backpacking on the Appalachian Trail and will only have sporadic access to internet.  So if you leave comments, I will respond as soon as I am able, but it may take awhile.  I probably won't be posting in the next few weeks either, but, then, there is a season for all things, and I look forward to seeing all of the great things that you will be posting!  

After living over half a century, one presumes to know most of the pleasures life offers, but the passion for nature photography took me almost completely by surprise.  It dates from the moment I bought my Nikon D7000 in May 2011 and discovered what a really good DSLR camera can do.  (I'm not, by the way, on Nikon's payroll, nor is this an infomercial for the D7000.  Probably any good DSLR camera would have the same effect, but the D7000 is simply the one I have.)  How does one know that one is hooked as a photographer?—when getting a good shot is often the high point of your day; when you can photograph all day long and still hunger for