Continuing in the series on the camera toys I've picked up on this trip to The States (other entries: GPS unit, tripod), this post is about the Katz Eye Focusing Screen that I picked up for my Nikon D200.

An SLR's focusing screen is a frosted piece of glass that you're actually looking at when you look through the viewfinder, upon which the lens projects the scene being viewed by the camera.

Katz Eye Optics is a company that makes replacement focusing screens for all kinds of cameras. (They're owned by a family whose last name is "Katz," so I [...]

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While taking pictures of my dad clearing away a fallen mulberry tree last week, I also collected a few other random pictures of things related to the tree or the area.

This little black-headed line of white fuzz was marching out from the tree trunk. As Dad was bringing the backhoe into position, I was crawling on my belly trying to get this guy in focus as he marched at a surprisingly fast clip.

This one dragonfly was quite interested in what we were doing, watching from close range the whole time.

There wasn't much fruit left on the mulberry [...]

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Despite having lost a tree last week, Rootstown still has more than enough left.

I recently visited one of the higher points in Rootstown, and despite having grown up here and always appreciated the vast amount of green, I was still shocked at the sheer blanket of trees. For the most part, that's pretty much all that was visible in all directions.

The view above is toward my folks' place, a mile or so distant.

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Among the camera toys I picked up recently are the components needed to make a really great tripod. The components, from top to bottom, are:

Clamp -- Really Right Stuff PLC-1 Head -- Really Right Stuff BH-55 Column -- Gitzo GS3510S Legs -- Gitzo 3540XLS Quick release plates -- Really Right Stuff (not shown)

(mouseover the items above to highlight them in the image at right)

I'll talk about each of these below.

If you're new to serious photography, as I have been during the last few years, Thom Hogan's writeup on the psychology of tripod purchases is a must [...]

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