Just before I left for the Galapagos I decided to pickup the relatively new Nikon Coolpix AW100 underwater point and shoot camera. I made the decision not to bring the huge amount of equipment normal large DSLR cameras create when shooting below the water’s surface. I wanted light, quick and easy. As Ive discussed in the past, my local Nikon dealer, F11 Photo, has a great selection of equipment and I was lucky to be able to drop down to Main street and collect a black version for my trip to Ecuador. If you just want to see the photographic results of this mini-review you can follow this link: Nikon AW 100 Underwater Camera Test Shoot in Galapagos and Machupicchu.

Stone Scorpionfish (Scorpaena plumieri mystes) is a master of deception, disguising itself as a rock, clump of vegetation, or piece of coral. James Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

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DPReview is the first web page I go to for information on all things new in the photography world. These guys do an amazing job. They recently released their in-depth, hands-on review of the new Nikon D800. For anyone planning to purchase this camera, this will give you all the details and pros and cons of the new 36-megapixel monster from Nikon that has seen record initial sales numbers. You can see a short, hands-on mini review I wrote a few weeks back by clicking on this link.  If any of you already have this camera in hand I would love to know how it is performing for you by posting your comments here on the  blog. Add your voice!

Nikon's 36 Megapixel monster the new D800.

Sometimes to get inspired to write I just have to let things flow. That’s what the first part (the top) of this blog is all about. The good stuff is towards the middle and below. Skip to that if you don’t care for my period of warming up. There’s a tip on wildlife ethics as well as the pros and cons of fullframe/non-fullframe cameras. To get you started here’s an image of what the middle and end is all about.

A mother Crowned Crane stands over her two recently hatched chicks, as well as one still trying to emerge from its egg shell. From our 2012 Kenya Photo Tour

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Below is a video I recently made on how to clean the digital sensor on your DSLR camera. I’ve been cleaning my own sensors since 2003 when I first started shooting digital. I am often asked by my students how this is done and very seldom do I show them, since most of the time we’re in dusty, outdoor conditions that should be avoided when doing this procedure. Since I had a little time on my hands here in Costa Rica and a nice clean hotel room to work from, I decided to create this How To Video on cleaning your sensor. Hope this answers the question for those of you who are interested. Let me know if you have any questions by dropping me a note on the Blog.

Here’s the first installment of Photo Tips From The Field. This will be a regular feature here on the Corkboard/Blog where I share with our readers new ideas, photo accessories, photography tips and tricks etc. This first video was shot on my recent trip to Kenya, Africa, where a good friend of mine, Joel Kleiner, introduced me to a new product I really appreciated. It’s the  Don Zeck Lens Cap for the Nikon 200-400 Zoom and other large Nikkor Lenes. I also had  chance to use Sandisk’s new Extreme Pro SD Card that writes at 95mbs! What a difference that card made when shooting the Nikon D7000 that has a rather small 10 frame buffer when shooting in RAW mode. If your paying attention to the video, you’ll notice a technical gaff where I mention the Sandisk Extreme Pro writes at 96mbs when in reality it is 95mbs. Sorry about that, but it wasn’t enough to reshoot the whole video. Let me mow if you have an questions and feel free to pass this around to your social networks. We always love to hear from our readers.