Since I take a lot of night shots and HDR sets (which require 3 photos from the same perspective) I need to shoot from a steady spot, but tripods are not always the easiest accessories to carry around. The nice thing about the Joby Gorillapod is that you can fold it and take it with you. When I first read the reviews about it I was skeptical about whether or not it would be able to handle the weight of a Nikon D50 SLR with a lens, but it’s able to hold it fairly well – so if you have the lighter Nikon D40 or anything about that size, you should be ok.

Last week I was able to curl the gorillpod into my cargo shorts for an evening out in St. Petersburg. It was a little bulky, but manageable. If you’re a woman (or European) and have a purse, then it’s probably even better.

You can fold the joby gorillapod into many shapes and either use it as a low-lying tripod or you can curl it around different objects such as fences. It’s not the steadiest thing around, but it does help quite a bit to get a nicely focused shot (especially if you put it on a timer). It also comes with a locking mechanism that lets you lock the head so you don’t accidentally slip the camera off.

Here are some photos I’ve taken while having my camera positioned on the Gorillapod SLR:

1) HDR on the sand, 3 shots while holding it with my hand

2) Wrapped around a balcony rail, on a timer – about 10 seconds

3) Sitting on a bar, holding it by hand for – about 5 seconds

4) Sitting on a concrete slab, holding it by hand

If you want other people’s opinions, you can read the Amazon reviews of the Gorillapods here:

• Basic Gorillapod ($12)
• SLR Gorillapod ($28)
• SLR Zoom Gorillapod ($45)

A UV filter is one of the cheapest and most useful accessories you can buy. After a while you won’t even think about it. I have mine on 90% of the time. It usually only adds a fraction of an inch to your lens and absorbs any abuse you might put your camera through. Replacing a $15 UV filter is far cheaper than replacing a $500 lens.

One thing to remember (which I myself tend to forget) is to take the UV filter off for night shots. When the filter is off, take extra care to avoid contact with the lens. If you leave the UV filter on, you’ll get “green ghosts” in your shots like this:

… or glare off bright lights like this:

Worse yet, you often won’t realize you’ve ruined your night shots until after you see them on your computer. Any photos of the moon are especially susceptible to this. I’ve read that more expensive multi-coated UV filters may not produce these ghosting effects but I have not been able to verify this myself.

Photo credit: Rowen Atkison