Migration Magic in Nebraska Skies

What do you picture when someone mentions rural Nebraska?  For me, it was classic American scenes of small-town life and farmhouses along dusty roads.  What I didn’t picture was a birder’s paradise.  

Then I learned that, every spring, hundreds of thousands of sandhill cranes funnel through western Nebraska in one of the world’s last great migrations.  Feeling like I stumbled on a secret that only locals and die-hard birders know about, I had to go see for myself.

Is it really a secret if 700,000 of your (feathered) friends already know about it?

Every year between mid-February and mid-April, most of the world’s sandhill crane population migrates north from their wintering grounds in southern U.S. and northern Mexico through a narrow bottle-neck in Nebraska’s Platte River Valley.  There, the cranes stop to recharge for a few weeks before tackling the next long leg of their trip. By summer, they’ll be in Canada, Alaska and even Siberia for their breeding season.

When I visited in late March, there were almost 700,000 sandhill cranes estimated to be in the Platte River Valley!   

In the early morning, sandhill cranes take off in big waves from the Platte River. © 2021 Elizabeth Acevedo.

Action-packed times on the Platte River

Around sunset, huge groups of cranes start arriving in wave after wave, landing in the Platte’s shallow areas to spend the night. By the time they settle in, tens of thousands of cranes can be in just one spot. Where we were on the river, it was estimated that about 50,000 cranes landed for the night.

If nothing disturbs them, they’ll rest there together until the morning when they head off to neighboring corn fields to feed. The morning takeoff can happen gradually in small groups or all at once in one giant, jaw-dropping exodus.

Ready to get their day started, sandhill cranes leave in a group lift off from the Platte River. © 2021 Elizabeth Acevedo.

Where was I during all this drama? Hiding out in photo blinds

It’s a dream for a wildlife photographer or bird lover to have a front row view as tens of thousands of sandhill cranes land on the river at sunset and fly off around sunrise. But the nightly roost is when the cranes get some much needed rest. They are wary and easily scared off by humans, which is understandable as this is the only place on their migration route where they aren’t hunted. So, to have a great view of sandhill cranes on the river without disrupting their rest time, we got into photo blinds. 

Blind at Crane Trust on Platte River. © 2021 Elizabeth Acevedo.

Blind at Rowe Sanctuary on Platte River. © 2021 Elizabeth Acevedo.

Two of the main conservation organizations, Iain Nicholson Audubon Center at Rowe Sanctuary and Crane Trust, offer photo or viewing blinds on the banks of the Platte River.   For our small group tour with Summit Workshops (which I highly recommend!), our leaders Michael Forsberg and Chris Steppig reserved blinds for us to use in the mornings and evenings.

With years of experience photographing cranes, Mike and Chris shared a ton of crane knowledge with us, including how to keep a low profile in the blinds. In the afternoon, we got there long before the cranes began flying in and we snuck out in darkness after they had settled on the river. The morning routine was the same, just in reverse. We wore dark or muted colors, stayed quiet in the blind on the trails and, after dark, used only red light.

I don’t doubt that the cranes were aware of the bunch of humans staring out at them from wooden boxes. But, by doing our best to lay low, they weren’t bothered by us, at least not enough to leave the river.

Those country roads that I expected … led to more cranes. 

Daytime was for driving around small country roads to see a different part of crane life. The corn fields are where the birds build up their reserves by feeding on old grain left from last season’s crops, insects and even small mammals. Plus, they hang out with their families and friends, teach their young, and do their famous crane dances to show off for their mates and rivals.

Sandhill cranes dancing in the Nebraska corn fields. © 2021 Elizabeth Acevedo.

The quiet time sitting in my car surrounded by sprawling farmland just watching the cranes go about their day had a peaceful charm that I liked just as much as the more dramatic sunsets and sunrises on the river.

Young sandhill crane foraging in corn field. © 2021 Elizabeth Acevedo.

Backroad near Kearney, Nebraska (shot on iPhone). © 2021 Elizabeth Acevedo.

Sandhill cranes flying over Nebraska farmland in morning light. © 2021 Elizabeth Acevedo.

So if you’ve been dreaming of witnessing one of the world’s great wildlife migrations, put Nebraska on your short list of places to visit!

Photography Exercise: Reconnect with Light

Have you ever become so focused on a creative goal that you develop tunnel vision and find yourself neglecting some of the photography fundamentals? That was where I recently found myself so I came up with a photography exercise to reset my brain. If you are looking to hit the restart button on your photography practice, you might want to give this a try too!

losing sight of photography’s core elements

A few years back, I fell unexpectedly in love with the wonderful but challenging genre of bird photography and became a little obsessed with the mastering the basics, i.e., finding the bird, getting it in the frame and locking in focus.  I became so single-minded in trying to accomplish those things that I started to let the core elements of any style of photography — light and composition — slip way down on my priority list. 

As I gained more experience with bird and wildlife photography, light and composition came back into the mix somewhat. But they still were not key players. It won’t be a big surprise when I tell you that I regularly came back from the field unsatisfied with my photos. Eventually, I forced myself to slow down, study my body of work, and consider why I felt underwhelmed by certain shoots. It finally became clear. I had been neglecting the most basic foundation of a beautiful photograph — light.

Composition could have used some attention too but, really, it was light that had all but fallen out of my consciousness. I used light only in the most utilitarian way and barely even considered it as a creative element. It may sound crazy to neglect something so basic. But my mind was stuck in a loop: find the bird, get it frame, lock focus, repeat. Embarrassing as it is to admit, that obsessive pattern lasted for YEARS! In case you have experienced anything similar, I wanted to share some of the exercises that I’ve done to shake out of that pattern and open up my creativity.

Self-Assignments CAN Help You reset your approach to making photographs

Determined to reconnect with the concept of light, I made myself go out with the camera — not at the fabulous times of morning or evening when good light comes easy, but in the middle of the day when light is notoriously harsh and uninspiring. My task was to follow the light and make a picture out of whatever subject I could find from there. On what looked like a pretty unremarkable stretch of a local nature trail, I focused on letting my eyes fall on any spot that had interesting light. It took a little while to get in the groove but, once I relaxed into the process, I started seeing things I would have otherwise missed. The images below are a few that I made while doing this exercise.

All photographs © 2020 Elizabeth Acevedo

Even though I later thought of ways that I could have executed the ant and red flower photos better, they were a success to me though because the light led me to them and I relaxed into the process enough to actually see the tiny scene in front of me. The photo on the bottom right has a little sci-fi vibe to me, which is fun and not like anything else I have made in the past.

If you want to see more, I put together a short YouTube video I put together right after doing the exercise.

Reconnecting with light is a key goal that I keep in the front of my mind when I’m doing nature and wildlife photography these days. And when I start falling back into old habits - oh yea, it still happens! — I know that I just need to slow down and forget everything else until the light tells me where to go.

Takeaway Photo Tip: let One Fundamental photography Element guide Your field Session

The broader lesson is that, whenever you start to feel dissatisfied with your photographs, first, step back and consider whether you might be neglecting one of the fundamental photography elements — light, composition, or moment. If you have been (or even if you can’t put your finger on what’s missing), grab your camera, head out the door, and let one specific element lead you for an entire photo session. I suspect that you’ll be happily surprised with the results. At minimum though, I bet you will have a lot of fun just shaking up your process!

Check out this post for another self-assignment designed to break up your photography routine and start seeing more creatively again.

Want more photography inspiration? Sign up for the newsletter in the box below and I’ll share future posts about other creativity boosting ideas and other photography tips.

© 2020 Elizabeth Acevedo. All rights reserved.

Tamron 150-600mm G2 vs Canon 100-400mm L II Lens for bird photography

WHEN IS IT TIME FOR A NEW LENS?

Searching for a wildlife lens with more reach that won’t break the bank is a common quest for us bird and wildlife photographers.  That is exactly why, even though I love my Canon 100-400mm L II, I decided to try out the Tamron 150-600mm G2.

Nearly all of my bird and wildlife photographs have been made on the Canon 100-400mm.  It has been a fantastic lens with a lot of flexibility.  There are times though, especially with small birds, when 400mm just doesn’t get me close enough.

Using a teleconverter has been helpful to add some reach. The problems is that it works well in bright lighting conditions but is less than ideal in low light settings.  Adding a 1.4x teleconverter effectively transforms a 400mm f/5.6 into a 560mm f/8. That means the light coming into your camera is reduced by one stop.  If I’m photographing birds early in the morning or in the late afternoon when the light often is the prettiest, I want the ability to let the most light possible into my camera and the teleconverter hinders that.  I’ve also found that the autofocus becomes sluggish in low light when the teleconverter is on, tripping up some bird-in-flight opportunities. 

Most of time, if I cannot create a photo that I have envisioned, it is because I haven’t learned a particular skill yet or am not being imaginative enough in my approach. Every so often though, there are times that I hit the limits of my current camera gear. That is the time to consider adding or upgrading a piece of gear. So I started researching lenses, hoping to find one that gives me more reach at a reasonable price.  The Tamron 150-600mm G2 lens became a contender. 

As far as long lenses go, the 150-600mm G2 is very reasonably priced, currently around $1,400.  The Canon 100-400 II is priced about $700 higher, at $2,100, which is still in the “mid-priced” range for telephoto lenses. The fact that the Canon costs significantly more than the Tamron might make the comparison seem a little unfair.  But I have seen excellent quality images from talented photographers using the Tamron so it was worth a try.   

I also was interested in the Tamron because, like the Canon, it is relatively light and easy-to-pack for a long telephoto lens. Weight is important to me because I prefer to handhold whenever possible when I photograph birds.  I also want as much portability as possible when traveling, especially on planes.  The Tamron is listed at 4.4 lbs and the Canon is listed at 3.6 pounds.  Although the Tamron is a little bit longer than the Canon, it fits well in my medium-sized, 30L camera backpack.

TRYING OUT THE TAMRON 150-600MM G2.

I rented the Tamron for a week and set out looking for birds here in southeast Louisiana.  By the way, I am not a very techie person so this isn’t that kind of review.  These are just my personal experiences using the Tamron G2 and my thoughts on how it performed and any relevant differences that I noticed between it and the 100-400mm.  

The week that I had the Tamron was exceptionally gray and foggy for southeast Louisiana. One morning, I headed over to a small beach on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, looking for some shorebirds.  I was happy to find the least sandpiper and greater yellowlegs that you see in the photos below hanging out at the water’s edge. 

Least sandpiper, photographed with Tamron 150-600mm G2 at 600mm f/6.3.

Greater yellowlegs, photographed with Tamron 150-600mm G2 at 600mm f/6.3.

[Photo tip: if you are new to bird photography, try positioning yourself low so that you are at the bird’s eye level, which often creates a nice, intimate perspective.]  

There also were common loons on the lake, calling from behind the dense fog bank but they stayed hidden for the most part.  In my YouTube video about my week using the Tamron, you can hear the loons during the beach segment.  

I switched to the Canon to try to get some photos in the same conditions so I could do more of a side-by-side comparison but that plan flopped.  The shorebirds had flown off and did not return. The loons drifted even further into the fog. In other words, I had lost my subjects.  

TAMRON 150-600mm G2 vs CANON 100-400mm II for BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY: In this video, I compare the Tamron 150-600mm G2 lens with the Canon 100-400mm II lens. Havin...

The photos below are from the previous morning when I used the Canon 100-400 to photograph more cooperative loons and a great blue heron in the rain at a different spot along the lake.

Common loon in the rain, photographed with Canon 100-400 II at 400mm f/7.1.

Great blue heron in the rain, photographed with Canon 100-400mm II at 400mm f/6.3.

If you want to look through more images made with the Canon 100-400mm II, the photos on the Birds, Botswana wildlife (except the elephant spraying dust) and Osa wildlife galleries on my website are made with that lens. Here is one example.

Ruby-crowned kinglet perched on autumn cypress tree branch, photographed with the Canon 100-400 II at 400mm f/5.6.

A few performance differences between Tamron 150-600 G2 and Canon 100-400 II caught my attention.  

I found that the Tamron has a slight lag in autofocus compared to the Canon.  The Tamron is certainly fast and works well. It is just that the Canon’s autofocus is super-fast.  Because small, quick-moving birds – think warblers and gnatcatchers – are one of my main interests and I often use autofocus to track them, I noticed the minor difference.  If your thing is mammals or other slower moving animals, you might not notice it all.  All that said, throughout the week, I was able to adjust my shooting to accommodate for the autofocus timing on the Tamron and made some images that I really liked, like the eastern bluebird photo at the top of this post.   

Another difference was that, in my experience with the two lenses, the Canon is a bit sharper than the Tamron.  I did not do an on-tripod, side-by-side comparison of a static subject, which would offer more accurate insight into the lenses’ sharpness.  These are just my takeaways from using both lenses out in the field in the way that I normally do. 

And to be fair, there are a lot of variables, usually associated with user error, that can affect how sharp our images are.  Because I like to hand-hold my camera and lens when photographing birds, my comfort and familiarity with the 100-400mm, which I’ve used for years, may have led to me getting sharper images with it than I did with the Tamron, which I used only for a week.  That said, I did shoot with the Tamron a lot that week and felt pretty confident that I was seeing a genuine, albeit slight, sharpness difference.  

The last, very minor issue was that I saw some vignetting (darkening around the corners of the image) with the Tamron, particularly at 600mm at the widest aperture, as you can see in the example below.  I really don’t knock the Tamron for it because, from what I have read, a little bit of vignetting is common with most super telephoto lenses.  I very rarely see vignetting with the Canon but it then only goes to 400mm.  Plus, a vignette is really easy to fix in post-production with Lightroom or Photoshop, which I ultimately did with the photo below.  

Note the vignette (darkening around edges of frame). Least sandpiper preening on beach, photographed with Tamron 150-600mm G2 at 600mm f/6.3.

If I didn’t own the Canon already, which one would I buy? It depends.

Despite the minor differences I just discussed, in my opinion, both are great lenses and I would be happy to use either one.  

If affordability is key, the Tamron would be the better choice.  The $700 price difference is significant.  Please don’t let my comments here make you doubt the Tamron’s quality. If. you don’t watch him already, check out Morten Hilmer’s YouTube channel. He is an amazing wildlife photographer who uses the Tamron 150-600mm G2 (along with a high-end 600mm prime and other lenses) to make stunning images, like in his episode photographing mountain hares in the snow with the Tamron.

If cost isn’t the deciding factor and you can afford either lens, my personal preference would be the Canon 100-400mm L II.  Because I primarily photograph birds these days, including birds in flight, the slightly faster autofocus and sharpness make the Canon the lens for me.  Even though it would be very nice to have the extra reach of 600mm, I use a full-frame 30.4 megapixel camera and don’t mind cropping my images some to compensate for less reach. 

Will I switch to the Tamron 150-600mm from the Canon 100-400mm? No.

My situation probably is a little unusual because I am considering the Tamron while already owning the Canon.  Even with the extra bump to 600mm that the Tamron provides, I plan to keep the 100-400mm until I’m ready to invest in a prime (more on that below).   

What about the Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Sport? I haven’t tried it.

Sigma also has a 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Sport but I can’t comment on it because I haven’t tried it.  It is priced at about $1,850, making closer to the Canon 100-400 II’s price.  The Sigma is listed as weighing 6.29 lbs.  For me, that is a significant bump up from the Canon’s 3.6 lbs.  Everyone will have a unique view as to how much is too much weight, but, if I am going to carry that much more weight and need to use a tripod more often, my attention shifts over to prime lenses.  

If the few extra pounds isn’t an issue for you, I have read good things about the Sigma 150-600mm’s quality and it might be a lens you want to consider. 

Finally, whAT ABOUT A big prime lens? I am dreaming and scheming to get one.

As I just mentioned, if I’m going to work with a heavier kit, I want it to be worth it.  What “worth it” means will be different for each of us.  For me, it means gaining the advantages of a prime telephoto lens, such as improved image quality, wider maximum aperture, and better performance with teleconverters. 

The Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM Sport for Canon weighs about 7.3 lbs.  A prime with a maximum aperture of f/4, it would give me enough of a boost in quality and light to justify the extra weight and price, which I will get to in a second.  Plus, adding a 1.4x or 2x teleconverter has much more appeal when the result would be 700mm at f/5.6 or 1000mm at f/8.

But we are talking about a major jump in price from the zoom lenses just discussed.  And in this price tier, affordability becomes a huge factor for me.  The Sigma 500mm Sport sells for about $6,000 new. Yikes! The Canon 500mm f/4 L II is even lighter, weighing 7.0 lbs, and sells for $9,000 new. Bigger yikes!!  Finding a used version of either lens will lower the price some but, if the lens is in good condition, it still is a serious investment.

I’ve used the Sigma 500mm Sport and liked it a lot.  I have not used the Canon 500mm II but have no doubt that it is a beautiful lens.  Earlier this year, I rented the dream lens -- the Canon 600mm III -- and it lives up to the hype. It is a lightweight, absolutely gorgeous lens.  With a purchase price of $13,000 new, renting the 600mm did not leave me burning with unrequited love because buying it is not even vague option for me.  A used 500mm II is still out of reach for me, although getting closer to the realm of possibility.  My plan at the moment is to resist even trying the Canon 500mm (don’t want the temptation), maintain my happy thoughts about the lower-priced, great quality Sigma, and find a good used version of that when I am ready to buy.  

Wow! That was a lot of lens talk! I hope it helps if you are trying to figure out which wildlife and bird photography lens is best for you.

Spanish moss at sunset in Mandeville, Louisiana, photographed with Tamron 150-600mm at 600mm f/9.0.

Tufted titmouse eating an acorn seed, photographed with Tamron 150-600mm G2 at 600mm f/7.1.

Blue-headed vireo singing its beautiful song, photographed with Tamron 150-600mm G2 at 600mm f/7.1.

All images © Elizabeth Acevedo and may not be used without prior written permission. All rights reserved.

The F-Stop Kashmir UL - my favorite photo backpack

Photo credit: © 2018 Michael D. Brown

Update - August 2020: I have had plenty of opportunities to travel with the Kashmir UL now, and I still love it. Like any camera bag, it isn’t perfect but is the best fit that I have found so far for my frame and lets me carry a lot of heavy gear with relative ease. Read on for more details and the other packs I tried …

I admit that I am a little bit obsessed with finding the perfect camera backpack. Even though I know it does not exist, the search is SO fun! 

For years, I used an older model Lowepro side-entry backpack that was great for short photography outings but lacked the capacity needed for longer photo trips. What I really liked about that pack though was how well it fit my back. Later, I added the F-Stop Ajna 40 liter backpack, which I like a lot and easily holds what I need.  But the Ajna is not my go-to bag because, although it is pretty comfortable when carrying a lot of weight, I find it to be a little too tall for my frame (I’m just shy of 5’4”).

In this picture, the Ajna’s top compartment is empty but you can see the height of the backpack frame reaches well above my neck. The frame is great when just carrying the bag, but it can get in the way if I try to take photos with the pack on and I want to have the option to do that, especially when traveling.

A recent solo trip to Iceland gave me a reason to try to find the medium-sized backpack missing from my stash.  I tried out the F-Stop Kashmir UL (ultra-light), which is designed for female photographers but holds only 30 liters, the Lowepro Protactic 450 AW, a medium pack with a completely different design, and kept the Ajna (40 liter capacity) in the running.

These were the contenders …

The F-Stop Kashmir UL (ultra-light, 30L), the Lowepro Protactic 450 AW, and the F-Stop Ajna (40L capacity) in side-by-side view.

And I did a little test packing …

Kashmir, Protactic 450AW, Ajna camera bags and most of the gear I intended to bring. I also added two external hard drives and a laptop.

Gear packed into the Ajna with the removable large slope ICU (internal camera unit).

After testing the bags locally, the Lowepro was out of the running.  It is a really nice camera bag but, for me, the straps were not as comfortable as the other two bags, especially when it was packed full.  Also, I often have my camera set up with a Canon 100-400ii with a tripod collar and sometimes a L-bracket.  It was a bit of a struggle taking that configuration in and out of the bag from the top or side access points. 

Between the two F-Stop bags, for Iceland, I opted to try the Kashmir with the removable large slope ICU, which is inside the Ajna bag in the photos above. The Kashmir’s minimal weight and better fit won me over.  I did worry that its smaller capacity would be a problem.  In test packing, jamming the big ICU into it left only a little room for other travel or field items, like a rain jacket, gloves, snacks, etc.  Also, the Kashmir has surprisingly few zipped pockets, which is a drawback.   

But I was worrying for nothing because the Kashmir worked really well on my trip. 

Although its shoulder straps were slightly less hearty as those on the Ajna, I found the Kashmir to be incredibly comfortable when packed to the brim with heavy gear.  I likely overloaded the pack using the full, large slope ICU, shoving all the little extra items in the top and outside pockets, and occasionally attaching a tripod to the outside straps, but it held up just fine.  

And I was so glad not to have one more ounce with me than I did.  I was traveling alone and wanted to manage my bags without too much struggle.  [That goal decidedly was NOT accomplished … oh, there were luggage struggles but not because of the Kashmir.]  Plus, because of its size, I didn’t feel as conspicuous walking through the airport or other public places as I did when I traveled with the Ajna in the past.  Although the Ajna probably fits a taller person perfectly, it looks a little bit like I might teeter over when its on my back filled with gear. I worried that look might make an airline employee question its weight and carry-on compatibility, especially when traveling on smaller planes. 

It is always hard to know whether a bag will work for your body and camera gear before you have it in hand.  But if you are smaller framed person – male or female, and are considering the Kashmir, I would give it a try.

ps - I purchased each of these bags myself and just wanted to share with you what I learned from trying them out.

ICELAND PACKING TIPS FOR EARLY SUMMER - I NEEDED EVERY LAYER

As much as I love to travel with good company, I really enjoy the freedom of venturing off on my own.  Even so, before a solo trip to a new destination, I always experience a little anxiety - the good kind of butterflies that come with doing something amazing but out of my comfort zone.  I tend to cope with that with excessive pre-trip planning, which also extends the fun of travel beyond the actual trip itself. 

So before heading to Iceland for the first time earlier this summer, I researched like crazy about what clothes to bring, what photography gear I might want with me, how to get good wifi connections and everything else that came to mind.  There are great blog posts and articles out there that provide excellent, more thorough tips than mine here.  But just in case it helps you prepare for a first trip to Iceland, I thought I would offer my main takeaways. 

*One caveat: I am a total baby when it comes to cold weather, even though I actually prefer it to sweltering hot temperatures, like what we have here in the Southeast U.S.  If you wear flip-flops and shorts in Seattle in December, you probably will pack pretty differently than I did.

The "bring layers and more layers" tip that I read everywhere was good advice.   

I visited Iceland in late May/early June and experienced a wide array of weather each day.  The actual temperatures were pretty mild while I was there, ranging from mid-30s to upper 70s, but the wind was biting a lot of the time. 

Merino wool or capilene base layers were my best friends.  I wore them almost everyday.  A wind- and water-proof jacket was another essential that I used everyday over a lightweight insulated jacket, along with a fleece-llned hat and gloves. 

There were windows of warm sunshine when all of the outer layers came off.  But the clouds or wind always returned and then everything went back on.  That was especially (and I guess obviously) true near the glaciers, which are beautiful sights scattered along the southern coast. 

Sunset breaks through clouds at Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon in Iceland. © 2018 Elizabeth Acevedo

A family hiking to the edge of Skaftafellsjokull glacier in southern Iceland’s Skaftafell National Park. © 2018 Elizabeth Acevedo

During the short trail walk to the glacier's edge in Skaftafell National Park, for example, the weather started off warm with blazing sun beating down and only the lightest layer was needed.  Once approaching the glacier though, the temperature changed to a serious wintery chill,  which meant the jackets, hat and gloves went on again. 

Even traveling in summer, seriously consider bringing a winter-weight coat. 

Okay, this is another layer point but is worth mentioning on its own.  I read articles suggesting that, by late May or early June, it might be possible to have only a light, insulated jacket (like The North Face thermoball I wore) and a water/wind proof jacket.  I definitely needed more.  I toiled over bringing a heavy coat as I really wanted to avoid the extra weight and hassle of more stuff.  But I decided to be realistic about my low tolerance for cold.  I ended up bringing and wearing a parka by The North Face -- water- and wind-proof, down and with a hood that I could (and did) pull over my hat -- more often than I expected.  I honestly would have been miserable at some places without it and it was easy enough just to leave it in the car when it was too much. 

Also, as a photographer, I tend to stand outside for long periods.  Even for non-photographers, the whole point of visiting Iceland is to experience the gorgeous landscape so it would be sad to rush through a location because you are too cold.   

Hiking shoes/boots – bring an extra pair. 

Along with a pair of hiking boots, I brought along a pair of Teva hiking shoes -- grippy sole and waterproof sneakers – that saved me when, about midway through my trip, the boots started giving me trouble.  I wasn't doing any serious hiking so it was surprising.  Maybe carrying the weight of the full camera pack made a difference, I don’t know.  Anyway, having the extra pair did the trick for my light, short hikes and was a trip saver. 

One last idea … 

 If you have a rental car and stay at a different inns every night, like I did, consider leaving the big suitcase in the trunk of the car.  Instead of dragging it in and out of the car every day, I left it in the trunk most nights and just grabbed my toiletries and a small packing cube with the clothes I’d need to sleep in and to wear the next day, plus my photo gear.  I reorganized the big suitcase every once in awhile and it worked out pretty well.

Images and content above are © Elizabeth Acevedo. All rights reserved.