I love adventuring. It's probably one of my favorite things in the world. Planned or spontaneous, I'm almost always sure to have a good time. And a large part of the fun for me is photographing as much of the adventure as possible. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, considering that most of the adventures I go on happen at night, things aren't always as simple as they seem. Thankfully, I've gotten unnaturally good at capturing this world in pitch-black conditions. And with the right tools, it's possible to get some truly unique results.
This photo, captured in slightly moonlit conditions in Sunset Cliffs, San Diego, demonstrates perfectly what our eyes are missing once the sun goes down. And it wouldn't have been possible were it not for my new trusty tripod, the Zipshot by Tamrac. Don't get me wrong, it's still somewhat cumbersome having to carry around a tripod. But this is the smallest and easiest tripod I've found so far, and with a little practice, it does a lot of what I need a tripod to do anyway. While I'm not going to pretend that taking photos at night is easy, or that managing a full kit with the smallest load possible isn't difficult, having enough practice can result in magnificent results. And at this point, I can only hope to further improve my skills and camera hardware in order to find the perfect balance between portability and function.