The new toy

Sometime last week Cari and I went to the mall. At one point, I walked through Radio Shack to see if there were any gadgets that I couldn't live without. Amazingly, I found one! It's a small tripod that will hold my camera or my flash. But this isn't just another tripod. This one has bendable legs. I explained to Cari how I just couldn't possibly take decent pictures without a bendable tripod.

Once we got to the car, I tore open the package and wrapped it around the steering wheel with my flash as a test. AWESOME!

Our family trip to the park this past weekend gave me my first chance to use the new tripod. We found a place near the water to stop and take some photos. I set up the camera on the side of a hill surrounded with foliage. I wanted to set up my flash off to the side of the shot to light our faces. There wasn't a tall rock to balance the flash on. I didn't see any other options to support the flash in position, so I grabbed my new toy out of the bag. After a few moments, I had my flash in position and aimed for the portrait. Cari actually was impressed that I "needed" that bendy tripod. She took a picture of it in place:
It worked perfectly. It's not that big, so I have now included it in my gear to take on all trips.

Here's a photo with no flash:
And the same pose taken with the flash, tied to a tree:
I told you I had to have it.