Tripod

The last bit of essential kit is in the post.  A Manfrotto ART 075, with a 029 three way head.  "Sturdy" is a word that comes up when you google it.  Which it wants to be, the F weighs .86kg, so it must be 1.2 or 1.3 with the lens and finder... 

When it arrives, tomorrow, Inshallah, it'll be quite a moment.  When I was giving up most weekends to study for the MA, I had it in mind that if it helped me to step off the casual teaching merry-go-round and get a steady job, I'd get a decent camera and the gear to go with it.  Of course, conceptions change.  Back in 2007, I was dreaming of a D3.  And then there was the flirtation with Leica. 

And then it all clicked into place: collectible pro gear.  Which might as well be Nikon, (as that was my first SLR, back in the day).  And Manfrotto is so much classier than the chimper's favourite, Slik.  Voila.  Meanwhile, I've put the time in, learning to use all kinds of cheap old fashioned cameras, learning to intuit sunny 16, learning to develop...  School's out, now.  Time to start taking proper photos. 

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