offs from China, despite their lower
price, as these are useless. Ensure the
product is made in Germany, as only
these have the requisite stickiness of the
tool as well as the paper it’s blotted on.
Always make sure your lens is covered
when traveling by car. In Tanzania, I
used my LensCoat soft lens cap on my
AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR,
and it worked great to keep my front
glass element dust-free. Have a micro-
fiber cloth handy to quickly remove dust
during shooting sessions. Try to change
lenses as infrequently as possible, dedi-
cating one camera body to one lens and
another to a different lens.
Make It Work
What I have learned from traveling many
bumpy roads from Tanzania to Brazil with
my rig at the ready beside me is that the
constant jostling of a vehicle can jar things
loose when your camera is connected to
the lens. Keep in mind that screws can also
come loose even when unattached gear is
subjected to movement in a roller bag or
on an airplane. On several occasions, I’ve
had my camera’s autofocus fail because
screws loosened on the camera, the lens
or the teleconverter, resulting in a faulty
connection. I’ve missed some critical shots
before I figured it out or had the opportunity
to tighten the screws. This did happen on
my recent trip, and my friend Todd Gus-
tafson helped me get the screws tightened
while also recommending a couple of prod-
ucts. From now on, I’ll be traveling with
a small screwdriver set and checking the
tightness of all screws regularly. Screw-
driver sets can be purchased on the cheap
at a hardware store or you can go for quality
and longevity by traveling with a Wiha or
Micro-Tools set, which are made of hard-
ened steel. As always, when tightening a
screw, make sure not to overtighten so as
not to strip the head of the screw.
If you’re consistently struggling with
loosening screws, a product that may come
in handy is Loctite Blue 242 Threadlocker.
Using the pointy end of a toothpick, apply
a tiny dot over the last two or three threads
under the head, and then screw it in tight.
This should prevent loosening of screws
caused by vibration. As a note of caution,avoid the Red or Green versions of Loc-
tite, as they’re more permanent, and the
screws will have to be drilled out if the
lens needs repair! Failing all else, a small
dab of nail polish on the screw head can
be an emergency substitute for Loctite.
Finally, bring duct tape, always. Don’t
want to bring a whole roll? Wrap a wad
of tape around a pencil. In an emer-
gency—such as a broken tripod—duct
tape can be a lifesaver. If traveling with
a tripod, a variety of Allen wrenches are
also an essential tool to bring with you.
In sum, when traveling to Africa or other
remote destinations where the wild things
roam, be prepared for you and your gear to
get knocked around. The photos you return
with will be worth the effort needed to keep
your gear safe and functional. opTo see more of Melissa Groo’s pho-
tography and learn about workshop
opportunities, visit melissagroo.com.Female leopard prowls the grasslands
of the Serengeti, Tanzania.outdoorphotographer.com May 2019 35