tiny screw lost somewhere inside your lens. I never thought I
needed these until I actually started disassembling lens parts to
change mounts and what-not, at which point they seemed
indispensible.
Threadlocker
A perennial problem is that the base of the ball head, which is
screwed on to the 3/8” screw in the tripod base loosens in the field.
This is very annoying when as you are flipping all the other levers
on the ball head, it suddenly starts to become loose. The only
solution I have found is to apply some ThreadLocker to the tripod
screw and the thread in the base of the Ball Head. Theadlocker
makes it very difficult (but not impossible) to remove the ball head
from the top of the tripod.
I leave my ball head permanently on the tripod so ThreadLocker is
a great help. No more need to worry about it coming loose until I
want it to.
Tools That Help
For older folks like myself, a good folding lawn chair is a big help,
also perhaps a good magnifying glass, because the mini-dramas
are at least as interesting as the more obvious larger ones. In my
case, I like to do macro (close-up) photography, so I have some
incredible lenses that let me see what is going on out there, up
close and personal.
And I don’t always go miles out in the brush. My own backyard is a
wonderful place to observe much of the time. There are also some
nice nature parks close to me that I can drive to and wander in. The
local cemetery is perhaps my favorite place of all. It has tons of
shrubs and flowers where all kinds of insects hang out.
Better yet, this cemetery ends in a wonderful open field with paths I
can take. If things are too wet, I can always walk along the mowed
edge of the cemetery and look into the field next to it.
And I do make special trips from time to time to one nature
sanctuary or another, and those are fun too, but most days it is very
local, like outside my back door. And the change in perspective
achieved through all this is gradual, slow. Letting the mind rest and
the compassion that naturally arises from what we see does not