Tagging along on a trip to Rhode Island (my first time here ever) with my friend Ricia, she took me to a wood carving exhibit held by the Audubon Society in Smithtown. It was just a 2 day trip, and I brought one small overnight bag, and one of my smaller camera bags, and that was it.
I made an extensive check list so I wouldn't forget anything, as there was no going back once we hit the road, so late (10:00 in the evening Friday night). And it was a smart decision on my part, as I had every thing I needed for each situation on the trip, except when we got here at the exhibit.
As I grabbed my camera out of my camera bag I looked inside it everywhere and slowly came to the dumbfounding conclusion that despite my thorough checklist I still managed to somehow forget to pack one of my many camera straps to put around my neck. And it was going to be a pain, lugging this camera lens combo around the exhibit for 2 hours of so. But what are you going to do but make the best of it anyway.
But as fortune would have it, as I followed Ricia into the retail section of the exhibit I looked around at the different bags of bird seed she was purchasing to take back with her. As I did I looked around at the different knick knacks they were selling and noticed a rather frail looking neck strap made of what looked like a long set of shoe laces. The package said it was good for binoculars and and other various things you'd hang around your neck, including DSLR's.
Now I highly doubted it could work with a combo as heavy as my D300 / 17-70mm combo, but it was only $11 and I was just barely desperate enough to try it. So following the picture instructions I slipped into it and hooked my camera into it, and to my surprise, it held my rig without feeling like it was going to snap at any second and send the whole thing crashing to the floor.
On top of that it was very comfortable, and after over an hour and a half. my neck felt great , and freed from fatigue I was able to get lots of shots I might not have without it. Now I have to say the way it is designed makes taking vertically composed shots, a bit of a nuisance, sometimes I had to unhook one of the straps for my freedom of movement. But by and large it was a godsend, and I was very happy with it, and it can fit into the tiniest of spots in your most packed camera bag. And I must say it made walking around the exhibit taking pictures an absolute joy.
