Holiday Sale and Gift Guide for Nature Photographers

Looking for the ultimate gift for your favorite photographer? Or are you looking for the ultimate gift for yourself? Look no further! Here’s a list of some of my favorite photo equipment and related stuff. And while it may be true that gear won’t make you any better as a photographer, acquiring new toys is always fun! I’ve broken this into two categories: Education and Gear.

Education: Looking to learn more about the art of nature photography? Here are some helpful resources.

My Creative Vision ebooks and video tutorials are always a great virtual stocking stuffer, but now for this month only ALL ITEMS IN MY ESTORE ARE ON SALE! Enjoy 15% off using the following coupon code, which is available to my blog readers; Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ fans; and people on my monthly email newsletter list. Use code HOLIDAY1 to receive your discount! Some of my personal favorites in the store include the following:

Chasing the Light: the book that started it all!

Patagonia Behind the Lens: 20 of my favorite images from the epic Patagonia region of South America.

Creative Digital Processing Videos Series 1 and 2: Easy to follow video tutorials that will help you bring your digital images to new heights!

Looking for the best way to give my e-products to someone else? Here’s a simple idea: buy a high capacity flash drive, load some ebooks and videos on the drive, and then put the drive in a ridiculously big box. You’re sure to get a few chuckles when that special someone unwraps their gift.

Another great resource for nature photographers is The Ultimate Guide to Digital Nature Photography. I’m one of the lead authors and designer of this beautiful book, featuring images from me and the (unfortunately now defunct) Mountain Trail Photo team. A few other books I recommend include Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Masters by Michael Frye and National Audubon Society Guide to Landscape Photography by Tim Fitzharris.

Looking for a great way to read your new ebooks? Of course, you can’t go wrong with an Apple iPad 2 Tablet. The new Kindle Fire also looks promising. Of course, I bring my Kindle 3G with me everywhere, even into the backcountry, so I always have something to read when waiting for the light.

Gear: Here’s a list of some of my favorite pieces of equipment, although some of them make awkward stocking stuffers!

One of my all-time favorite lenses is the Nikon AF-S Zoom Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED AF Lens. For Nikon users, you’re ready to go right out of the box, but Canon users need the Novoflex EOS/NIK-NT Lens Adapter for Nikon G Type Lenses to Canon EOS DSLR Cameras. Warning: this lens is a beast, and filters are a pain because of the bulbous front end. I recommend the LEE¤Filters SW150 Filter Holder Kit, which was specifically designed for this lens.

Another great lens is the Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS USM AF Lens. It is very sharp and covers a useful zoom range. Looking for a cheaper, all-in-one solution for crop sensor cameras? Try the Tamron AF18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD AF Lens for Canon or the Tamron AF18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD AF Lens for Nikon. This little lens shows good quality and versatility, and is perfect for the budget photographer on the go.

Tripods are critical to getting sharp photos. I don’t leave home without my rock steady Gitzo GT2540FL Series 2 Safari 4-Section Carbon Fiber Tripod – Long or my smaller Gitzo Ocean Traveler 4-Section Carbon Fiber Tripod with Ballhead Kit. Both offer Ocean Lock which is designed to keep water and grit out of your tripod and to prevent the legs from sticking when wet.

Looking for something a little bit cheaper but that still performs well? Try the Vanguard Alta Pro 284 CT Carbon Fiber Tripod, a nice, lightweight, highly versatile tripod that I sometimes use.

Although new digital cameras with virtual horizons might soon make these obsolete, a good bubble level still comes in handy for older camera models. I recommend the LensCoat 3 Axis Hot Shoe Bubble Level for keeping your horizons straight. Because there’s nothing worse than having to fix a crooked horizon!

I’m a big fan of L-brackets, which allow you to easily switch from horizontal to vertical orientation without the need to flop your ballhead over. I use the Kirk BL-5DII L-Bracket for Canon 5D MarkII; you should have little problem finding a Kirk bracket for your specific camera model.

Speaking of ballheads, I recommend the Acratech GV2 Ballhead/Gimbal Head, which is a great lightweight ballhead that does double-duty as a gimbal style head for wildlife photography.

I hope you find this list helpful. Happy Holidays!

More From Ian Plant Dreamscapes

About Ian Plant (275 Posts)

Ian Plant's photographs and instructional articles have appeared in a number of books, calendars, and magazines, including Outdoor Photographer and Popular Photography. Ian writes a regular blog column for Outdoor Photographer online, and he is the author of numerous instructional eBooks and digital processing tutorials. Ian leads several photo tours each year.

Tags: equipment

9 Comments

Freddy December 1, 2011 at 12:02 pm

Trying to view your free video tutorials, your check out process leads me to invalid download links.
Would like to check those out before diving into the paid ones.
Ian December 1, 2011 at 12:08 pm

Hi Freddy, I just tried all the links and they are working fine. You might have encountered a temporary server glitch, try again in a few minutes.
Bob December 1, 2011 at 1:32 pm

cool
Jeanette December 1, 2011 at 3:36 pm

Ian,
Thank You for your great videos and ebooks! Downloads are easy and I have never had a problem.

Jeanette
Rebecca Andrew December 9, 2011 at 10:38 am

Ian,

My five year old Dell PC simply cannot handle photo processing using Lightroom and Photoshop CS5 without frequently crashing. Do you have a computer set up you can recommend?

Thanks,
Becky
- Ian December 14, 2011 at 8:14 pm
  
  Hi Becky, computer recommendations are hard to make, as there are so many options. Most new PCs today should be able to handle Lightroom and CS5 fairly well, though I recommend 4GB of RAM to make sure things run smooth.
yinan December 13, 2011 at 10:57 am

Ian,

I was trying purchase the videos by using the code HOLIDAY1 to get a discount, but it get a invalide discount code message, is that ok?
Ian December 13, 2011 at 11:20 am

Check to see if the discount was already applied – it might already be applied automatically if you previously purchased something using the code.
- yinan December 14, 2011 at 7:40 am
  
  yes, you are right, the discount is already applied by default. Thank you, and I just bought some videos and the ebook chasing the light. Greate job, and thanks again.