Canon Pro 90 IS, handheld 7mm at f8 1/80 second at ISO 100

Sinking down to its level

Upon discovering a river cooter (Chrysemys concinna) finishing off her nest at the edge of a pond near where I used to live, I was challenged to get an image that was something other than, "Look, a turtle." That's where the Pro 90 came in handy, since it has a flip-out LCD screen that angles through 180 degrees in two planes. It was easy to put the camera practically on the ground while not having to be down there myself, and even easier to stay with her as she scrambled off. Among the shots I got was this one of her looming out of the jungle and ready to devour Tokyo.

There were a lot of things I didn't like about the Pro 90, including a very spastic autofocus system (regardless of the subject in the center of the viewfinder, it has a tendency to focus on the background) and very limited long exposure options and aperture values. But it had a couple of strengths, and not having to be held up to my eye was one of them.