AGWAMO will capture your precious moments forever

I love to feature up and coming entrepreneurs in my blog. Today I have the privilege to showcase a company that is set up on talent and enthusiasm.

AGWAMO are a company that offers photographic services in the Madison, Wisconsin area. They are a family-run business of young and vibrant photographers that really capture the essence of their subject and bring it to life. They have a real connection to the world and people in and around where they live and you can see this shine through in their portfolio.

They produce high-quality photographs for many different purposes, including-

•          Portraits
•          Group photography
•          Event photography
•          Promotional photography
•          Images or commercial use
•          Videos for events or promotional campaigns

Whatever your photographic needs in the Great Lakes area (or further afield) then AGWAMO can really set you apart with stunning images. When you really want to capture a moment in time there is nothing like a photograph. To have a professionally taken photo to look back on for years to come is a real treat.

AGWAMO are a group of three young people from the same family that share an ability and passion for photography and getting the best images for their customers. Get in touch with them today and see how they can capture the moments that are precious to you.

Three weeks off work after an eye operation leaves hours for reading

-107

It's been a while since I've been on any of my blogs and the main reason for that is an eye operation I had last Thursday. It was quite a major operation, and the main recuperative source of recovery has been to lie face down for fifty minutes out of every hour, day and night for five days and five nights. Quite frankly, it's been horrible.

What it has allowed me to do is catch up in some television (what I would have done without the ipad, Sky Go and the iPlayer I'm not sure) and catch up on some reading.

I've had a stack of books I've been meaning to to read for a while now. It's not that I haven't been reading at all, it's just that I've been reading other things. I think at the rate I'm going (and I still have nearly 3 weeks off work left) that I'll have read everything I currently own before Christmas and I'll be ready to start again. It's not been management, marketing and estate agency books for a little while though, and I need to get back into that as a matter of urgency.

The books I've been reading have been fiction with a little 1970's non-fiction work thrown in-

Brewster by Mark Slouka

This was picked up at Poundland and I found it started slowly hit really fired up towards the middle and end as you could see the potential conclusions forming before the actual end. It's a coming-of-age book set in small-town USA and I'd recommend anyone to read it - there's a style in there that engages and brings in the reader.

The Runner by Christopher Reich

This is an old book I picked up at a charity book sale for 50p and it was gripping. It's set at the end of World War II and is about a US attorney trying to find and stop a German soldier from a plot to reignite the war in some way. The book moves along at a great pace and is something that's difficult to put down.

Strange Days Indeed by Francis Wheen

This is a summary of some of the stranger, more paranoical aspects if the 1970's and was interesting in parts - particularly for someone like me who missed most of it! The fanciful situations and correspondences that politicians got themselves into made it feel like a fiction work. Some of the things you just couldn't make up.

The conclusion of reading these books, particularly the fiction books, is that I want to add some fiction to my bookshelf on Amazon. To do this, I need to take some steps towards making my work more creative and I need to think about some simple areas of creative writing. To this end, I'm going to sign up for a course on creative writing - I looked into one offered for free by the Open University last year. And I'll look again at a course in this area. I've decided that I'll skip photography level 2 course this year. The course at the college I studied level 1 last year has already started and I can't drive there for at least another 2 weeks, the next nearest course is on a Tuesday night (my only late night at work) and the next nearest is £400 more expensive than the others.

After the creative writing course, I'll look to a marketing course that's starting in January and I'll be ready to go back to photography next school year.

A different way of presenting my work

-95

The internet, especially social media, seems to be full of headlines or strap lines such as-

You won't believe what happened next…

See what happened when…

Who would have thought what could…

And I like the fact that people have realised the world is more interesting with words. As someone who writes a lot, I think that simple, interesting stories can transform other parts of the internet, and the world around us. And it's got me thinking about how I present things such as my photography and Kindle books to the world. Adding my own story to the photographs or the books gives some context, some background and some interest to what I present.

I can now see photography as a story. "See what happened when one photographer…" is a far more interesting piece than just uploading photos to social media - no matter how good the photos are.

Presenting my books with the context behind them of how I ended up writing them will mean more to potential readers than telling them it's good or great or interesting or any other description I could come up with.

So, off the back of this enlightened thinking today, I'm looking at re-writing the blurb on Amazon for my two current books and adding to the introductions for both. I think that anyone browsing through Amazon and coming across my books would be more interested in whi ive written them than a synopsis of what the books are about.

So here goes. I write them because-

I'm sick of dealing with estate agents that aren't very good at their jobs.

I think I can do better.

I want to help people to help themselves.

I think that there is a better way than how houses are currently bought and sold.

I think that consumers should know more about the process.

Watch this space, and I'll update you on my progress.

Coastal daytime photography captures light and colour

-20

I spent the day at the coast with my family yesterday. In between the Father's Day celebrations, I got the time to take a few photographs and practise my skills in a lighter setting than I've been recently working-

In this first photo, I've tried to capture the essence of the fishing village Staithes. The village is quite unspoilt by modern life and us a balance between old-world fishermen and new-world Britain In Bloom entrant. This photo by the river, I think, captures some of both worlds.

Also in Staithes, I was drawn to the lines created by the telephone wires and how this framed the seagulls. I have studied leading lines in my photography and I always find the addition of lines to an image an interesting feature. When the lines are crossed, as in the image above I like the fact that they seem to converge to a common point.

This image has really come away from the darkness I often capture. I was taken by the lightness of the promenade in Whitby and the vibrant colours of the beach hits. I took photos in both directions, but having the sun project the shadows of the hut peaks onto the promenade lifted the image to another level.

Now I often avoid the sky as the main feature in a daytime photo because I find that it either looks washed out or the imagery is too dark. I've tried several different filters and I've yet to find much joy with them. In this shot, I didn't mind the buildings darkened a little and the large clouds made the photo for me.

This is my last photo of today's blog and it's Whitby Abbey. I've tried to fill the large gaps in the windows at the front of the Abbey with parts from the Abbey behind. I think that this adds depth and interest to the image.

London photographs on a trip away

-1

Another interesting time with my photography came about after carrying my camera around on a London day out with my family.

First stop was Wembley Stadium and I found that the tour offered a glimpse or two for photo opportunities.

I simply loved the framing of this photograph. The ground staff were busy getting the pitch ready for the FA Cup Final on Saturday, and the sign, lawn mower and hose felt a perfect staging for the rest of the photo. I liked the contrast between the large swathes of green and red and felt that in the bright sunlight, these balanced well.

I saw these shapes and lines in the library just outside of Wembley and I thought that the hundreds of lines in different directions really made a good composition. I tried to capture just this building, as it had enough going on without adding any other elements. And I think it sort of worked.

The next two have followed my theme of capturing scenes as the sun starts to set. I've tried to work hard with reducing the shutter speed and darkening the foreground, whilst retaining some clarity in the sky above. I think that the moody sky, and darkened backgrounds add to the gothic theatre of St Paul's Cathedral and continues my theme of silhouetting foregrounds and moody sunsetting skies.

Lastly on this trip is this dark image of the City of London. It wasn't much after the St. Paul's photographs, but the fact that I was now surrounded by tall buildings changed the light dramatically. This photo is in the same state it was taken and I like the metallic element in the photo - it adds a real depth to the scene.

More dusk photography and silhouetting

12

I've been out in the evening again and taken some photos as the darkness creeps in. It's a developing style, and I like the silhouette effect that it creates-

The first one is of the River Wear and of Durham Cathedral. It was at the start of the evenings photography session and the light was probably a little brighter than I'm used to trying these photographs at. I've ramped down the shutter speed to try to retain a silhouette effect in the centre of the photograph around the bridge and it's reflection.

I then moved around the city a little, looking as the light failed to create the effect I try to create-

This is Durham Castle from the Palace Green through the trees. The sky is just getting to where I want it, with there still enough light to highlight the passing clouds and add some interest to the sky. Outlines of buildings such as castles are really striking in silhouette, as is the Cathedral-

Again, there's enough in the sky to keep it interesting, and I've included the trees as a backdrop to the silhouette of the Carhedral. The flag flying at the top of the main spire seemed to top it all off for me.

Lastly, the light was getting really dim, so I switched from focussing on the sky to focussing on the city.

The last of the daylight is amplified by the reflection in the River Wear. I like the effect of the vast amounts of dark created by the silhouettes of the trees in the river banks. The fact that approximately a third of the photo is black, still allows the viewer a good idea of the composition of the photo.

Sunset photographs are giving me great pleasure

33

I've been going out in and around sunset in the local area recently and in really leased with the results. I've blogged before on using the golden hours to make the best of the sky and recent clear weather conditions have provided excellent opportunities to get photographs with great skies in that really set off the subject matter.

The first is a photograph of the River Wear close to a place called Sunderland Bridge in County Durham. I got there just before sunset and used the fading light to create the reflection in the river itself. I think that the oranges and blues work really well with the dark outlines created by the trees and river banks.

This is Brancepeth Castle a little later in the same night. The sky was so clear and so blue that I thought the shot created itself. The alignment of the castle, the sky and the moon just felt right and from there I only needed to set my shutter speed and aperture at a suitable level to keep the sky blue and the castle in a sort of silhouette form. The slight pinkiness and cloud forms at the bottom of the sky have added a bit of reality to whst cod have looked an unreal scene.

Another photograph of Brancepeth Castle here, and again I've tried to contrast the dark silhouette of the rigid, structured castle against the pastel blues and pinks of the sky. The trees, for me, add a sense of the size of the castle. Once again, I've looked at the angle of taking the photo so I've got the moon in the picture.

It's a continuing process and I'll share the results with you on here.

I'm running out of ways to stall moving the business forward!

69

The house and garden will be ready this week, the website is built and live, I'll have the office basically ready in terms of walls and flooring so I'm actually running out of ways to put off opening this estate agency! I've still got a lot to do, but as Spring arrives I can finally see the wood from the trees and start to put in place finalised plans for how I will go forward. I will admit to you, and to myself, that it won't happen in the timeframe of 245 days that I initially set out. I have booked a holiday for later this year, so the day I booked that was really the day I gave up in opening before the time of the holiday. As I will set up the agency on my own, with perhaps some help from my wife, then I will need to be present all the time for probably the first year. I have no qualms with this, in fact I'm looking forward to it, but I need to be in a position to do this. I have two young children and I currently cherish the free time I have with them and holiday are always part of this. I will probably try to get three holidays in between now and when the business opens to set myself up for that year.

My photography course finished yesterday with the exhibition of our work. It was a good night and we all enjoyed having people look over our photographs but this is now finished until September with level 2.

The office itself still needs a desk, the garage door changing, a curtain and pole putting up to keep put noise and weather and then a good sort out. The doors and subsequently the curtain will have to change later but I should get everything else done this week, with the next two days off. This will give me a chance to finalise everything that I want done to home, garden and office and put me in a position to move forward.

When I've done this, the targets are background items that I hope will generate and income for me. The blogs that I write bring in a trickle of an income and this will continue and continue to rise but it will only ever reach a modest amount. The website will be both another channel for the blog and will possibly generate another small income from advertising. I will be writing some training material for the website, which will be paid-for by users. I am also most of the way through writing my second Kindle book to sell on Amazon and this will supplement the modest income I get from the first Kindle book.

All in all, I'm looking to have a small background income to support me as I start on this venture. I will need an income to support the family and I, whilst I set about the process of starting my estate agency business and the time it takes to generate an income.

That's it, I'm taking control!

84

I've let events wash over me the last week or so. I've had so much going in that I've been stuck in a situation where I've not been able to focus in one thing and often ended up not doing anything much of significance. Don't get me wrong, I've been blogging, taking photos, mystery shopping and I've nearly got everything I wanted done around the house, but none of it feels like I've made massive progress or set the world alight-

My photography is moving along really well and I'm happier every week with the quality and consistency of the work I'm producing. My tutor is very pleased with my progress and I'm now 100% set on moving on to year 2 and level 2. My work is getting great feedback in class and on social media. I'm really in a very happy place with all this. In terms of the course, it's time to round up my folder tonight and then next week we are setting up our exhibition and then it's all finished until late September when level 2 begins.

I've been blogging apace and one of my blogs has just reached it's 100th edition-

http://eaboost.blogspot.com/2015/03/100-blog-entries-and-i-look-back-at-my.html

I've decided to commemorate this milestone by producing a week of blogs looking back at the highlights of the first 100. It's an interesting way to look back at all the words I've written and pulling together the themes that I've looked at in terms of estate agency.

Mystery shopping has been going steadily but not spectacularly. We're coming to the end if the quarter and traditionally this and Easter mean that things slow down dramatically. Having said this, I've managed to conduct 6 mystery shops over the last week and I've got 2 in the pipeline. With only one day off this week, I probably won't do much more than that but I'll be looking for  a single day next week where I can conduct 10 to 15 mystery ships and bring in a few hundred pounds.

Work around the house is continuing, but again without feeling that it's flying ahead. The main bedroom is curtain lining away from complete and I'll finish the bathroom on Wednesday. After that there's just outdoor things to complete as spring starts and the weather turns warmer.

Wednesday is also the day when I start my warm weather exercise regime - in starting running again. I'm losing weight slowly but I don't feel that I've for a very good fitness level at the moment. Since finishing the Great North Run half marathon in September last year, I've inly ran once. I generally stop over the winter and I've missed my place in the ballot for the 2015 run but it's time to get fit again.

It's caught me up and passed me by

87

Just a week where I've felt that everything has caught me up and passed me by, and I've made little progress. I've conducted 4 mystery shops, done a couple of little chores around the house, but with a days overtime at work I've not really had the time to make much of an impact on anything and the what's next list feels like it hasn't changed since the start of the week.

I'm almost at the end of my photography course with just three weeks left. One to pull the folder together to hand in, one to frame and hang my prints for the exhibition and the last one is the exhibition itself. That will kick start the creative writing side of things. I've also looked at starting a distance marketing course run by a local university that will lead to diploma status if I follow through the three years (you only sign up for a year at a time.) I'm desperate to have as many skills as finely honed as possible and I believe that having all these things in place will hugely help me in setting up and running an estate agency. And I'm really interested in marketing. Looking three years into the future and having diplomas in marketing and photography will put me well ahead of the competition in terms of qualifications and it will be a case of applying this to the business.

I've made no moves towards even finishing my office for the business, after having found a wii senn strut gnawed through and mouse dropping in the floor if the garage I am still converting. The mouse bait has gone down and the strut has been patched up, pending a full repair. I need paint to finish this and then look at the desk, the flooring and the doors. A long way to go with this, but I'm sure there are brighter days ahead on this front.

To blog more or to blog less? That is the question.

93

I am currently writing 5 different blogs, most 3 or 4 times a week. My next question to myself is do I take in the 2 new blogs that are forming in my mind? Or do I actually cut the amount if blogging I do to make room for other activities. Now long-time readers will know that I carry out a lot of my blogs in spare time that I would probably struggle to do anything else -on the park and ride bus in the way to work, waiting at the bus stop, in my lunch break at work - so the question on productivity may not be relevant. I can't get any jobs fine around the house, set up my business or even mystery shop effectively in these times. So what would I be gaining of I cutdown on my blogging time? In terms of time or replacement tasks, nothing.

I enjoy blogging and getting down ideas and concepts - in fact it often helps me to think things through. The fact that I'm typing down my thoughts and sharing them with the world isn't all that different to just sitting, staring out of the window thinking about the same things.

The new blogs that I'm considering g writing are-

One that's football-related. I love football and I've followed it all my life, so I feel that I've got something to say on this matter. It will be an opinion blog with a few solutions thrown in for good measure. I have views on the way football has developed recently and I'd like to share them with the world, as I'm sure thousands of football fans already are.

The second blog is related to my photography. I know I've shared a lot of photography on this blog, but if be looking to go into a bit of detail about locations, timings, equipment and what I'd do differently next time. It's about being a learning tool for me to evaluate what I've done and properly think about the next time I shoot a similar subject, as much as sharing my experiences with the world.

I'd also consider my journey as a creative writer in hrs form of a blog. Once I've finalised my photography course, I'm starting an online creative writing course and I would like to document the journey from starting out to (hopefully) publishing my first book.

Watch this space!

Photography on location in Southend-on-Sea

100

There's only 100 days left of my journey and I'm away from home this week. I've taken some photos on my travels. One of  the things I wanted to get out of the course was the ability for my photos to tell their own story and I think in starting to get there with my final project and these photos.

I've deliberately under-exposed this to emphasise the sky and the dark, cold conditions. I liked the geometry of the fence and lamp posts and how this repeated through the image.

I worked hard here to ensure that the shafts of sunlight breaking through the clouds showed up here. I've enjoyed shooting industrial scenes, often alongside natural features and this continues on that theme, which is also the theme for my final project.

The contrast of the flurry of colour at the bottom of the picture against the bleakness of the top half of the picture really appealed to me when I saw this. Again I've slightly under-exposed to ensure that the sea stays dark

And there isn't too much going on in the sky.

This is my favourite picture of the week as I've used depth of field and leading lines to capture the construction and length of the pier at Southend-on-Sea in Essex. Again I think it captures and conveys how cold and bleak the day was and how man-made structures can take on and reflect the elements.

What's next? - my new strategy

120

After sounding off a bit on my last blog and feeling a bit rudderless, I've devised a new strategy to deal with all the different balls I'm trying to juggle at present. I've dubbed it the "what's next approach." On one sheet of paper I've made a note if all the areas I'm trying to progress in, then in each area I've written what I need to do next. Sounds simple? It has only started today after a little formulation in my brain last night and the process of writing these small steps down has been hugely refreshing in its own.

The list is-

The Business

Paint the left wall of the garage

Assemble the table that will be my desk

Paint the rest of the garage

At Home

Sand and paint the bathroom ceiling

Glue stones on cupboards in kitchen

Paint hall and landing

My "Books And Games" Selling Business

Get all stock out of loft and place in new office in garage

Check and update inventory

Writing

Finish a book I'm writing on how to buy a home

Edit the book down to get it ready to publish

Start the creative writing course I've enrolled in

Mystery shops

Update my spreadsheet with all shop data on

Prepare for the 7 shops I have on Thursday

Look at adding to the 4 shops I have on Friday

Look up online about self-assessment and tax

Photography course

Go to the local city and get the final city photos for my final project, based on the main river that runs by here

Retake some of the other photos I have, in the golden hour, to ensure the sky is lit best

Developments in my photography style

145

My photography course at the local college started again this week after the Christmas break. It was his to get back to it, and a chance to review and assess the photos I'd taken over the Christmas period.

Here are a few of them and my notes in how I've progressed over the course of the lessons-

The first two are taken with my new lens and are of a Buddha ornament into back garden. I have used the lens to create two depth of view shots of the same subject. One where the Buddha is in focus and the other where the branches of the plant in front are in focus and the Buddha a blurred into the background.

The second pair are a set of lights taken from two slightly different angles. I was at a museum and it was very dark inside the museum, so I wanted to capture something from a light source. I saw this strip of lights at the top of a set of stairs and thought their light against the darkness of the museum was quite a contrast.

The last photo I think is indicative of my developing style in portraiture. I captured my subject in light and dark, in the same museum. I was talking to one of the guys in the class and he showed me the work of Steve McCurry.

http://stevemccurry.com

I was taken by how he used the dark as much as the light to create his portraits. This is my attempt.

Photography stalls as the light fails

179

As I've mentioned before on my blog, I'm taking a course in photography at the local college. The reasons are professional and personal. Personally it's always interested me, and it's nice to have a hobby and to have like-minded people. Professionally I'm often appalled at estate agents photographs. The subject matter is often poorly chosen (bathrooms and toilets are a particular bugbear.) The photos are often poorly staged and badly composed. The images more often than not don't add to the overall appeal of the property and do nothing to sell it, which is their dole purpose.

I'm taking the course on its merits, trying to accept the whole of the teachings and to take photographs of portraits, landscapes, abstracts, etc and not just photos of interiors that will assist me in my future profession. I think that having a rounded skill set and being able to apply different skills and techniques will assist me in taking great photographs for my clients.

As the weather has turned colder and the evenings are darker earlier, the light has hugely affected my ability to, and inspiration for taking photographs. A large part of photography is understanding and playing with the light, and when the light changes so significantly so quickly it affects all the settings and I admit, has thrown me out.

I'm looking at taking my camera with me on Christmas shopping trips but I'm sure I'll be distracted by more pressing issues. I'm not overly sure about how many photos I'll get taken but any practice I can get will be beneficial to refining my art!

245 days to go returns from holiday

211

I've just come back from 5 days away and it's a time of change and restart in the journey I've been on to set up my own estate agency.

I visited Cambridge, London and Essex during my five days away from work and home. There were huge opportunities to take many photos and I'll upload a selection in a later blog with commentary relating to my learnings and how I intend to use them in my business. I met up with many old friends and family members and has a great opportunity to discuss some of my plans, listen to their ideas and experiences and get a fix on how I want to go forward.

I start my new role in a new company site tomorrow and the change in direction here will, I hope, give me fresh impetus. I've grown stale working for my current manager and in my current role into current store. A change of scene, slight change of role, change of location and different working hours I believe will all contribute to me being able to be much happier in my life in general and this having a knock-on effect on the effort and enthusiasm I can dedicate to my new business.

So we move onwards from here - a great few data away with the family, a new role with working hours I prefer and more energy to start the new business.

Win, win, win!

Making time for everything needs planning

227

Here comes another weekend, another weekend off work and another weekend where I've made loads of and for what I'm going to do to entertain the kids. But I am using today's blog to remind mysf that I need to make time and make plans for my fledgling business.

A trip out tonight and a quite full day out tomorrow make the weekend feel hectic at the outset, but there's light at the end if the tunnel. I'm going to a talk and discussion on the future of social housing tomorrow - a sort of busman's holiday. During the day out with my wife and kids, I will break away for a couple of hours, leaving them to explore the city. I'll be interested in the theory of the talk, in the future of social housing, but with always a slant towards how this relates to my business and how I can use the information to expand the business and earn money.

Tonight's trip out will be to an illuminations, and I need to use this time to get my homework done for my photography class.  I need to take one photo, bearing in mind the discussions we had last week on composition. It needs to be well composed, using the rule of thirds, leading lines, the balance of colours and textures. I will also need to present it to the rest of the group and explain my photo in technical language. Wish me luck!

I'll share the photo on here and the feedback I receive.

Last photos from week 2 of my photography course - slow shutter speed

These are the last 2 pictures I took tonight, using a slow shutter speed of 30 seconds to capture the movements of traffic (and traffic lights) on a busy road and a busy roundabout. The first one is from above a motorway, and I left the caged bridge crossing in the picture to give it some focus and context-


 















The second photo is of a roundabout, with the same technique, slow shutter speed and a narrow aperture (to balance out the amount of light getting in) and this is of a roundabout.  I'm not 100% happy with this - I could have done with a more elevated position and a busier time of day, but the movement of the car lights and the traffic lights is still evident-

As I said, this is all for this week, hopefully I'll learn some new techniques next week and I can move forward from there to develop my own style.

Photos from week 2 learnings on my photography course

233

As I have mentioned in previous blogs, I have enrolled and am participating in a photography course at the local college. It's a 20 week course, so the idea is that I am prepared to take brilliant photographs of people's homes when the time comes and I am marketing property. I will also extend my current website, where I have exhibited and sold my photographs- My new photos for this week are as follows- This is another experiment with depth of view, where I set the camera up to have a clear view of the first cupboard handle, with the others fading out of view. This is by setting a shallow aperture, and leaving the shutter speed at 1/60. Another experiment with depth of view was with the kids sitting on the sofa, playing on their iPods-

 


The next two photos are in the same style, working with the depth of field to get the subject at the front in focus, with a blurred background-





 Both are just attempts to play with my new camera and have an understanding of what I can do with it. The final photo for this week is using a very fast shutter speed to capture a single moment in time linked to the movement of my eldest when playing in the garden. He was throwing a conker and I managed to capture it's movement just as it was reaching the edge of the frame-




 Obviously these are basic exposures at the moment, and I'm experimenting with my Canon EOS 1200 digital SLR camera that I've only owned for 2 weeks.

The camera is a
 

The tripod I've bought and used is -

Field trip to practice some techniques learnt from my photography course

242

I've been into town to practice some of the techniques that I have been learning at my night school photography course.  I tries to create 2 types of photo based on adjusting the shutter speed on the camera.

The first is based on a quick shutter speed, to capture a split second in the movement of something quick.

I did struggle in a city to find something to get close enough to, to capture the essence of the technique, but I'm quite pleased with this effort from a distance.  Sunday will bring a trip to the seaside to try some more similar shots of the sea and the kids running through the sand.

The second photo is using a slow shutter speed to create an exposure that captures the essence of movement, rather than a split second in time.

I know it's quite derivative, and I haven't found my own style yet, but I like the ability to use the techniques I have learnt to gain the confidence in my skills before looking for my own style.  I have ordered a tripod from Amazon to ensure that all of the movement is in the subject, not in the camera.

Once I have the tripod, I will be able to take longer exposure photographs with more confidence.