Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you are in a fixed position and your telephoto lens minimum close up focus distance is beyond the subject?  Here's one way to solve the problem.  I came across this tip in the May 2016 issue of Outdoor Photographer, in an article by George D. and Kathryn Vincent Lepp.  They suggest adding an extension tube between the telephoto lens and the camera body.
This will reduce the close focus distance.  The example they used was with a 500 mm telephoto lens with a close focus distance of 12.4 ft.  Adding a 25 mm extension tube reduced the close focus distance to 7.5 ft.  They also suggest that if you add a tele extender between the camera and the extension tube you maintain the close focus distance while increasing the magnification. Pretty neat.  This is something else this Camera Junkie will have to look into, since I don't have any extension tubes.

Earlier this month I decided it was to time to upgrade my Nikon system .  I was fortunate to be able to sell my Nikon D5000 camera with 55-200mm lens and my Sony NEX-5 mirrorless camera body to offset the cost of another system.  (just following the rules set down by my wife...sell something old to buy something new) LOL!  I found a Nikon manufactured refurbished D7100 body at an extremely low price compared to a new one. Over the years I've had good luck with refurbished equipment and feel confident this one will last a good while.  However, just to be on the safe side I purchased an additional warranty plan.  Why didn't I go with the latest model D7200?  Well, for the price difference of nearly 2 times the cost of the refurbished D7100, the additional features of Wi-Fi and a few other minor features, I couldn't justify the D7200.  Added to the mix was the purchase of a Tamron, 18 - 200 mm lens that was available at the DFW Photo Expo in late November with a Expo discount.  Here are a couple of examples shot with this setup a couple of weeks ago.  CLICK on images for larger view.

About a month ago I decided to replace my trusty Epson R 1900 printer that has been my workhorse printer for nearly 5 years. After much research I decided on the Epson SureColor P600.  Part of the reason was a $250 rebate.  I have to say I am really pleased with this printer.  Set up was a breeze, to include wi-fi, drivers, and icc printer profiles.  The on-printer LCD screen/information control is a terrific improvement over the R 1900, which did not have this feature.  This control panel gives step by step instructions to load a variety of print media and ink status/changing.  To date I have printed on canvas, glossy paper, matt paper, fine art paper, and card stock, all of which have been superb in both ease of set up and especially the quality.  In each case the colors have been spot on. I haven't printed any Black and White, but I expect the quality to be as good or better than what the R 1900 produced, (the R 1900 was designed to provide high quality B/W prints).  The capacity of the ink cartridges is double that of the R 1900 (12ml to 25ml), but , the down side is the cost of each cartridge has more than doubled (bummer).
Overall, I give this printer high marks and expect it to be around for several years.  I'll be posting more on this subject as I gain more experience/results.  

Came across this interesting article this morning on photo focus.com.  The super secret code that may help you understand the write performance of memory cards.  Check it out.