Spring is the time of the year when our furry interns shed their Winter coat.  Traditionally, it is also the time of year when sheep get their Winter coat "harvested."  Today, we are going to witness such an event first hand.

RainyDayMagazine readers know that every one of our outings usually involves the testing of some new gear.  This one was no different.  Getting to and photographing the Festival was a good chance for us to test some of the new stuff we have mentioned recently.

It was an opportunity for us to take the Guide+Play, TrekPod, and Kata W-32 WaistPack out for a FirstUse. 

Gore Place is in Waltham MA, about ten miles from the office.  We could have taken the highway or wind our way through the city. 

Using the Guide+Play GPS, the destination was easy enough to find.  In fact, just typing in "Gore Place" was sufficient to find the correct address.

According to the GPS, the shorted route was to take the local roads.  The exact route may not have been exactly what we would have chosen, but it was correct and did get us to the destination.

We took two new pieces of photography gear with us for their FirstUse test.  Hiking around and shooting photos and videos with TrekPod in the crowd would be a good test of its maneuverability.

The TrekPod was easy to use and very sturdy.  The magnetic mount had no problem keeping the Canon IS-2 secure.  At no time was there any indication that camera would come off, even if the locking clamp was not engaged.

A waist pack is a practical way of carrying gear.  The big advantage is the easy access.  The Kata W-32 Waist Pack has both a waist belt and a shoulder strap.  This arrangement evenly distributes the weight evenly across the wearer.  While a backpack such as the Kata R102 is better fitted for backcountry hiking and transport of gear, the W-32 Waist Pack offers a better usability during active shooting.

This outing was indeed a good opportunity for us to test some of the new gear.  It was also an opportunity to get outside and enjoy the fine Spring weather.  We expect we'll be using this TrePod/Kata WaistPack combo quite a bit this Spring and Summer.  - Wan Chi Lau

Spring is the time of the year when our furry interns shed their Winter coat.  Traditionally, it is also the time of year when sheep get their Winter coat "harvested."  Today, we witnessed such an event first hand. 

We spent three hours at the Festival, spoke to many merchants, crafts people, and artisans.  We also sampled quite a bit of country fare, petted lots of animals, and generally had a great time.

Photographing the Festival was also a good chance for us to test some of our new gear. This was our FirstUse of the TrekPod and Kata W-32 WaistPack.  We found both performed well in this first outing and we look forward to using them extensively this Spring and Summer.   - Wan Chi Lau

Sheepshearing Festival :

1. Festival

2. Alpaca farming

3. Sheep Shearing

4. Gear

Note: Click on any of the images for a closer look.

2007 Activities:

1. SouthBeach

2. Magic Wings

2006 Activities:

1. SOWA

2. Portsmith NH

3. PumpkinFest

4. Walden Pond

5. PorscheFest