So, normally, I don’t use a flash.  I just find I don’t need one, or can’t use one, for most of what I shoot.  Have you ever tried lighting an entire building or the interior of a convention center with a flash?  

On a typical day, you’ll see me running around with a canon 17-40L mounted on my 50D, my 70-200 sitting in small lowpro bag, my tripod on my shoulder, and the flash at home.  For some reason, however, I decided to bring my flash with me as I left the house in the am – which was, again, odd as I wasn’t shooting until the evening and my plan was to shoot the interior of a hotel (can’t say the name because I haven’t gotten the approval to go shoot there yet).

Since I didn’t get the go-ahead for the interior shoot, I decided to head to the lake near my home and see if I could see some gators.  Even though I live in Florida, I’ve never seen one at this lake. 

Look what I found!  This little guy sat there for about an hour as I got shot after shot of him as the sun was setting down.  In a full reversal of my typical pattern, I used my 70-200 with the flash and no tripod.  

I used the flash to get a little more color than you typically since from a gator in the water.  Glad I packed it!  Sometimes it’s good to overpack :)