Self-Timer: One of your Best Friends

Some of the little-known, inexpensive, non-descript, built-in accessories have been ignored for years. One of those would be the self-timer. Some of you may remember the ones that you had to crank. Then, there were ones that you had to load and press a button and you'd hear that buzzing sound. The beautiful thing about today's self-timer is that you have 2 separate settings, one for 2 seconds and one for 10 seconds. It is invariably a great tool for close-up and macro, stationary landscapes, waterscapes, table-top and catalog work, etc. No matter how great your tripod is, no matter how steady you are, no matter how fast your shutter speed is, when you put your face, your nose and your hand on a camera, there's going to be some movement. Compose, light your shot, step back, take a sip of red wine, and hit the self-timer. Okay, no red wine maybe Green tea. Okay, red wine and green tea.