Outdoor Recreation and Info
Photographic Equipment
Digital Imaging Equipment
Wouldn't it be incredible if traveling to exotic locations, countries or even
other worlds would be as easy as clicking a link on your computer screen?
Maybe... but often times, spur-of-the-moment exploring of new areas on the
way to an intended destination can be unexpectedly rewarding. The old adage
of "getting there is half the fun" I find often to be true - even,
sometimes, on the Internet. If you're passing through this site on the way
to somewhere else in cyberspace, I hope that you'll agree.
This links page contains, well... links. It is not very comprehensive, but it may be useful. There are more equipment manufacturers out there than I care to list on this page, so I am only including a select few that are of personal interest to me. Some sites are hard to navigate and, where I thought it helpful, I have included additional links. If you know of any other links that might be of interest, given the theme of this site, or you notice a broken link, please don't hesitate to contact me at mander@telus.net.
My
favorite Mac web-browser is iCab. Click the logo to go to iCab's Home
Page.
Outdoor Recreation and Info Links
U.S. National Park Service has extensive information and even map downloads of most national parks in the U.S.
DesertUSA is an excellent site with tons of useful information and links related to exploring the U.S. desert southwest.
Arizona Highways is the companion site to the long running monthly magazine, which is renowned for its excellent photography.
DeLorme produces incredibly detailed topographical map books of the U.S. - one for each state. They also have a range of CD-ROM based maps, some of which can be used with computer linked GPS receivers.
Garmin makes an excellent line of handheld GPS (Global Positioning System) receivers. They are very affordable and are invaluable when exploring back roads, hiking off the beaten path or for finding an interesting location again in the future.
Online Highways provides useful information and links that are catagorized by state or province.
Recreation.Gov is a site with information and links about recreational opportunities on BLM and Federal Lands in the U.S.
I travel the desert southwest in my reliable Isuzu 4x4 pickup truck. It has 270,000 km on the odometer and is still going strong.
Photographic Equipment Links
Beau Photo Supplies is where I work. Beau Photo caters to the professional photography market in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, selling cameras, lighting and studio equipment. Beau Photo also has a comprehensive rental department with a large variety of cameras, studio lighting, grip equipment, muslin backgrounds, radio slaves, light meters, digital cameras and more. The digital imaging department at Beau Photo specializes in high-end professional digital cameras, scanners, photographic printers, Apple computer systems and other imaging related products.
Gamma Pro Imaging is an excellent photographic lab in Vancouver that also offers extensive digital imaging services. I have all my film processed there.
Flashpoint is another place in Vancouver that rents a wide range of professional photographic equipment.
The Medium Format Digest offers some interesting discussion forums, and messages that target specific camera systems or photographic topics are sorted into categories.
Pentax makes some excellent medium format and 35mm camera equipment. I use their superb Pentax 67II medium format camera.
Slik produces a strong and lightweight line of AMT alloy tripods.
Manfrotto makes a huge variety of rugged tripods and tripod heads.
LowePro manufactures a superb line of camera bags, backpacks and other gear.
Gossen is my light meter of choice.
Fuji produces a wide variety of excellent photographic films including the superb Provia 100F and Velvia 50 slide films.
Digital Imaging Equipment Links
Apple Computer makes, as far as I'm concerned, the best computer systems to use for digital imaging purposes. High speed G4 processors, a consistent and well-designed user interface, OS integrated color management support and exceptionally compatible and reliable hardware make for an excellent platform.
Agfa makes the excellent line of DuoScan flatbed/film scanners.
Epson has some truly amazing photographic quality inkjet printers in their Stylus Photo series.
Kodak produces fast and reliable dye-sublimation photographic printers and a range of excellent professional DCS digital cameras.
FujiFilm makes the Pictrography series of silver-halide based photographic printers. They are fast and produce sharp, continuous tone prints that are archival and offer the closest thing to the quality and feel of a traditional darkroom print.
Imacon makes some stunningly good high-end film scanners with their Flextight series. They offer the quality of a drum scan, without the hassles of applying anti-newton oils or gels to your film. The driver software is excellent and they are also much less expensive than your average drum scanner.
Polaroid has a range of digital products, including the SprintScan 4000. It has the highest optical dpi (4000) of any affordable 35mm desktop film scanner.
Mike Mander
September 2000
