An essential winter camera accessory

I admitted earlier this week to being a cold-weather wimp when it comes to riding.

The same applies to outdoor photography. I cannot take pictures when I'm cold. 

So how does this blog survive through the winter, you ask? Because of these:

My Finger Fuzz Flip Mitts. I saw them in a Sahalie catalog and couldn't order them fast enough (and they are not paying me to say this). Here's the link. I've worn other kinds of fingerless gloves and flip mittens, but these get two thumbs, and two index fingers, up – which are all required to operate the dials and buttons on a DSLR camera, which is what makes these mittens perfect for taking pictures in winter.

But before I ramble on about these mittens, let me focus your attention elsewhere:

This combination of lens and camera takes fingerprints. 

(I cropped the picture above from the picture above it, and both versions are straight out of the camera.) 

And, yes, my hands are very dry. But my point is...actually I don't know what my point is other than I'm really having fun with this camera. 

A few of you have asked me about the settings I'm using, and all I can say about that so far is I keep changing them. Once I settle on some favorites, I'll be happy to share. Meanwhile, for all of you new D7000 users, my best suggestion is to go to this link at kenrockwell.com, wherein he explains the hows and whys of his settings. You will learn so much your head might explode, but it's a million times more informative than the user's manual.

Where was I? The Flip Mitts are made from the softest, warmest fleece I've ever worn. 

And little magnets keep the flap out of the way when you need to use your fingers...

...for important things like de-goobering eyes...

...and scratching your horse's itchy, shedding back.

So maybe the only downside to these Flip Mitts is their powerful attraction to horse hair. 

I'm not going to hold it against them because they are washable and perfect in every other way.