Weirdo Camera Accessories Can Be Surprisingly Useful

Here’s a picture of, oh, I don’t know, I guess it’s the Citibank Building in downtown Los Angeles. It’s a panoramic shot stitched together in Photoshop, taken from one of the elevators of the Westin Bonaventure Hotel:

September 19, 2020 — Los Angeles, California

I know what you’re about to say: Sure, Kevin, whatever. Kinda boring. Still, you got surprisingly little reflection through the elevator glass. That was pretty lucky. But no! This took extra-special photographic gear, pictured below:

If you put the camera right up to the glass with this huge rubber lens hood attached, the hood blocks off all the reflections. This was very, very handy at the San Diego Zoo last month.

Now, as it happens I actually bought this lens hood in hopes of using it in the rain to keep water off the lens. I haven’t had a chance to try that yet since there’s been no rain lately here in Southern California, but I’m optimistic. And if we get heavy rain? Check this out:

That should do the trick! Assuming the wind doesn’t just blow the whole thing away and I end up like Mary Poppins.

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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