I recently bought a tripod (well, I got my DH to buy it for me) which I believe will be my 'forever' tripod. I had bought tripods before, but always let cost persuade me into buying something that was good but ultimately too heavy. I'm sure you will have a huge choice in the US - my advice is to get something that combines stability with light-weight. I still use a bean-bag (which could just as easily be filled with rice or some other dry grainy thing) which gives the stability and is easy to carry around. Brilliant for when in a car - you can just drape it over the car door (window down, of course!), but also good for taking pics low to the ground or when you just can't be bothered setting up the tripod. And when travelling, just pack the bag and buy some beans on arrival. Looking forward to more photos, Ann!
PS I'm not really sure what 'DH' means - is it dear husband? On the other hand, there are a lot of adjectives that begin with "D"...
