My good friend Walt Anderson, creator of the extend-a-flash, has done it again. He has come out with a great idea for low profile photos and shooting from a bean bag.

You should be prepared to get wet and dirty when lying on the ground for those up close and personal eye level photos, but the results are worthwhile. Although this plate is not that new to the market, I myself have only been using it for about three months, and I'm hooked. Here's how it works.

First off, you don't need a ballhead. The Panning Plate has a built in Arca Swiss clamp which allows you to just slip your 500mm or 600mm lens, or any other lens, right into the mount. Then you can just tighten the clamp, and you are ready to shoot. The plate has a tight feel to it before you put your lens on; however, once you do it pans as smooth as silk. The Teflon bearings make it easy to track your subject without too much or too little resistance.

The size of the plate is 4"x8"x1.5," and is made of anodized aircraft aluminum. It weighs only a pound. Walt recommends a .97 cent Frisbee that you can buy at Wal- Mart for shooting shorebirds on the beach or in the grasses. The Frisbee allows for moving it back and forth easily without picking up your gear. It's so much better than a tripod with spread legs that can catch on everything, and there's no weight to it.

The other advantage to this plate, which I love, is that you can use it on a bean bag from a window or roof hatch, making it perfect for use in safari vehicles in Africa. I've been using it this way ever since I got it, and here's what I like.

Since it does not have a ball head, it sits much lower on the vehicle window. This puts it at eye level for me. Although the other window pods out there are a little more stable, the height and the fact that I don't have to loosen or tighten a ballhead makes it faster, easier and much less obtrusive to the subjects I'm photographing. And, I don't have to take my ball head off my tripod and switch it to the plate.

The size of it stabilizes the lens on the bean bag, so it's easier to change film without it falling. You just need to make sure it's balanced before you do this and don't make any quick moves to knock it over. The plate allows easy access to all the controls on the barrel of your lens.

The size and weight make it a worthwhile investment rather than setting up a tripod in your vehicle or carrying a large heavy window mount. This is especially true when traveling on a plane since it fits right into your vest pocket.

I highly recommend this new contraption. I know it's a piece of equipment that won't be a dust collector in my photo closet!

The only thing Walt forgot to create when using the plate on the ground is a neck brace.

* To purchase the Walt Anderson Panning Plate Call (847) 438-3587 Monday thru Friday 9am-5pm Central time.

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Tom Vezo is an award winning wildlife photographer who travels worldwide to capture his images in their natural environment. His work is widely published in the U.S. and Europe in many books, calendars, magazines and advertisements. His credits include: Audubon, Birder's World, Bird Watcher's Digest, Discovery, Ducks Unlimited, National Geographic, National Wildlife Federation, Nature Conservancy, Nature's Best, Natural History, Outdoor Photographer, Sierra Club, Travel and Leisure, Wildbird, Wildlife Conservation and many more.

His most recent awards are the winner of 1998 and 1999 Nature's Best Magazine's photo contest for "Wildlife" in the professional category and the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year in 1997 as an honorable mention. Six stock photography agents, four in the US, one England and one in Germany represent his work. He is one of the top bird photographers in the United States but he also photographs breathtaking landscapes, mammals, and other natural subjects which all add to his library of over 100,000 images.

He has led many photography tours throughout the United States and Canada teaching people the techniques of nature photography in the field. Wings in the Wild: Habits and Habitats of North American Birds is Tom's first coffee table book. It consists of 144 pages with 190 photos published by Stackpole Books. It is written by Paul Kerlinger, former director of the Cape May Bird Observatory and author of How Birds Migrate. Tom's most recent book is Birds of Prey in the American West published by Rio Nuevo Publishers in Tucson Arizona. Vezo's extraordinary photographs and Glinski's authoritative text depict and describe 34 species of eagles, hawks, falcons, vultures, and owls indigenous to the West. The book illustrates how these birds live what they eat and how they survive. They also share their personal experiences searching for these captivating birds in the wild The book consists of 128 pages with more than 100 photographs and is 9 x 9.75 inches. Visit Tom Vezo.Com to order your signed copy of Birds of Prey in the American West or Wings in the Wild: Habits and Habitats of North American Birds today.