Why The Tripod Is A Necessity

This shot shows why a tripod is necessary. When you look at this shot, you know what I was trying to achieve but several things were wrong:
1) Disastrous lens flare from the street lights. I had my hood attached to the 18-200mm but it was impossible to avoid it unless I moved further up from my shooting location. I didn't have time and since it was just a learning excursion, I left it at that.

2) It wasn't sharp. But of course! But if I had my tripod with me, I could've used a slightly smaller aperture for a longer exposure. That would've made a tremendous difference. I now understand why pros lug their 'pods even for day shoots.

The short outing today was supposed to be one which I wanted to put the Manfrottos to good use. But the RC2 head's delivery didn't happen and the 055XPROB had nothing to be mated with. But tomorrow is when I hope to lay my hands on them and I've already got some plans for the Mannys! Heheh...