aluminium

Just putting the finishing touches to a new kitchen in an extension, and want to finish it off properly with some photos (mainly landscapes) from our travels. What I'm torn over is how to mount them...wanted to ask the collective expertise on here for advice. Two photos below of the space...

I am in the market for a new travel tripod, I found one that I think is really good. It is compact and has a good load capacity. The problem for me is that there are two types, carbon fiber and aluminium. Naturally the aluminium is cheaper and heavier, but I am having a hard time finding a real...