Thursday, January 25, 2018

Learning Curves


I've been looking for a more lightweight camera system the last few years.  I think I've found what I've been wanting, but with new gear comes a learning curve.  



Birds and waterfowl make good subjects for practice, so I headed to the bay to see what I'd find.  Seagulls were all over the place, mostly perched on marina posts watching for handouts.



Mallards were populous at the marina too.  This guy came out of the water and walked right up to a family walking through the park.  It seems begging is really in vogue during these cold winter months.



I moved to the west side of the bay and immediately saw this Lesser Scaup, or a least I think that's what it was.  Seemed to be a bit too far north, but maybe it was still migrating.



This female Common Merganser looks like it's relaxing by floating on the bay.  But don't let her fool you.



Mergansers are diving ducks and are hilarious to watch as they go "bottoms up" in search of their next meal.  I caught this one as she was just going into her dive.



I planned to head to the other side of town to check out big birds, hopefully another Snowy Owl.  But instead of a Snowy, I spied this huge hawk perched at the top of this tree watching and waiting for its next meal.  After a couple snaps, I realized my camera wasn't functioning.   I figured out I had a dead battery.  Ahhhh, learning curves.

4 comments:

  1. It looks like you had a fun day shooting. I'm surprised at the different types of duck that are still in your area. I would have thought most would have migrated except a few of the more common types. It looks like your new camera is going to work good for you. As always, with new camera gear it will take some time learning how to use it. Hey, that's part of the fun. P.S. Maybe the fist thing you learned is you need a spare battery... Mark

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  2. Thanks, Mark. Yes, I was surprised to see so many varieties too, especially the Scaup. And would you believe the first thing I did upon returning home was order two more batteries! sis

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  3. I'm glad to hear you are enjoying your new camera, Karen. It appears to be working well for you!

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  4. It's definitely lighter weight, which I love. Now testing out image quality against my Canon. Not a done deal yet.

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