Sometimes, as a photographer, you think you have it all figured out. You have a foolproof plan to get the images you are looking for. Gear is ready, location has been scouted, and plans are put in motion. Nothing could go wrong, you say. And then Mother Nature steps in and says; “hold my beer”. And suddenly all of your plans take a serious kick in the pants.
That was the scenario Tuesday morning. It was all planned out and if I could shoot straight, I would end up with some great baby Wood Duck pics. Unfortunately, old Mom Nature had a different idea. She sent some very heavy fog to us that morning and threw all my good intentions out the window. Oh, I got the wood duck pics, such as they were, but they’re not what I was looking for (see below). As always, click the pics to enlarge
I knew the fog wasn’t going to lift for another 2 hours, at least not enough to get decent images of these little ones. So I just put my camera down and enjoyed the scenario for what it was; a beautiful foggy morning watching new life return to Brick Pond.
They eventually moved off out of my sight and I was left with a decision. Call it a day and leave or stick it out and see what comes from being patient. And you know I hate quitting.
As I was settling in for a quick nap, this guy disturbed my beauty rest. He was hungry and didn’t care that I was only 15 feet away from him. He wanted to eat! So, while he ate, I tried to get myself turned 90 degrees to the right without disturbing him. That I could do, but holding my 400mm prime lens up by hand for any length of time was something else. I can hold it steady for about 30 seconds and then I turn into a weebles people. Fortunately, I was able to get a few decent images before he got tired of my nonsense and flew off.
Who, me???
Showing off!
Finally spotted me!
As the morning progressed the fog began to dissipate but the wood ducks were nowhere to be found. Fortunately, another bird helped fill the time. The Eastern Kingbird is a regular sight down at Brick Pond. And when they are in breeding plumage, they have an understated beauty all their own. I know that these are “bird on a stick” pics, but I make no apologies for them. This is where you hone your knowledge of your camera settings and functions. I have tens of thousands of “BOS” pics in my library and am very happy with many of them. Okay, off my soapbox now!
Nest building
He went thatta way!
Time to stick the landing.
He was close, because this photo is uncropped!
A little farther away, but a more interesting background
The pic above is the quintessential '“bird on a stick pic”, but it’s my BOS and I like it!
It’s so very easy to get so laser focused on your intended subjects that you forget what you are truly out there for. So put the camera down and enjoy the beauty all around you. It’s there, all you have to do is look for it…. hope you like the pics!