16 January 2013 Reflections
The new lens should ship today! My editor in chief told me to look outside. There was a predawn layer of fog over the river beginning to rise with the sun. It was peaceful to see. Got my editor off to work and grabbed my gear and ran to catch the light before the fog melted away in the sun. Click Click. I then decided to go to my neighbor’s pier and catch a better view of the sunrise and whatever bird-life flew by, as they too followed the tide. Be careful when you try to catch the sun.
The swirling mist of fog was highlighted by the first rays of dawn. The sunrise turned golden as it arose through the trees. It looked at times like molten lava glowing like fire through the leaves. Checked my settings (I thought), then exposure, and began to shoot. Click Click. The winged silhouette of a stork could be seen coming upriver as the sun rose over the trees. I thought it would melt like the fabled Icarus (flying too close to the sun ) as it passed through the glow. It flew on by. Click Click. Old Man River was feeding upstream and slowly rose as the stork flew. He skimmed over the marsh in the mist of the fog. Click Click. He circled around and flared his mighty wings to drop in and see what the snowy egrets had found in the tide. Click Click. I was hand-holding the camera and stopped and reviewed my shots. The auto-focus had followed the birds as I panned. There were no “blinkies” in the sky, my histogram looked great. Why were some of these shots so blurry? Focus is everything in photography. Then I saw it. There is a little switch that turns ON the stabilizer for moments like this. AHHGG!!!! It was OFF! I switched it on and caught a pair of mallards as they flew by. Life looks so much better when your stabilizer is on. Alas, not much else wandered up my tributary today. A lawn mower roared to life, and startled the birds (and me). I walked back to my pier, still wanting for that illusive shot of the day. I spot focused in on a distant egret but my 135 mm lens would just not reach that far away. We photographers (whether novice or pro) like to see life up real close and personal. My friend Max said that photographers will never have enough millimeters.
I know. You are wating for me to do my Forrest Gump imitation. "Life is like a box of chocolates.." Well here goes. You can chase the sun but you can't catch it without your stabilizer on. You will never have all you want, so do good with what you have. What are the stabilizing things in your life today? Without them things can get out of focus real quick. Enjoy the sunrise. Be Blessed. HarrySwirling fog in the rising sun.
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Molten rays burn thru the trees.
Don't fly into it Icarus!
Foggy fly by of Old Man River
Just dropped in for breakfast said Old Man River
A pair of formation flying Mallards silhouette the sky