Today, my broken left arm and I felt good enough to go on a photo outing for the first time in almost 2 months. I've shot a few things here and there in the meantime but it's been awkward with the splint and difficult with the stiffness and pain. So, today I packed up my camera, mounted my 200 F2.8L and went for a walk on my favorite trail, the Shingle Creek Trail.
My first subject was chosen because I needed to see if I could hold that camera/lens combination steady enough to actually take a decent shot. So, at the beginning of my hike, I spotted a fuzzy ball of flora and took a shot of it.
The wind was blowing a bit and the flower was moving around a bit as well but I was able to freeze it with a 1/2500 shutter speed.
Farther along, I found my first animal: this fuzzy little guy was moving along at a scorching 1 ft. every 5 minutes and so it was a real challenge to my sports shooting abilities
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Next up -- and I do mean up -- I looked overhead to see the somehow disturbing sight of a Turkey Vulture following me as I moved along the Trail!
This was a decent test of my abilities to track and capture a bird in flight using my left arm to steady the lens.
Along one of the estuaries to the Creek, I spotted a Great While Heron stalking among the reeds.
And after a few minutes, it got airborne and I tracked it for about 50 yards.
After 2 1/2 miles and a couple of hours of hiking and shooting, I headed back toward the car. On my way, I spotted some sort of Raptor overhead. It wasn't close enough to get much detail with the 200 but I did capture this shot and hope folks can help me identify it. Looks a bit like a Golden Eagle but they are unusual around here. We have Bald Eagles, lots of Hawks and the occasional Swallow-Tailed Kite but I've never seen a Golden Eagle. Anyway, I'd appreciate an ID if anyone can provide it.
Overall, it was a fun walk and it felt great to be handling the camera again with only a modicum of discomfort and stiffness. Guess I'm ready for the shows I'm shooting this coming weekend.
Jim
