This is where I have started each day this week. My wife and I have a cup of coffee or two, or three (the cups are small) and a little breakfast. I sleep later than she does and so she’s typically ready to head out much earlier than I am. I haven’t shaved since Saturday and I’m beginning to look a little grizzly. She took this picture of the cabin. The notebook computer on the ancient sofa-bed is the one I am typing at right now.
Apart from the computer, we brought a little connectivity technology with us. It’s a Samsung wireless hotspot that works on the Verizon network. I do get an AT&T wireless signal here (which is better than what I get at home), but I have found the Verizon network to be much more complete. We don’t get into many patches where we can’t post an e-mail or check Google for the answer to a question, or get directions, etc, etc. Is that a good thing? Well, I think it’s kind of a security blanket.
I was under the illusion that I would be getting a little work done while on vacation. Well, I must say that this hasn’t exactly panned out. We are out watching birds all day and then at night we are going through maybe 300 photos and picking the ones we like the best. Then I have tried to make at least a short blog post before going to bed… and I am tired here much earlier thanks to all the activity.
Today, I thought about Pete French. He was a successful rancher who founded Frenchglen. I wondered aloud whether I would have been the kind of rancher that he was. He had a lot of innovative ideas inspired by the challenges of the job. I imagine he was easily distracted from the traditional work of ranching as his attention went to irrigation and designing barns that allowed horses to be exercised indoors during bad weather.
I didn’t take many pictures today. One thing I did capture, was a shot of this American Avocet who decided to land near our car. We were parked beside Pete French’s round barn near a small inland sea which wasn’t there last year (the sea, not the barn). Did I mention that there has been quite a bit of flooding this year?
I also got a shot of a hail storm approaching us as we walked around a huge volcanic crater. Can you see our vehicle outside the crater rim at its lowest point?
I wanted to mention, that my wife is getting a lot more comfortable with the camera now and I think she is starting to have a lot more fun. She’ll probably tell the story of the frustrating Horned Lark that nearly broke up our marriage, but I have to say, she has taken some impressive shots over the past few days including birds in flight.
Capturing a bird on the wing is extremely difficult unless it is hovering right in front of you like a hummingbird. If it’s a raptor or a tern, for example, you need the long lens or you won’t get the detail you want. This just makes it really difficult to aim, focus and hold it all steady so that is isn’t just a blurry smudge when the shutter opens.
While she is focusing her attention on one of the glamorous, winged creatures fluttering around us, I still use my point-and-shoot camera to take in a few close-ups or some scenery shots. The little Panasonic still takes brilliant pictures. It imparts some character to the pictures it takes that make it special to me. The way it handles light sources, for example is really compelling. It gives them a soft, warm glow. The short focal length is also well suited for shots like this one.
I should get ready for bed. Tomorrow is our last full day here and I know we are going to try to make the most of the time we have.