RSSA Bit of Background…
Comments (0) Several years ago, my employer made me an offer I couldn’t refuse . . . early retirement. Needless to say, I didn’t refuse. I subsequently moved to nearby Gosport, a small town on the south coast of England. For many years prior to my retirement I was a keen amateur photographer and member of my works photo club. Then, a few years ago, my mother became seriously ill and photography – and just about everything else – took a back seat. Now, with those events firmly in the past, and having settled into my new surroundings, my interest in photography has resurfaced. I have taken up the camera again!
View across Portsmouth Harbour
In May 2007 my ever-increasing weight topped 19¼ stone (270 lbs,) my asthma was as bad as ever, and I had just been diagnosed with high blood pressure. With old age creeping ever nearer, I decided that this was my last chance to regain control of my life and my health. With the help and encouragement of some good friends, I started a calorie-counting diet and introduced a daily walk for exercise. I have walked approximately five miles a day almost every day since. I lost 7 st in the first 7 months and am now keeping my weight steady at a little over 12 st. The only down-side is that it has cost me a fortune in new clothes!
The real relevance of all this, is that at the beginning of this year I was getting bored while on my walks. As you can see from my map (see sticky post above) this takes me out of town along a former railway line now converted to a footpath/cycle path, then back into town via a circuitous route following the edge of the numerous lakes and tidal inlets on Gosport’s southern edge. Now that I was fit enough not to have to worry about aching limbs and tired muscles, I started looking more closely at what was around me.
The Esplanade: Moorings in the fog (Canon IXUS 980)
What I began to see, back at the start of 2009, was the abundant bird life even in the depths of winter. In the hedgerows and trees I saw many of the garden birds of my youth – Sparrows, Robins, Blackbirds, Carrion Crows, Magpies, Dunnocks, Pigeons, Doves, Finches, Tits and more. On the water there were birds familiar and new … various gulls, Mute Swans, Little Egrets, Grey Herons, Cormorants, Mallard and many other species that I did not yet recognise. Migrants too were present: Sanderlings, Curlews, various Geese, all attracted by the rich tidal feeding on their way north.
I dusted off my camera, loaded up my photographer’s backpack, and set off. My main camera and “birding” lens combo are shown below. The bag is a Kata 3N1-30, a versatile system with quick-release straps that can be quickly configured as a backpack to distribute weight on long treks or as a sling/shoulder bag (either shoulder) for quick access when needed. The top flap shown open here is only used to load extra gear if needed. When in use, the bag is swung around to the front so that the camera is facing downward, and the left side panel immediately behind the camera zips open for quick access. See Kata brochure (.pdf) HERE if you want more details.
Weight Training! .. Canon 5D Mk II DSLR camera + 400mm f/4 DO IS USM lens + 1.4 Teleconverter... effectively a 560 mm telephoto lens. Total weight including bag - about 6 Kilos!
I hand-hold for most shots (I have tried tripods and monopods, but I find them slow to use and an unwanted encumbrance when out walking!) so I am extremely thankful for the image stabilization in modern lenses!
Some days I may come home with nothing, but most days I will find one or two things to take, and on a really good day I may take many tens of photos. Then it is back home for some breakfast, fire up the computer, download the images and start sorting … weeding out the duffs and the duplicates until I end up with (hopefully) a good handful of “keepers”. These I upload to my SmugMug galleries or convert ready for printing – or, more likely, both!
Mute Swans in close formation over Haslar Lake
Now that I have some pictures again, I am starting to miss camera club life There is a camera club nearby: Gosport CC, which starts its new season in a couple of weeks. After a six-year hiatus from camera club life, I think I may join…
