Long Tailed Tit

My Mobby Dick?

I am not sure whether I am turning into  Cap'n Ahab... chasing after his white whale but this blasted bird is getting to me.   Over the weekend I tried, and failed in a spectacular way, to capture any photographs of this stupid bird.  Actually I am not sure if the bird is stupid or whether I am but that is another story.

So I was sitting at the breakfast table wondering what the day would bring when there was a knock at the patio window.  I looked up to see the long tailed tit sitting there as if daring me to take its photograph.  Of course I couldn't resist the temptation and so started a two hour pursuit of this bird.  

I set up my camera, again attached the remote and was just ready to withdraw when the bird almost landed on the camera.  Of course by the time I had turned the camera onto the bird it had moved. 

I set up my camera, again attached the remote and was just ready to withdraw when the bird almost landed on the camera.  Of course by the time I had turned the camera onto the bird it had moved.   So half an hour watching, waiting and taking photographs from the comfort of my living room.  As an aside this is the only way to take wild life photographs, sitting in a warm room, on a comfortable chair with a nice cup of coffee.  It certainly beats freezing yourself on a cold Derbyshire hill!

So after half an hour I went to check the camera.   Great hundred plus photographs of the feeder, but no birds!  It seems that the remote made the camera keep taking photographs after I had finishing pushing the button (155 in total). Note to myself, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS! 

So I decided to change the set up.  I got my trusted 300mm f2.8 out and set this up.   Waited another half hour or so.  Sure enough the long tailed tit came and fed and I clicked away.  I went to see the results and this time a new problem.   I had placed the camera and lens so close to the feeder that the feeder was in focus but the birds weren't.  What a buffoon!

Its a small world of unintended consequences

I spent some part of yesterday rummaging around on my stomach in the garden.  This wasn't some new form of green protest but rather an attempt to make a photograph of a small flower under the large plants and shrubs.  Unfortunately those photographs weren't that good.  However, whilst I was down there I saw this rather small mushroom (Toadstool?).  I just couldn't pass that opportunity up so I pointed my G9 at the fungi and took a few shoots.   Just to give you some idea of the scale you can clearly see the lens makings reflected onto the cap of the mushroom - wither that or it is the devils mushroom as it clearly is at least one - maybe two - six.

This morning I tried to capture some crazy long tailed tit that insists on flying into the window of the garden shed.  I set up the camera, attached the remote and even put of reflector out to give the scene a little more light.   Nothing.  I waited and waited.  Still nothing.   I was standing in my garage which has a good vantage point of the garden shed.  Whilst trying not to get too bored I started to take some photographs of a wasp as it tried to fly through the window.   I got carried away and became more interested in the wasp than the long tailed tit, which, needless to say didn't turn up until I was dismantling the set up!

Well that is the beauty of photography.  You set out to make one type of photograph and end up with a totally different set all together.   Now I am not sure whether this is an unintended consequence but it was welcome.   Again the G9 proved a show stopper.