Remember the first nick in your new car’s paint job, or the first mishandled drop of your cell phone? I’ve grown accustomed to that lump in your throat unfortunately. Transporting thousands (and sometimes tens of thousands) of dollars worth of equipment, hauling it around, exposing it to the elements, purposefully putting it in harms way takes its toll. I had a small casualty last evening before the Flyers game. I was at one of the small holes photographing the warm ups for Independence Sports Magazine when a puck came flying at me. The lens I was using has a built in metal hood the extends about an inch and a half past the end of the lens. I looked at it in disbelief (pictured below). This isn’t made of aluminum or anything very malleable at all, but I guess a hockey puck flying at full speed was more than a match for it. I was a little angry about it, but then I got to thinking. If my camera hadn’t been there at the time I would have taken it in the face, so I’m happy about that, and if I would have had any other lens on the camera the glass would have been smashed by the force of the puck. All in all - I think I came out way ahead on this one, but I still have that feeling, niggling away in the back of my mind.
Swan in Spring
Wildlife Wednesday
Last evening I was out enjoying the warmth of early Spring poking around Marsh Creek when I came across a few swan that were feeding near a marshy inlet. They came up very close (I was even a bit intimidated) but paid me no heed. The light from the setting sun gave a nice glow to the scene so I smiled and took a deep breath, welcoming the change of season.
Nikon D4 Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 175mm f/3.5 ISO 1000 1/1000 sec
April 2014 Calendar
I’m hoping that Spring is finally on it’s way and with this picture we all forget about Winter and the extended time it has lingered. Please enjoy this picture,share it with your friends or whomever else needs a little pick me up on their computer.
April 214 Calendar
To the download page: April 2014 Calendar
I Can Only Imagine
“Why am I here? Why did I come back? I just followed every other bird on the return flight. I thought someone knew what they were doing. Obviously not. I’m a Robin, and I come home in the Springtime, and there’s going to be hell to pay for whomever jumped the gun and led us back early. Blame will probably fall to that ridiculous groundhog, but I’m not so sure it’s entirely his fault. Some of the older, wiser birds look just as confused as I do. Probably the mathematician section of the flock screwed up. They have one job through the year, to count the minutes between dusk and dawn, and when it's the same from dawn to dusk, we fly. I’m not saying it’s an easy job, just that I’ve caught a few of them napping from time to time. So here I stand, in this freakish snowstorm, in Spring.”
Nikon D7100 Sigma 300mm f/2.8 @ 300mm f/5.6 ISO 200 1/80sec
The Zoo
Sunday was chilly and overcast, and I didn’t have an event to photograph, so I thought I would try my luck at the Philadelphia Zoo. The nice part was that the chill in the air kept the crowds away and the smell at an acceptable level; the downside was that many of the animals were not outside on display. Fortunately for me, the ones I did see were amenable to my camera snapping away at them while they rested and waited, although it’s not likely they could have done much else. Here’s some of my favorite shots from the day. It’s good to keep practicing.
All taken with the Nikon D7100 and the Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8
