Today was another very long day. I started work at 6:00 am. I didn’t take a lunch break per se, but I did sneak in ten minutes in the backyard using Ray’s 7D. I also lucked out when my wife called me over to the living room window to show me a robin trying to shelter from cold, wet splatter in the willow tree in our front yard.
It’s not easy for something with no lips to look miserable, but he certainly made it work. I felt for him as I didn’t feel like being outside, either. The day was a constant drizzle with blasts of cold wind. I got a couple of images out of it, so no complaints on my end of things.
Strathmore, AB, 2024-05-17
Strathmore, AB, 2024-05-17
I used Ray’s 70-300mm EF IS USM f4.5-5.6 lens for the shot of the robin. I added a 24mm extension tube to it for closeups of the lilac bush and the Mayday Tree blossoms.
Our Mountain Ash tree is producing berries again, here’s hoping they survive until the fall. They looked healthy enough last year until the rain stopped in early July and never restarted again. They wizened and disappeared.
Strathmore, AB, 2024-05-17
Strathmore, AB, 2024-05-17
All of the above images were grabbed during two or three minute breaks during the work day as I did not get a lunch break. I tried, but every time I was about to ring off for an hour someone needed something five minutes ago and I had to run and deal with that. It was very frustrating. I had hoped to do a bit more photography after supper, but I wound up going out to do shopping I had not expected to.
I went back to work at 8:00 pm and pushed through until 9:00 pm when I finally threw in the towel for the day. Not everything got done, but I can catch up the rest on Sunday. I took a look out the front window when I got upstairs and the sky was showing potential with about five minutes to go before the sunset, so I hurriedly fired my drone out the front door.
The best of the sun dipped just below the bank of clouds as the drone was reaching the correct position over the centre of Lower Gray Pond. Bugger me, that was some timing. I flipped the camera to vertical and took a sweeping series of overlapping shots I could stitch in Photoshop after and called it a day.
It wasn’t the day I had hoped to have, but I got some images I liked and I managed to spend my day working at a job that pays well enough from the comfort of my own home. Now the long weekend is here and the revelries (such as they are) will begin.
I’m pretty blessed and I know it. Once again, I am grateful for this day.
Today’s images made using the Canon EOS R5 left to me by Ray along with his well-loved and well-used Canon 70-300mm EF IS USM f4.5-5.6 lens, except for the pond image. The pond image was made using a DJI Mini 3 photography drone.
