Musings. Steve, over at Photographyfree4all said he enjoyed my musings. I like the sound of that word. It makes me picture my self in an easy chair, leaned back with a pipe in my mouth, looking upward and musing. However, I don’t smoke anymore. I did many years ago when I was a kid, but never a pipe. Okay, so I did try a pipe. But I just didn’t look right with a pipe in my mouth. Pipes look best in the mouths of professors. Especially when they are looking up with them in their mouth and they are saying “hmmmm” and musing. 🙂
So here I am musing, I guess. I would rather call it just rambling on. I was just thinking (or musing) how I told Raymond at Braxisphotography that I took a lot of pictures from my car. I hadn’t really thought much about it untill I brought it up, but some of my best images were captured from the front seat of my van.
My van, like most vehicles nowadays, has individual front seats in front, so my Canon 7D with the 500mm attached, sits on the floor beside me between the seats. On my lap is another Canon 7D with my 100-400mm lens attached. So I am ready for anything that may happen to appear. My dear friend Deb, from Tennesse, kids me about stopping in the middle of the road to take a photograph. I tell her that I absolutely do not stop in the middle of the road. It is usually in one lane or the other. 🙂
So as an example, I was driving along on US67 heading for Ballinger one day. Sid and Suzanne Johnson were in the back seat. All of a sudden, Sid hollered out there was Red-tailed Hawk in the grass on the left. Sure enough, there sitting near the road in the grass on the left was this beautiful hawk. I stopped immediately, in the middle of the lane, after checking my mirrors, of course. Hey, I may be crazy but I’m not stupid. 🙂 Anyway, I grabbed that camera off my lap and I was ready to go.
The following is the resulting image. Actually one of many images, as I had that 7D on high-speed multiple shooting at 8 frames per sec. This one is one of the best.
Red-tailed Hawk in flight
Okay, enough rambling (or musing) for me today. Check with me tomorrow and I might have some more “a-musing” musings. Hey, that’s catchy, don’t ya think” 🙂
Texas Tweeties by Bob Zeller 
The musing” is good, the photograph is great!!!
Birds in motion are sort of kryptonite to me, I never get good shots 🙂
It’s all in the panning. It’s easier with the big birds as they aren’t as quick as the tiny birds. But it takes practice. Probably the hardest is first getting them in the viewfinder, then you can lock on the focus, and pan, move the camera while keeping the bird in the viewfinder and holding down the shutter.
Thanks, Michael
Sure. Guess it will have to be summer before we can go?
We’re enjoying your photos and your trip. Maybe we’ll be able to make that trip soon.
Can I come with you?? 🙂
Bob…your “musings” remind me of the place that is my home – Texas. Literally every picture brings to mind a memory. Thanks for bringing “home” to me every day.
Toby
Thanks,Toby. I am glad that I can do that much for you. You’re my kind of Texan. Bob
That’s a fantastic photo, Bob!! Do you ever put together some sort of (not sure what they’re called – showing my ignorance, here) “filmstrip”, where you take several of the shots that you got while on continuous shooting, so we can see the movement? Do ya like my description?? Maybe you can teach me something today – the “technical” term for whatever it is I’m talking about! 🙂
Amusing Musings – almost sounds like a blog title, doesn’t it?? I can almost picture that easy chair and pipe….
Thanks, Holly.
That is a good idea that you have. I don’t know what the technical term might be, but I guess it would be akin to flip-cards. I’ll have to think about trying that if the next situation arises. When i take a series of pictures like that, I have a habit of culling out the ones that may be blurred, or the subject didn’t remain in the remain, etc.
Taking that photo wasn’t as simple as I made it out to be. In a situation like that I have no control over the lighting or exposure. All I can do is make sure I get some shots in the middle of the frame. I pan the camera as I hold down the shutter. Then I go to my digital darkroom and make the exposure corrections, like adding light to the shadows, etc. I also use Focus Magic, downloadable for 46.00, to make little focus corrections. An amazing piece of software. It can really be a big help if the camera is slightly off.
Bob