AstroGypsies

I could have sworn I left it in here!

I always want to hit the person that says “everything happens for a reason”..not true..sometimes things just happen…and it’s a bitch.
I was out getting some of the best Osprey fly overs here in Estero Estuary when my Canon 6D upped and suffered shutter failure..very sad, as we are hours away from any repair shops in San Diego so I will have to wait awhile to get it fixed. I dragged my older Rebel 4Ti out of it’s bag and decided to cheer myself up and go on the hunt for what really started me on my photography journey-Hummingbirds.

Incoming

It started innocently enough, watching these amazing little flyers and trying to capture images of them. Reading everything I could and then spending hours experimenting, handheld, tripod, you name it….From the old zoom we used for the horse shows in Canada to the kit lens the Rebel 4Ti came with to the magical 100-400 IS Canon zoom I use now…there is no going back after you try these lenses, “you will never be satisfied using the old lens after trying this” a photographer friend told me, and he was right..but rediscovering the small lightweight Canon has not been bad.

Ruffous

I kind of thought I’d lost my hummingbird touch in the last few months of traveling. I have brought a feeder with me but it takes time to attract hummingbirds..years in fact at the ranch..so I didn’t get too many takers and traveling at the rate we were they couldn’t find the feeder in just a few days…and my ranch hummingbirds are used to me..they have little to no fear as most were born and raised there..so it has been a delight finding a flowering bush here that has a variety of different hummingbirds coming and going…Anna’s that stay the entire winter here I’m sure.

So maybe my old Rebel helped me get my mojo back..it also helps it’s not full frame and the 100-400 zoom turns into a 150-640mm! So I was out this morning again in the early gloom, waiting for the sun to finally come out after a cloudy few days and recapturing some of the magic that has been missing in my daily routine. It feels good to end the year on a positive note. I was pretty upset at the Canon 6D…I have no where near the 100,000 shots on the camera that they claim the shutter can take so felt angry about it’s failure.

Anna’s guarding her flowers

So, I will hang onto my trusty Rebel and keep it as a back up. Take down my E-bay add and enjoy it as it follows me on my many adventures to come:) I do look forward to a fixed 6D and it’s versatility (I don’t think it will break the bank) it has been absolutely amazing in low light, Astro photography and landscapes, but maybe it’s heart wasn’t in hummingbirds;)

I look forward to getting into Arizona and seeing the new species of these fantastic little birds that migrate up in the Spring. We are hoping to slow WAY down and spend more time in each of the places we visit. Mike says I have hummingbird  radar…I can hear them from hundreds of feet away. Guess I’m just used to hearing them for so many years it is second nature now to be able to pinpoint where they are!

With my lessons learned for 2015 I hope to take all that joy and wonder with me through 2016…See you soon…my mojo is working:)

Anna’s at her flowers