Smokies Photo Blog and Musing

To me a great measure of success is not how well I can control the environment I live in,

but how well I can adapt to the environment I am passing through.

                                                                                                   Bc Hannold

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Anyone  who believes they are not biased, is doomed to a lifetime of ignorance and self deception.

Bc Hannold

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That perfect Friend

I have a friend, Like no other,

Who is always there for me.

Quietly she awaits the time,

That she can be for me.

For her I have no faults,

No feet rooted in clay,

She always stands beside me,

To help me bear the day.

When all the friends have left,

And family’s gone home too,

She remains behind,

And shares a heart that’s true.

Patiently she waits,

As I struggle about the world,

Gazing with eyes that do not judge,

She smiles with a heart that knows only love.

To know this perfect friendship,

Where one can only give,

Is to know a glimpse of heaven

And the true meaning of love.

Bc Hannold

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If you want to predict your future, take a good look at your past.

Bc Hannold

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This moment is the total sum of every action I have ever taken in the past.

Bc Hannold

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If you wonder what is wrong with the world, you should first look in the mirror.

Bc Hannold

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Spring forth

She brushed her hand across the water,
And bright blue springs,
Came gushing up to meet her.

She smiled,
And the light went dancing among the ripples,
Singing a giggling harmony.

She laughed,
And all about a chorus of blossoms erupted,
In a deafening crescendo of color.

As she exhaled,
The forest burst forth,
In a rippling wave of fresh green buds.

As she took repose,
A carpet of fresh green grass,
Rose to meet her.

As she sat among the trees,
The air began to fill with twittering of birds,
As the fawns and otters came to call.

She stretched out her arms,
Seducing the sun from the shadows,
Tickling the warmth to greet her.

She inhaled the fragrant air,
And slept,
For her work was done.

Bc Hannold

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Last week I finally got the Kayak out on the lake to do some bird shots. Although it was more of a trial run for the Kayak (making sure everything is ship shape), and the car, (Seeing if the kayak would fit on the car).

Need a bigger boat!

So I lucked into a nice day, although it may have been too nice, very bright out and unseasonably warm by the time to the lake. At least I didn’t have any storms to face that day though. So after working out mounting the kayak on the car, I headed for Douglas Lake. Actually it was on the Pigeon River near where it meets the French Broad River, kind of the beginning of the lake.

I got to the lake and got the kayak into the water about 11am. Pretty bright by that time, and I took the little camera for this outing. I still have to work out a dry system for the larger camera to fit the kayak. But this area is a wetlands area and a little bit of a preserve so the birds were abundant. Herons, Osprey, Ducks, Geese, Anhingas, and many more were out in numbers, along with a couple eagles.

Bright Sunny Day

The kayak is great for its stability. None of the worries of leaning to far that you get in a canoe, but in the end you are shooting from a boat that is moving, albeit slowly, from a sitting position. So stabilizing the camera was challenge, even for the small and light Panasonic FZ50 I was using.  I chose this camera as a small fixed lens camera I could keep in the car for mostly landscape shooting. It does okay for that with a nice 28 – 400 35mm equivalent Ziess lens, but I did find myself missing the big rig on this excursion. In order to try to avoid motion blur from the kayak and bird movement, I used an iso 400, which when combined with the maximum zoom produced quite a bit of noise in the images. Also the write speed of the camera is pretty slow, with little buffer, so a lot of images were missed waiting for the camera to write to the sd card, but this mainly a day to play to anyway. I plan to go back with the big rig next week weather permitting, and try to get some serious shots.

The kayak was excellent for getting close to the birds without spooking them too much. Herons are always a challenge of course, but with some quiet drifting I was able to get into position to get some pretty decent shots with a few of the more tolerant herons.

Heron on a log

Another heron another log

Of course many were spooked as well, so I got a little practice at takeoffs.

At this point I must through a plug for Lightroom 4. I was very impressed with its ability to clean up noise on these shots. These are pretty severe crops on a 10 mp point and shoot, so all things considered I’ll take em.

In Flight

Takeoff

The osprey were in abundance. There are a number of nest in the area in old dead trees, a silo, and an old railroad bridge. So there is a lot of opportunity for flight shots, and nest shots if you can get a good angle. Hard to shoot sitting down in kayak, but a great place to try.

Through in a few gossiping geese and all in all, it was a fun day. I can’t wait to get back out there with the bigger rig at a better hour of the day.  While the little camera did a pretty good job, I know I can do a lot better with a rig better designed for this kind of shooting.

Gossip corner

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You are only as smart as your actions

Bc Hannold

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Mowing

I set upon that summer weekly ritual,

Mounting my steed, roaring to life with a sputter of protest.

Whirling steel blades reducing my lawn to the earthy smell of fresh cut grass.

Mindlessly, I repeat the pattern of rectangles, circles and swirls,

Enjoying the overcast sky, restraining the brutality of the summer sun.

A spit of rain, splashes, and is gone. Ah, a relieving oasis on this summer morn.

Around the house, and down the yard toward the garden,

With purple martins clearing the way , as mustangs escorting bombers over Germany.

Swooping and diving, a midair dance clearing the way of insects stirred by the whirling blades.

Bouncing and bounding over the lawn, a somber moment as I trim around Izzy,

My faithful companion for 15 years, missing the fun times and unconditional love.

A bridge between my first life and this one, wondering if she is playing with Nadine,

Who left this earth for a better place. A bridge between Nadine and Lois my current wife.

And I am reminded of all the wonders that I have received, and joy returns with a thankful heart at all I have today.

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