Wednesday, May 2
6:15 am
It is +4 °C, with a high forecast of +7 °C.
From the Environment Canada website:
Today Showers. Local amount 5 mm. Wind becoming northwest 20 km/h near noon. High 7.
Tonight Cloudy with 60 percent chance of showers this evening. Clearing overnight. Wind northwest 20 km/h becoming light this evening. Low minus 2.
6:20 am Musings
It is really miserable outside, with the rest of the week not looking much better.
On the plus side, it is nice to have the website up to date. And a hot cup of coffee in hand.
I plan to visit the LFC (Lethbridge Fitness Center) this morning. I will wait until at least 9 am so those who want to use the facilities before they go to work can do so. Also 9 am give me a chance to wake up before trying something strenuous.
My next priority is to finish reading Eliot Perlman's "The Street Sweeper". This is another activity that has been dragging on far too long. The book itself is a very good story, even though grim with descriptions of the Holocaust. Definitely unpleasant, but worth remembering, which is clearly the prime objective of the novel.
And my next to next priority is birding. I want to explore the options for a new lens as well as doing some serious reading about warblers.
6:30 am Birding
Now to do some preliminary thinking about bird watching. Two thoughts come to mind. One is on the spot identification, rather than depending on looking at photos. The other is to consider some form of new lens that gives me better telephoto magnification.
The first likely means carrying binoculars with me, definitely in a harness (which I have). I need the harness since I will also have my camera on a monopod with me. It is relatively easy to rest the camera/monopod on my forearm while bringing up the binoculars to view the bird. Or I can, carefully, lay the camera on the ground before using the binoculars. Identification also means do more preparatory reading so I have a sense of what to expect. I also would like to do more reading about the behavior of various birds.
7:00 am Technology
The question of a new lens seems to be a choice between some form of teleconverter (about $200) for my EF 70 - 300 mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens or to consider something in the 400 - 500 mm range. I am beginning think that it makes sense to avoid a zoom lens because of the cost and to depend on a straight forward telephoto lens. Usually when I am trying to photograph birds I am using my existing lens at full zoom. Reading a few reviews seems to support my comment that one is usually shooting at full zoom and that the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM produces sharper images than a zoom lens. The price is around $1,400. whereas the popular 100-400 zoom is about $1800. That is, the zoom is about $400 more and produces poorer images. But it does have Image Stabilization. I think the next step is to see if I can test the lens while trying to take photos of birds (using both hand-held as well as monopod).
[1:00 PM] I have discussed this with the folk at a camera store and they will arrange for me to try one out this weekend. I will be able to take a few pictures from in front of the store and then see how they look on my computer screen. This is what I have a lot of experience with - taking photos of empty tree branches. I will also take a few pictures with my zoom lens so I can compare the two. I want to take some pictures using only a hand-held approach and then again using the monopod. and I want to take a lot of pictures of objects that are about the same distance as most of my bird pictures were taken.
4:30 PM Literature
This is a powerful novel. I do not want to add more detail to the story than what I said at the outset. I will not forget this novel. Perlman is definitely on my "must read" list.