Birds plus Camera equals No Work Done

So, we’re all settled into our friend Barry’s house, trying to get some work done while we’re on vacation (yes, there’s something wrong with that). The problem with setting up our computers next to the window, though, is that we’ve not had a decent view for the past 7 months or so, plus we haven’t had any real wild birds about since we moved to the UK (pigeons and urban seagulls don’t count). What has this meant for productivity? Well, it has meant that every time I get settled in to try to do some reading, there’s another new bird flitting about, begging to have its photo taken.

We have no idea what kinds of birds we’re seeing, other than the red-tailed hawk, of course, and the woodpecker and the blue jay. It’s really amazing, once you start taking their pictures, how many different kinds of birds are just … flitting about, taunting you with how quick they are, and with how auto-focus is really good at catching the leaf or the branch beside the bird. It’s quite a challenge, getting them into focus: I think I’ve taken around 500 bird pictures in the past couple of days, and have thrown out most of them.

Some of them, though, are quite surprising. Who knew that the innocent looking little gray birds, with the cute crests, have had the tips of their tails dipped in bright yellow? Who knew that the “black” bird, whose picture I took because he was making such a racket, is really kind of a golden color, shot through with spots?

It’s Winter here, too, but it’s nowhere near the level of darkness they’re experiencing in Glasgow, Scotland. It’s not just clouds or lack of clouds, but it’s on an absolute scale: I can take pictures of fast-moving things here and have them come out. I set my aperture on the camera to the widest it’ll go and let the camera calculate the exposure duration … and the camera complains, sometimes, that I’m going to overexpose the shot. In Glasgow? In Glasgow I’d be cringing, wishing I’d brought my tripod, because the exposure would be going for so long that I’d blur the picture from not being able to hold still for that long.

I’m sitting here, looking out the window at nearly 5 p.m., and it’s still quite light outside. My camera tells me that it’s lighter than it gets in Glasgow during the middle of the day. Photography here is about there being too much light.

And here’s me, with loads of journal articles to read, and T. with a book revision she’s trying to get done. And the birds, distracting us both.

2 Replies to “Birds plus Camera equals No Work Done”

  1. Those are great bird photos! Hope that eventually they become so familiar that they are boring…or not 🙂
    It’s true that we have a fair amount of light even when it is overcast. Must visit Glasgow one day to compare.
    Happy New Year!

  2. Those two photos of the birds in the oak tree are amazing! I’ve sat on the couch watching them eat the finch seed many times, but I’ve never seen them like that!

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