PhotonStopper

Two herons fly low over still waters of Hinckley Lake’s wetlands.

All right, I went to Hinckley Lake this morning with good intentions. In fact, I did indeed walk and run around the entire lake in an effort to improve my fitness — about 3.24 miles or a good 5K and, they say, nearly 200 feet in climbing! But I couldn’t help looking around and thinking about photography. Oh! I missed the shot of that hovering dragonfly. Damn! I missed the Great Egret fishing just off-shore! Arrrrg! A heron posing perfectly on a sun-bleached tree stump surrounded by water! It was good practice trying to regain my center; stay in the moment. Besides, once my lap was done, I’d go back to the car, retrieve my camera (don’t leave home without one), and run back to see if that heron’s still there! So I did. It wasn’t. The heron had moved and was now wading, a bit far out for the reach of the modest telephoto zoom I’d brought. Then I noticed a second heron a bit farther up the waterway. The first heron noticed the second one and leaped into the air. Then the second bird took off. Click. Click. Click. Camera was set for single-shots! I fired the shutter as quickly as I could. Got ’em! Ah, exercise and photography… kind of like the ski/shoot biathlon in the Winter Olympics, except here I was running, not skiing, and no bullets were involved.

Morning light spills on to the rocks at Whipp’s Ledges.

With a little time left and the desire for more photography and exercise, I drove to nearby Whipp’s Ledges and trotted up the steep hill toward the rock face –giving in to expected distraction– camera in hand! Along the way I stopped and photographed a beautifully-lit orb weaver spider’s web, and some lovely blue berries close to a fallen log. Then, onward to the rocks. Mid-morning light was spilling through openings at the summit of the ledge, spotlighting areas below. Lovely, soft, “north” light illuminated the rest of the scene. Dang! No tripod! Capturing a nice selection of views there, I headed back down the hill and then home, happy and sweaty.