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Well, I think I have crossed over to the other side... I am no longer an enthusiast. I think I now safely qualify as a lunatic.

Yesterday was a holiday and I decided to go take some pictures....never mind that it's almost winter and I don't have heat in the house yet. I've been working on the house too much, I deserved a break.

I decided I'd go someplace "new", the Edwin B. Forsythe wildlife preserve.....180 miles away! We don't get shore birds where I live.

So I got up at 3:30 am after 4-1/2 house of sleep and drove 3 hrs to get there at sunrise. I spent 7 hours taking pictures (looking for opportunities is more like it) and then drove 5 hrs home (philly sucks!).

All in all I took about 75 pictures...about 25 made it onto the computer....15 hours for 25 pics, maybe 6 of which are pretty good. I think that qualifies!

I saw quite a bit of activity..Peregrines (no good pics), Norther Harriers (no good pics), Bald Eagle (no good pics), Terns (no good pics), Ospreys (maybe 2 good pics) ...

I had never captured a great picture of a Green Heron in flight. I had good pictures of Green Herons just standing around. And I know a spot where they occasionally fly by, but I had never gotten the shot.

I've talked about my lack of patience in the I Hate Tripods post And it's this lack of patience that had prevented me from getting the shot I so desired.

Well, this time I was determined!

I decided I would dedicate an entire day to it if necessary. So I grabbed my gear, drove to the lake, walked to the location, set up my tripod, and I waited.

Now, when it comes to standing around waiting, I'm not very good at it.

I'm like the child playing outfield during a practice T-ball game.

Spin around looking at the sky.

Put my glove on my head.

Look at the flowers.

Try to find a four leaf clover.

Chase a bug.

And maybe a little song and dance....

But this was serious! And I was serious, so I was good.

I stayed focused. I didn't chase any bugs. I didn't do anything but wait for th ...

Understanding this fact has really improved my life and it can improve yours as well.

I came to this bit of knowledge quite by accident.

It was a cloudy rainy day and I was sitting on the porch with my wife.

It went something like this:

me: "You know, I really should sell some of my camera stuff I never use."

her: "Probably."

"Why do you have so many camera bags anyways?"

me: "I'm not getting rid of any camera bags!"

"Bags are like purses."

No sooner had the words left my mouth when the clouds parted, a brilliant beam of light shone upon us, and we were overcome by a feeling of peace and tranquility!

Why?

Because we UNDERSTOOD each other!

Let me explain:

If you are a owner of purses partnered with a photographer, I don't know why you are reading this but think of it this way:

You need a large purse when you need to bring a lot of stuff with you.

You need a smaller purse when you want to carry less.

You need a nicer purse for more formal situations.

You need a ...

I hate them!

And I hate them for a lot of reasons.

THEY ARE EXPENSIVE!

Why are they so expensive? I don't know. It's just some aluminum or carbon fiber tubing. It must be a supply and demand thing. Maybe if more of you would buy decent tripods the price would come down. Currently, if it's cheap; it's crap.

THEY ARE HEAVY!

This I get...you want to support heavy gear you need heavy gear...But damn! Add a 10 pound tripod to my 17 pound camera and lens combo and it's almost 30 pounds!

Now I have to bring my wife along just to help me carry the stuff!

THEY ARE AWKWARD!

When I'm carrying the setup, because my wife got tired, I tend to smack her in the head or the shins every time I turn to "look around". My wife's not very cheerful about carrying my gear when her shins hurt.

THEY ARE SLOW!

"Oh please Mr. Bird...don't swallow that fish until I get set up."

It takes SEVERAL MINUTES to set up a tripod properly. If the legs are already extended you might get lucky and be able to get it h ...