I can't believe it: a nice and sunny weather in Oslo. For the past few days the weather has been unpredictable to say the least. Time to put on your lens hoods and start snapping!
The location is once again Østensjøvannet in the outskirts of Oslo. I have never been so often to this place then when I started with photography. Nature photography sounds easy, but it really isn't. I find street and city photography better. Unlike birds, people move slower, and you can actually tell them to pose for a shot. Birds tend to fly away when they hear even the slightest hint of footsteps. And then you have the lighting: agonizingly bright and sharp one moment, dark and somber the next. So it really poses a lot of challenges, both for the camera equipment and the photographer.
It was a productive walk though. Forget about taking pictures of birds with the EF 70-200 F4L USM lens, unless you are shooting birds who are willing to pose for a shot. I was lucky to have a bird kind enough to stay perched long enough for me to get a good shot at it.
The Canadian Geese were better though: they pretty much stay put, unless you get too close and they start to chase after you (I love when that happens). I wish I had a lens with a much longer focal length so I can take pictures of those tiny feathered creatures perched on trees. But those lenses are well out of my budget. Plus I don't think I can be bothered to carry them around. I saw another photographer today lugging a Canon EF 400mm F2.8 L IS USM lens. It was the size of a golf bag!
The trip was inspiring and tiring at the same time. But it was very good practice indeed. My only fault was that I was not thinking clearly enough so as to compensate for the ever changing lighting conditions and the motives I am taking. I need to be more proactive and know (and do!) when to stop up, stop down, increase or decrease shutter speed, etc. But it's a new camera, and a relatively new photographer. So I know things will get better with practice.
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