I went for a short walk in the morning to check out the progress of spring. I found a big bunch of coltsfoot and decided to come back in the afternoon with close-up gear and also try the angle finder for the first time.

Said and done, I packed the bag full (and oh boy is it heavy, I had forgotten all about this) and got out. Before I set off, I just briefly wanted to check the lupine bench next to the garage in case some leaves would already be popping out and I didn’t find any, but there was a huge frog instead. I didn’t have to think twice but pulled out the camera and got down. The angle finder really is nice – I didn’t have to lie down completely but was able to kneel and get a good view of the viewfinder. The problem is with orienting the camera – takes some getting used to point it in the right direction when you seeing the viewfinder image from a 90 degree angle. Well, the frog was having none of it anyway and refused to face the sun despite my promises of fame and riches, and then hopped on to the forest. One shot was all I got (or three shots, but the other two were crap).

Now I was finally able to get to the coltsfoot and after looking around, settled with this specimen. The wind was really bad and even the robust coltsfoot were swaying, so there was a lot of waiting for the right moment. I also had to keep removing wind-blown dried grass from the frame, so patience is everything. Now that I was shooting from a tripod, I have to say that the angle finder is just simply wonderful. The x2.5 zoom option allows for very careful focusing, enabling me to get the best out of the 300mm lens. In a word, sharp!

When I was done with the coltsfoot, I became more aware of my surroundings and heard some chirping behind me. I turned around to look at two pied wagtails in the melt water puddle and they didn’t seem to mind me too much. When they still hadn’t flown away after I had removed the extension tube, I pointed the camera towards the birds. They were 5 metres from me, I have never been this close to pied wagtails with a camera and I was able to rattle off a good few shots before they made their escape. The shots are not much to look at, but sharp they are. I love my 300mm f4L!

The hepatica are blooming behind my garage. There is something green shooting up in every sunny spot. Butterflies are flying… Birds are coming home… The season of plenty has started!