After I’d had enough birdwatching at the arboretum the other day, I decided to put the macro lens on my camera so I could snap a few more photographs of the lilac and crabapple blossoms (because the 843 photos I took two days before that WERE CLEARLY NOT ENOUGH).
Birds know a lot about cameras. They know precisely when to appear for the perfect shot. They wait until your batteries are low or you’ve forgotten to take the lens cap off, or you have a macro lens attached to your camera and can only shoot at very close range.
The second that macro lens was on my camera, two wild turkeys appeared out of nowhere just ahead of me. I’ve seen turkeys from a distance many times, but sheesh, are they ever BIG up close. Turkeys have a reputation for attacking mail carriers in our city, so I was cautious, but I also didn’t want to miss the shot. They were lumbering along pecking the ground beneath the crabapple trees. I dashed from tree to tree for cover as I stalked them like some sort of weird bird paparazzo.
I kept my eye glued to the optical viewfinder because I was afraid if I peered out from behind the camera, I might find myself staring face to wattle with one of the giant birds.
It reminded me of all the lunkheads I saw at Yellowstone National Park shoving cameras in the faces of full grown elk and buffalo as if they were house pets. Now I was doing the same crazy thing.
After they’d wandered away and I was walking back to my car, a beautiful Eastern Bluebird landed in a lilac bush just a few feet from me. Stupid macro lens!
Fortunately the bird didn’t seem alarmed by me at all and I was able to slowly inch closer and closer to him for a couple of shots.
