Shoot, Shoot, Shoot

It has been a while since I picked up the Canons and went out to shoot for an afternoon. With the Bali trip coming soon, I knew that it was time to get back in the shooting groove. So I packed the 1ds Mark II and the 30d and headed to the Chicago Botanic Gardens for some hiking and moving around after the cold winter and chilly spring. Since I am a member at the Gardens, it is easier to wander around and look at the different areas that are finally beginning to bloom.

It was almost thirty minutes before I took my first photo and I enjoyed watching and visualizing what I wanted to photograph and how to transfer the image from my mind's eye to the Canon's electronics. I must have been a sight as I walked because I have been told, and have experienced firsthand, that sometimes the very best scene is the one that is directly behind you. Imagine seeing me with two DSLRs and a backpack meandering along on the pathways performing slow pirouettes to ensure a 360 degree view.

When I got home and downloaded the photos to my laptop, it became apparent that some rust has formed since the Bhutan trek in November of 2006. What I had wanted to capture at the Gardens and the feelings that I wanted to have in my photos was missing from many of them. With digital photography, it is very easy to delete everything that you don't like. I have learned, however, that if I don't like a photograph there is usually a reason and I keep them as learning tools. I didn't like some of the Gardens' photos for purely technical reasons and others because they could have been better framed or positioned.

So it is back to the Gardens to shoot, shoot, shoot.

1 month, 27 days, 1 hour, 16 minutes, and 10 seconds until I leave for Bali.

But who's counting.