Yet a mere 24 hours ago, we had as beautiful an Orcadian evening as ever I recall. Not a breath of wind, enough cloud to make an interesting sunset and the landscape alive with wildlife.
Our Lass and I pottered down to the shore by St Nicholas Kirk, then round by Greenwall and back home (which still needs a blog name, eh?). Oystercatcher, Curlew, Snipe, Lapwing and Redshank filled the air with their calls and flight displays. Hares ambled up the track ahead of us, before shifting gear to tear off across a field. Swallows swooped low over pools and meadows, making the most of the available food resource. A group of ten Arctic Terns called raucously from overhead as they flew northwards, whilst a solitary Bonxie glided off across Scapa Flow. Great Northern Divers fished in the bay and a small flock of Turnstones clambered over the rocky shore.
It was an evening to savour, so no camera to consume my attention, just bins for ID purposes and a phone for skyshots...
 |
| St Nicholas Kirk |
 |
| View across Howes Wick |
 |
| View across Holm Sound |
 |
| Sunset from Hurtiso |
It didn't come out as I'd hoped, so was destined for the Recycle Bin. However... because I was using Live View to protect my eyes (rather than stare into the viewfinder and burn my retinas), I didn't notice the three sunspots until later, when reviewing the image on the computer.
2 comments:
Woah, what? You photographed SUN SPOTS?!?
That's nuts. I honestly didn't know that was possible w/an ordinary camera. Congrats.
It can be great to NOT have your power camera w/you. Chills the brain out, a bit.
I was surprised too. But checking online for the arrangement of spots for the date and time, the same pattern appeared, so it would seem to be the most appropriate explanation. As I'm sure you're aware, do not look through the viewfinder at the Sun. Use the LCD screen (my camera calls this Live View) to focus.
You're spot on, sometimes the Mk 1 eyeball is preferable to loads of optics.
Post a Comment