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Out doing a bit of gardening, cutting our “front lawn” (aka The Dandelion Patch – I like Dandelions!). And I kept getting the impression out of the corner of my eye of something darting swiftly by – until at last there came a beautifully warm red-orange glow from the bottom of a dense bush, and there was a Robin, a fairly small type of thrush.
And as I raked the grass and so laid bare more and more food items for him, he darted out more and more and dutifully gobbled them all down. And knowing birds a little, I kept fairly still and started talking to him in much the same way that I talk to cats – quietly, softly and low. And, looking up at this giant towering over him, he came closer and closer, to within a couple of inches of my feet I suppose, and I did wonder whether he might hop up onto the top of my shoe.
But he hopped away again, though not far away – and I started thinking about a photograph. So, very quietly and slowly, keeping my eyes on him, I backed away into the house where I knew the Z 6 with a telezoom attached and a charged up battery were ready and waiting. Creeping back out into the garden again I was sure he’d have disappeared – but no, he was still there, looking me. So I carefully braced myself against the wall of the house and managed a few pictures.
Trouble was, I’d hardly used the Z 6 since the start of the coronavirus lockdown in March – I’ve been almost entirely photographing with the Olympus TG-5 – and so I’d forgotten exactly how the ***** Z 6 works!!! >>>> and so to several failed shots!
But a couple of the frames came out ok – and so to a record of a really wonderful close encounter, just the thing in fact to lift the spirits in these very sad and trying times.
Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window – certainly recommended.
Technique: Z 6 with 70-300 Nikkor lens used in DX (= APS-C) format to give 450mm; 3200 ISO; spot metering; Lightroom, starting at the Camera Landscape v2 profile; south Bristol; 22 Sept 2020.
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