Untamed Land

Untamed Land
Untamed Land

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Adventures With the New Camera

My ancient cellphone is just a phone. No camera, apps, music, games, nothing, just making and receiving phone calls.  For some time now I have been thinking that I ought to obtain an inexpensive and especially a SMALL camera that I can carry around in my coat pocket or knapsack. There have been many occasions when I wished that I had a camera with me. Usually on my way to, or from work.
They just opened a new mega-Walmart that is right on my way to work. On Thursday I stopped by the store on my way home from work and purchased this little camera. It is only 2" high by 3.5" long. I also got a deluxe carrying case, (ziplock bag) to keep it from getting wet.
On Friday a rare occurance for this time of year happened. The sun came out. Before dinner I decided to test out the new little camera in the field next door. I was dismayed to see heavy equipment excavating foundations for a new housing development. Kiss the field goodbye. There is enough of it left to photograph the end of Autumn. This is one end of a depression that will play a role at the end of this post.
At first I just photographed colorful weeds. I was hoping to find some cooperative birds and a flock of Canada Geese flew directly over me but I was too slow to get a decent shot of them. There were no other birds at all.
People dump a lot of trash in the field and I came across this shattered window. To me it looks a lot like ice covering a frozen pond.
When I first moved to Anchorage, this was just an off-road track. Something caused it to sink. Whether it was frost heaves or earthquakes or a combination of factors, the ground sank and water settled into the depression.
This Moose was about a hundred yards distant. The limited 8 power zoom on the camera could not bring it very close.
It soon wandered off into the thick brush but reappeared a few minutes later. This time much closer.
The cow Moose looked at me and turned her course toward me.
She did'nt come directly at me so I stood my ground. The light was quickly fading so many of the photos I shot were somewhat blurred. 
She made as if to walk past me and keep going. Notice how pale her rear legs are. Many Moose have nearly white back legs. At this point I was using camera's widest setting, 24mm. She was only about 15' away from me.
Then she stopped and gave me a few long stares. I kept shooting photos, realized that my flash was popping so I shut it off.  Soon she began browsing with no further concern about me.
She was relaxed around me but very alert to noises coming from beyond her field of view. A motorist revving his engine on a nearby street caused her to quickly walk in the opposite direction. 
I left to go eat wondering why she came so close to me when she could have so easily avoided me altogether.
What do I think of the new camera? I like that fact that it is 16.1 megapixels, and has a ziess lens. It will not be much good for photographing birds, but its more than adequate for toting around on a daily basis.

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