A lust for life (and lenses)

Or, since I have already managed to get myself a Nikon 600 mm f/4, what I am lusting for now is an as light as possible tripod (Gitzo series 5?) and as versatile and maneuverable gimball head arrangement (Wimberly? or Jobu Design Black Widow?) so that the lens is supported, stable, etc, etc

As opposed to being a deadweight that cannot be raised to eye level for shooting birds.

Aren't these -- the tripod and gimball head arrangement -- unnecessary accessories that will be put away in some convenient corner and gather dust? After all, that is what happens to most tripods, by virtue of their weight and unwieldy nature, it is not?

Ummm...well, I hate tripods and would rather handhold my lenses all the while. And I have managed pretty well all these while (the Sigma 150-500 is more or less a pygmy in terms of weight when compared to the Nikon 600 mm, but its no featherweight, all said and done). And over the last couple of weekends I have managed to do a lot of shooting with the 600 mm, totally hand-held and also by bracing it here and there (including my knee, etc) but the fact remains that it progressively ends up becoming a deadweight.

To get an idea of what I am saying, think of a scenario from a Hindi film, just after a gunfight in which one of the characters (mostly the villain) has taken a bullet but is still trying to raise his gun, summoning all the remaining vestiges of strength in his body and yet, fails, to either pass out or die. In my case, there are no bullets involved and nor is there any blood, but a bird looking at me with a mischievous glint in its eye while I am straining the sinews of shoulders and biceps and arms to hold the lens steady to squeeze off a shot...

And yes, most of the time I am able to squeeze of the shot as well...but

So, the lust for a carbon fiber tripod and a sufficiently advanced gimball head continues.

*****

Meanwhile, at the buffalo wallow (a buffalo wallow that is as full as it has ever been, in the last 3+ years that I have birded around it) a pair of Darters have taken up residence in addition to the numerous Cormorants (great and small) that are there from morning to evening. As have a pair of Purple Herons, in addition to the the Great Egrets and the Blue Herons that are there from morning to evening. Which means that I see a lot of fish getting caught and I keep missing "capturing" the moment "perfectly" (read full-frame and in absolutely sharp detail) mostly because I am a bit distant or because the bird gobbles the fish too fast or because the light is wrong or so on and so forth...

But catch the moment pretty soon I will, pretty soon...

And hopefully it will be when I will have the lens mounted on the Vanguard Auctus 283 AT that I have recently acquired and hence relatively stable as well! 

Also back at the buffalo wallow (while a reed bed grows) is a Common Kingfisher. I mean I have seen only one as of now (incidentally the lady) but I am sure the other is around as well. And, something tells me it is Lil' Blue which is back.

About time, about time -- it was around now last year that they strayed into my life, to progressively grow more and more familiar and to make me feel accepted. In the process, making me promise that I will bring out Stray Birds in their honour. Would this year mean even closer encounters?   

Speaking of which, I have already had one close encounter with Lady Lil' Blue -- saw her ensconced deep in the shadows of a thorn tree, went to ground as efficiently and soundlessly as a well trained hound and then fired away at something close to minimum focus distance (of around 6 meters) for more or less 10 minutes. I swear, I felt the bird was aware of me. And I would have got a couple of "perfect" shots as well (unimpeded sight of the bird, without any branches or leaves in between and with the bird in the light) by and by, slowly slithering through the dirt and slime, but then a Chatak came and landed on the thorn clump as if it belonged to it and our friend Lady Lil' Blue took off...

******

All this talk of lusting -- for a camera, a lens, a tripod, etc, etc -- is peculiarly not much off the mark considering how obsessively I photograph birds. Its even lesser off the mark when one remembers the madness with which I set out birding in March / April / May of this year; the costly visits to Uttarkhand and Bor, and the almost-daily jaunts all around my place in 45 degree plus temperatures.

But that is how it is, maybe -- sometimes its a madness that keeps you sane.

And yet, by comparison with someone like Van Gogh (his autobiography is titled "A lust for life") how mad can I consider my own obsessive streak to photograph birds? How much of what I capture is art? Yet, there are similarities -- I lug around a lot of gear, in all probability I lug around more weight than he did, in his quest to paint his subjects as seen in natural light, in situ.

And yes, my ears bother me (though I will never cut them off) more than his ever bothered him.  

Meanwhile, I am assailed by sore wrists, thews, biceps, shoulders, lats, back, knees, thighs and (dead) feet. No, I have not joined back a gym or survived a duel with Conan, the barbarian, just lugging around 10 kilos of gear and photographing birds -- over yet another weekend.

But this is a good pain to have, I will say.