Murphy's Law

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Rick N
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Murphy's Law

Murphy's Law in action.

I have a rule when going our for a photo shoot, well more than one, but this particular one is to always take as much equiptment ie lenses as is possible.

So going down to the Torrens River outlet to photograph and video the masses of water going rushing out to sea after heavy rain I did think about taking a telephoto as well as a wide angle but decided against it.

Wrongsmiley

Driving home past an open drainage channel I was amazed to spy a Nankeen Night Heron!

Have only ever seen one other up in the Riverland, at a distance, and have been hoping for a chance at a decent photo for ages. 24mm wide angle was no good so the only thing for it was to at least get some video of a lovely looking bird.

Please excuse the camera shake(no tripod eitherangry)

Cheers

birdie
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That is indeed Murphy's Law RickN ..... every time I go down to the beach here with the thought that I won't take a long lens as I just want to do some seascapes etc, then you can guarantee the Osprey will make a low pass or catch a fish right in front of me!!!!  Other days I can carry a backpack full of gear and never get to take my big lens out of the pack!   Such is the life in bird photography I guess !

Sunshine Coast Queensland

Canonguy
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Yep. It can happen and it happened to me a long time ago. Now I always have my super tele on my shoulders / or laying close-by, ready to go even if shooting landscapes, but I don't do that often at all. Just one of those things you quickly learn when you are really keen to photograph birds, and mostly birds with everything else being a let's call it "side effect" of photographing birds.

Annie W
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Aww Rick, out in the open for you too!  The ones that got away...for now, hey.  We all have them, but it's a bugger though!  Happened to me a few months back, standing up on a viewing platform at a (high) lookout area near a little town called Burnie in Tas.  A little different as I did have my camera, but was fiddling around changing lenses & playing with settings etc, looked up and right in front of me, perhaps 3 metres away and at eye level, there was the most beautiful Sea Eagle literally just hovering, waiting.  4 seconds later he was tail to me and gone, crying I nearly cried with frustration at my own slowness.

West Coast Tasmania

Canonguy
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God, three meters? I cannot even focus that close. :(

You'll nail one next time AnnieJ!

sparrow
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I follow O'Reiley's Law ,he thought Murphy was a optimist !

It happend to me with the only Azure Kingfisher I have ever seen sitting 3m from me with the camera 5m away in the other direction

t h r e e  m e t e r s still makes me shake my head

birdie
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I guess we have all had one. I recently did a road trip all by myself through the hinterland here on the coast , and came across a dam that looked like it had potential. I was concentrating on landscapes so had the 10 - 20 on , and of course the big sigma was tucked away in my backpack. As I wandered to the edge under the tree line a beautiful whistling kite took off within meters of me and left me stunned and shuffling through the back pack... by the time I got it together  the pair of them were soaring in the the thermals , so close and yet so far!!

Sunshine Coast Queensland

Annie W
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Well, maybe four, but not much further than that laugh.  I felt like I could have reached out and touched him...

West Coast Tasmania

sparrow
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The lattest one I was walking from the car into a new area and thought I better format my camera just as I hit the ok I looked up to find two Little Eagles facing each other with their heads turned towards me ,It was only a few seconds but just long enough to miss out completely.

Oh well we live and learn, we hope !

sparrow
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The other one that happens ALL the time ,driving down country roads and all of a sudden there's a wedge tail over the road ,pull up and jump out camera in hand and its GONE not over the road not over the padocks nowhere to be found ,WHERE THE ------ DO THEY GO !
 

Rick N
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Went back the next day and got this wonderful shot wink

Cheers

Annie W
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Fantastic Rick!  Love it!

West Coast Tasmania

sparrow
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Even better ,there never still around when I go back to get the shot I missed.

Rick N
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By the way the "wonderful shot" was very tongue in cheek.smiley

birdie
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Rick N wrote:

By the way the "wonderful shot" was very tongue in cheek.smiley

So glad you said that .... I did wonder surprise  .....  ha ha , never mind there will be another time

Sunshine Coast Queensland

Annie W
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Rick N wrote:

By the way the "wonderful shot" was very tongue in cheek.smiley

Well laugh and blush.  Mind you, I've only ever seen these guys once in my life, and haven't seen an in flight shot before at all.  So a small win?

West Coast Tasmania

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