During a brief visit to Green Spring Gardens on Monday with fellow photographer Cindy Dyer, I was thrilled when this Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) landed close to me on an evergreen tree and I was able to capture this shot with my macro lens. I was focusing primarily on flowers and bugs, as one tends to do when visiting a garden, and simply reacted when this unexpected opportunity presented itself.
One of my goals in spending so much time in the field is to become so familiar with my camera gear that I can instinctively capture an image like this without having to think consciously about my camera. It is hard to explain, but it was one of those magical moments when I felt at one with my camera. Yeah, that sounds a little weird, but it is hard to put into words.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Nice Mike! I know what you mean “being one with your camera”. It certainly helps when you see an image and can instinctively shoot and adjust exposure, etc. to get the shot! The Canon R still feels weird to me, but the files are great. But Overall I like the 1 series better.
I totally understand your camera relationship. Here I usually hear the Mocking bird in my yard around March / April. When I hear his beautiful song I know spring is near.
Not weird and an excellent image of the Mockingbird!
Not weird at all. Muscle memory and knowing your gear. And a conversation I have had numerous times with the that lady here who also agrees LOL. Or perhaps… we three are all ‘weird’.
I think all three of us are under the influence of whatever substance the body produces that keeps us going repeatedly out into the wild for endless hours to shoot the same subjects, an addiction that an outsider would certainly find weird. There should be a warning label on cameras that warns that continued use of the camera will become habit-forming and potentially addictive 🙂
LOL, great timing for me to see this… I just dragged back in from 90 degree heat after walking through grasses with 20+ huge Alligators LOL. Even Ellen watched from the trail. Good Grief…how did this happen.
Weird and wonderful! I love to be able to react in an instant to an unexpected opportunity and the added challenge of not having to think about not having time to change lenses. I’ve made many a memorable shot of a relatively-distant sudden volunteer with a macro lens. And a few close-ups when all I had with me was a telephoto, too.
We think alike, Gary. Use what you have to do what you want. I have read some interesting articles in the past about landscape photographers who use telephoto lenses for much of their work.
I love it, though NOT my favorite bird!