running vs photos

6th March.
Earlier on Saturday 6th I went running. A great run but not strictly within the pandemic guidelines so we will move swiftly on to the afternoon. I was back to Warriston with the new camera and hoping to see either birds or maybe an early butterfly. Looks like there was some sunshine but not wall-to-wall. A couple of wren pics which is nice as they tend to be out singing in the morning but often harder to find in the afternoon.

Next visit was 10th March. I must have gone in earlier as there are a few more wren shots. As the season has moved on they have become bolder - or maybe just the one I see most of has got used to me following it around. I went in by the East Gate but immediately heard a woodpecker so went to the North side and caught a glimpse of it. However it was too high and obscured by branches to get a decent photo and then flew off. I returned to the wren and robin area and secret garden.

The new camera is a joy to use. At first I found it so large by comparison to the campacts I have been using, but it seems to get lighter rather than heavier. And the extra zoom (and quality) it gives brings distant birds to within reach. However I do worry that is encouraging more walking and less running. I can run to and from venues like Warriston with it packed tightly into protective bags, but it is definitely pulling me towards a more sedate pace. I have been one run where I kept it in the backpack for most of the trip, only removing it when there was something worthy of a better quality photo. It worked very well in that capacity, so maybe that is the answer. The rest of the time I used the compact camera, carried in my hand as usual. It will be interesting to see how things pan out over the butterfly season. I suspect it will greatly encourage me to take better photos. There is an drum roll excitement about this that is slightly missing from my running diary. On the positive side of running we have just been allowed to meet in larger groups for runs so maybe getting back to midweek training will fire up my competitive nature again. And the potential for races. Time will tell.