On my walk the other day, I had this buck and two does come walking toward me. I stood there thinking before I could get a good shot of them, they would freak out and start running. Nope. They kept coming at me. I was surprised at how close they got before they bolted.
This buck would stand there and turn his head when he heard the shutter click. It was great. The does were a bit smarter and left sooner than my little buck did.
Donovan and I speak in pictures. 😂 He sends me pictures, videos, and snaps regularly. LOVE getting snaps from him. I tell you…when I see he sent me a snap…my heart just melts. I get so excited to see what he sent me. Just something about getting snaps from my adult son that thrills my heart.
Fire
Especially since we went through the fire together and it was painful for us both at times. Father seriously purified our relationship in such a painfully beautiful way. Created something beautiful out of our ashes.
Because I am such a humble person, I can’t stand arrogance. Pride and humility don’t mix well. Two opposing magnets for me. I am seriously repulsed by pride and arrogance.😳 I am attracted greatly to humility. 😍
My son was standing on a pedestal he created for himself. As a result, we butted heads for a season. Thankfully, the fire burned his arrogant pedestal to the ground, and he is now a man of humility. WONDERFUL!!!!!! 🥰 I am so in love with the man.
His transformation transformed our relationship. Healed it completely.
Rock
When I was living with Donovan and Vanessa in Michigan, Vanessa made Donovan a LONG list of things he needed to do inner healing on with me. Donovan and I spent two days going through that list. I was SUPER proud of my son for working through a long list of issues. His list for Vanessa wasn’t as long…but I did inner healing sessions with her weekly. They both have been working through issues for years. Most of my purpose in Michigan was doing counseling on both Donovan and Vanessa as individuals and together as a married couple. So impressed with the marriage they have today. It is sweet with tons of love and intimacy. What they have built is SOLID…like a ROCK. Truth. They have built their marriage on the truth…in love.
That being said…getting regular pictures from Donovan means the world to me because it is proof that he really does love his momma. He is thinking of me.
Yesterday, all day long, he sent me snaps of him felling trees. He is building a new food plot for the wildlife on his property. I am excited to see it when it is done. He is a manly man. 🤣 Mr. Nature…his mother’s son for sure. Growing up, he was ALWAYS outside by my side helping me do hands-on, hard, dirty labor. Loved having him beside me all the time. We are a great team.
Yearling Bucks
After I took these photos of this buck, I sent some to Donovan. I had to laugh at what my avid deer hunter said. “Yearling bucks are the dumbest deer out there.” He was surprised the buck came so close to me too.
Here is what I wanted to talk about in this post. FOCUS.
In the featured image…the focus is sharp. I like it. Really like it. Love how I got the motion of the legs kind of coming in… scissor-like.
But these other images are not tack sharp where the focus is concerned. Looking closely at the head and eyes…you can see a bit of blur.
Focus
My goal is to have tack sharp focus…every time.
I have been focusing on focus. 😜 I am coming to the conclusion that part of the problem for me is my equipment.
In the past…at times…it has been operator error. Just owning that upfront. I have checked my diopter on my DSLR, and I am in focus. Logically, I can see that other pictures are in focus, so I am good there.
Then I have been working on making sure my shutter speed is fast enough to catch the movement. Obviously, my shutter speed is ok because the featured image is at the exact same shutter speed as the other images, and I was in focus…so it isn’t my shutter speed or other settings on my camera.
That leads me to the idea that my equipment is struggling to keep the focus as I am depressing the shutter. My Canon is not continually tracking the eyes of the deer as it is moving. It has a lag time to it.
Sigh.
I want new equipment. I struggled with this issue in Michigan with the Pileated Woodpeckers. Recently, I saw a newer Canon out that has bird eye tracking. OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!! SOLD!!
I have the wantsies. Bad. 😂
I reminded Father that back in November, He asked me…what if I could make all of your dreams come true. To me…that includes NEW camera equipment. 😍
Wanting to upgrade to one of the latest mirrorless cameras. Sweetness!!!!!
Makes my heart go pitter-patter and my palms get all sweaty.
Blur
Even though my photos are a bit blurry…I am including them in this post. I am a continuous work in progress…not ashamed to share that with you all. My photography skills are growing, and I am still learning. Daily. Trial and error. He created me to learn everything the hard way…unfortunately. I prefer to learn from other people’s mistakes. 🤷♀️
These photos have some redeeming qualities to them. I like the motion of the deer. ACTION!!!!!!!!!! I like action.
Donovan keeps sending me snaps of waterfalls in the UP. Man…I want to be there with him. He has a specific spot where he likes to eat his lunch when in the UP. He sits beside this beautiful waterfall. The sound and sight of it are glorious. He and I have hiked to many waterfalls in our lives together. He is for sure my mini-me. Love that about him. We know each other intimately. So much in common. His videos have action in them. Moving water. Love it. Nature is grand.
Someday…I am going to get me a camera that can stay in focus with motion…tracking animal eyes. Excited about that day!
Have a MARVY day!