Cameras and Walking Trails

I used to see myself as an avid amateur/hobbyist photographer.  I sort of held that idea of myself even after losing Jordan to the Nursing Home. I bought the new camera Jordan had been encouraging me to get for over a year. I took the camera on the trip to Costa Rica, and then....nothing. Both my new camera and my old trusty Nikon sat on a shelf (where I could see them). When someone asked, I would tell them, "Yes, I'm a photographer."

But, more time passed and all I was using was my cell phone. Truthfully, my photos have gotten worse and worse. Some of that is because I can't really see the LCD screen to shoot a good pic. Some of it is also the phone camera is going to have limited quality. But, a lot of it is likely because I've fallen out of practice. 

Jordan and I used to "do" our photography as a planned thing. Jordan made sure to charge all batteries the night before and made sure the memory cards were ready. On the day of our shoot, we would take our cameras and go. Sometimes we were in the mountains, just for photographing waterfalls and forests. Sometimes we were in a town, like Asheville or Brevard, and we were little tourists. On those days, a camera was nice because there is so much charm that can be caught. Some of our last shoots were NYC, Brevard, Asheville, and Wilmington. 

Two weeks ago I took a walk. A three-mile walk in Duke Forest. It was the same trail that I hurt myself when I was training to become a runner. (Side note: I did not become a runner.) I consciously set out to walk three miles to try to reclaim some physical activity that I had been building over the last year. In 2019 I made it a goal to workout 3 times a week. At first, my workout was the treadmill, and I was doing interval running and walking for an hour. My goal was to always get 3 miles. I really wanted to get my cardio and legs in shape to run the entire way. By midyear, I was doing hot yoga two times a week and sometimes three. I lost weight. I've been feeling stronger. And then, COVID 19 caused studio closings and workout room closings at work and at the apartment. Closing the gyms and studios is exactly the right thing to do. But, I don't want to accidentally go backward in my weight. So I took a walk. 

Friday I took another walk on another trail and walked a little over 7 miles. Sunday I took a short 2-mile walk, and yesterday I had a 6.5-mile walk. The difference is that yesterday I took my camera. I charged the battery and made sure I had enough space on the memory card and went out on my walk. 

On the trail, there is a bald eagle is watching her nest. I've seen her both times on my walk. Yesterday I took pics. There was also a blue heron on the lake. I took pictures Friday with the phone, but they are simply the worst pictures. Yesterday I got some good shots of the heron. --I say good shots. They were good except for one thing. Too far away. I don't have a sufficient telephoto lens. 

The good news is I'm not feeling defeated. I'm feeling stronger. I will simply need to buy a telephoto lens. I'm determined. I'm determined to keep walking and to keep taking pictures. I am determined to keep reclaiming myself.