Grabbing My Camera Bag
Woke up yesterday morning feeling kinda restless, figured I needed to get outta the house. Remembered Lone Oaks park – heard it’s quiet on weekdays. Thought, “Why not?” Tossed my trusty DSLR into my bag along with the 50mm lens. Didn’t even bother cleaning the lens filter, just grabbed some water and an apple and jumped in the car. Honestly wasn’t expecting much, just wanted some fresh air.
The Initial Hustle (& Sweat)
Got there around noon. Sun was blasting down, felt like summer snuck back in for a day. Started wandering the main path near the old oak they’re famous for. Tried snapping a few wide shots first. Total disaster. Everything looked washed out, like someone cranked the brightness way too high. The oak just vanished into the glare.
Tried messing with the camera settings:
- Lowered the ISO way down, almost to rock bottom.
- Cranked up the shutter speed, trying to swallow less light.
- Closed the aperture a bit, hoping to get a sharper tree against the grass.
Still wasn’t happy. Looked like any old snapshot anyone could take with their phone.
Getting Closer (& Finding Shade)
Gave up on the wide shot, feeling kinda frustrated. Wandered around the huge oak tree trunk instead, dragging my feet through the dry leaves. Suddenly spotted this patch of shade on the south side. The light looked totally different there – softer, cooler. Got right up close to the bark.
Pressed the lens almost against the ridges and grooves. Focused hard on this one section where the light and shadow played peek-a-boo. Held my breath, real slow like, and squeezed the shutter. Checked the preview… whoa. The texture popped right out – gnarly, ancient, full of stories. Nailed it. Way more interesting than the whole tree.
Chasing Squirrels (& Patience)
Saw a squirrel dart by. Got all excited, thought I could grab a killer wildlife shot. Started chasing it around like a goofball, camera swinging. Mostly got blurry tail flashes and blurry oak branches. Burnt out fast. Sat my butt down on this mossy log, actually listening instead of running.
After maybe five minutes of quiet, heard the scratchy sounds. Saw two of ‘em chasing each other way up high, leaping between branches. Pre-focused roughly where I thought they’d go. Waited… waited… CLICK as one landed mid-air! Wasn’t perfectly sharp, but the leap looked epic. Felt like a victory after all that stalking.
Wrapping Up (& Lessons)
Packed up as the sun started dropping lower, throwing those nice long shadows. On the drive home, thought about what actually worked:
- Abandoning the obvious shot when it sucked.
- Using shade as a giant light diffuser instead of fighting the sun.
- Getting uncomfortably close to find the story in the details.
- Stopping the chasing and just sitting – critters usually come to you.
Ended up with way more keepers than I thought possible when I first pulled up, sweating and squinting. Sometimes simplicity wins, especially when trees are involved.
