Lone Tree, Clyde, NC - 2011
(Click on photo to enlarge.)
Two Saturdays ago I took some time to enjoy one of life's simple pleasures, one that I haven't made the time to do in several years: squirrel hunting. Unlike deer or duck hunting, which require much preparation, time, and equipment, squirrel hunting is pretty much a "grab your gun and go" proposition. It's the only kind of hunting that seems to fit my busy life right now. And of course, I brought a camera with me.
I made this photo as I was crossing a pasture on the way back to my truck with three plump bushy tails in the game pouch of my hunting vest. This old, scraggly locust tree, already bare of almost all its leaves, practically begged me to make its portrait. It appeared to have had a rough life, obviously losing many branches over the years. Living alone in the middle of a pasture, devoid of the mutual protection of other trees it would have enjoyed in the woods, this tree has for years been the victim of wind, and probably a few lightning strikes. It is a survivor nonetheless, and certainly worthy of a portrait.
The camera was my little Canon A2000 IS digicam. In the almost two years that I've owned it, I've become increasingly confident in its ability get the results I want. No, it won't do everything that my DSLR will do, and it can't quite match the DSLR's image quality, but with just a little tweaking in PSE it can produce some very satisfying photos. When the DSLR is inconvenient to carry, I don't feel inadequately equipped with the A2000.
I've grown so confident in this camera's ability that it will be the only camera I take with me next week on a trip to New Orleans to get my Mother moved up to Knoxville. I won't have time to play tourist in the Big Easy, but I'll be documenting the move from the house my parents bought in 1961. It's the house I grew up in, and the house my Mother has lived in for 50 years - more than half of her life. It will be an important, and probably emotional move. And I'm confident the A2000 is up to the task of recording it.
2 comments:
Fantastic photo of the lonesome tree.
Does your wife cook the squirrel? What's it like?
Journey mercies next week. I'm sure it will be an emotional time.
No, Theresa leaves any game cooking (and cleaning) to me. I can't describe the taste, but it's not like chicken. Three squirrels is not much meat. I cook it in a crock pot until tender and falling off the bones. I pick out all the meat and serve it over rice with the gravy from the crock pot.
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