“That Road-Kill Was For the Birds!”

A few years ago I looked out my kitchen window, and saw the buzzards on top of the nearby barn roof. That is not an unusual scene, but on that day I was struck with the idea that they seemed to be having a good time, and having a “bird” conversation!

I could imagine that they had just come from the highway where they probably feasted on a fresh roadside dinner!

I thought how great it would be to catch a photo of these particular birds as they seemed to be enjoying a nice day on the roof. I grabbed my long zoom lens camera, and headed toward the barn. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get close, and just hoped they stayed for a while.

I ventured as far as I thought I could without disturbing the birds— maybe as close as 60 or 70 yards—and I took the photo! I was amazed how well the shot turned out.

Through the years I have owned many cameras. As I traveled to many places across the US and several great trips to Europe, the camera of choice was always the long, zoom lens camera.

Before digital cameras I carried a long zoom lens film camera. I would carry a dozen rolls of film on my trips because there probably would not be a place nearby to purchase film.

As time passed, and the iPhone took over our lives, I gradually gave up the use of my large cameras. The last time I actually took two cameras with me on a trip, I found that I never picked up the digital camera, and only used the iPhone!

All my past cameras have gone into storage. Since I am not a professional photographer, the iPhone serves me well for most of my photography these days. It is amazing!