Purple Sandpipers

[Shortsighted]

Another dismal day, sombre with on/off drizzle. I couldn't stand it anymore, in the house again even though it was fairly mild at 6 degrees and virtually no wind. I had to go out even if it meant driving to a location outside of my usual perimeter. I had never visited McLaughlin Bay before. The trip there didn't seem too tiresome since most of the morning traffic would likely be in the opposite direction heading out and would dissolve by the time I head west again. It drizzled on the way there and it drizzled on the way back but while I was exploring the area I remained dry.

When I hit the shoreline the first item of interest was a massive raft of mostly Greater scaup. There were some Long-tails among them. Apparently these ducks all came in for a landing en masse sometime on Friday and have been present more or less in the same spot since then.

I was looking for a Purple sandpiper reported on the rocks at Beaton Point. Well, the water level is so low this year that there is no Beaton Point. The shoreline is now continuous, without the channel of the bay that usually interrupts eastward progress on the shoreline. The rocks turned out to be a few large stones, not boulders or the formidable rocks I expected to see. I scanned the rocks with my lens and saw nothing moving. As I approached I could hear very faint peeps almost below the threshold of audible, sounding like peeps under a giant pillow. Then I stopped suddenly because not a meter away I saw two Purple sandpipers showing little concern for my shabby appearance. If there is one thing I adore it is a non-judgmental sandpiper, and seeing two of them, well it was my lucky day. I was so delighted that my complete failure at adjusting white balance to avoid Charline's censure didn't even spoil it for me.

[Charline]

SS I am very glad for you for two, nah, actually 3 reasons:


1. You got out, despite gas and weather, and all that, to enjoy yourself!


2. You found and photographed the precious purple sandpipers which, for less committed people like Charline, can only admire from your sharp and superb photos.


3. You are admirably dedicated to stick to your own artistic vision of color preference and have created a style of your own. From now on, if anyone else decides to do the same, they will deemed to be followers of a Master. Ha, is it judgemental again?! 

[Shortsighted]

You are impressive. Not only are you the wild woman of the far north, which sounds exciting enough for a feature film, but you are also a consummate diplomat. Well, I'm glad that I went out too, especially because luck was on my side: with dodging the ineluctable drizzle while afoot, finding those precious critters without needing to negotiate a gauntlet of birders, getting some much-needed exercise, even when it meant navigating the occasional spoor of treacherous mud, not having my battery die on me*, relishing the diffused overcast light that favoured my contrast averse economy sensor, and by the sheer satisfaction of familiarizing myself with a new site. Truth be told, I felt your gentle hand pushing me forward the whole time, even those troublesome nudges when I was trying to avoid the mud; for which I forgave you because you need to have some fun too, but there was definitely a spooky propulsion at a distance (to paraphrase Einstein) that drove me to my goal.

*My warning light came on when I tried live-view in order to get my lens closer to the sand. I then realized my disused camera was snatched from its nest without charging the battery before I left. I felt your hand again, pushing me out the door, totally unprepared for the beachfront, half-cocked and on residual power. BUT I GOT DA BOYD! And that's what counts.

You are right about the white balance though. No matter the setting I use I have a shift into the red end of the spectrum, which I like, but I will endeavour to correct some of it in post from now on.


Portion of raft of Scaup

[Shortsighted]

Regarding aberrant white balance, I found the problem that had embedded itself into all generalized presets for white balance normally displayed on my camera's menu. The underlying white balance grid revealed that I was trespassing into the territory of both the red baron and the garish field of the lord of magenta. My imaginary nemesis must have perpetrated this deviation from the neutral zone and the sheriff (Charline) called me out for it. No wonder I was redolent in every photo! I've now returned to the neutral zone where all amateurs belong. Therefore I will need a new subject to test the success of my adjustment. What will it be? 


In the meantime I have used the co-ordinates of my deviation to help compensate in PS calibration. I'll therefore resubmit one of the photos as modified for comparison.

[Charline]

Hey if you like the white balance, there's no need to change. Art is the vision of each individual artist, convention doesn't matter.


In case you do wish to try different white balances, you can change the color temperatures in your camera's setting to see which is your preferred result.


Ok, I am on my way back from Muskoka - not the True North though. I am typing in dim light. There maybe a lot of typos.


Here's where I was this afternoon


https://youtube.com/shorts/y2apgPyigxU?feature=shared

[Shortsighted]

Let me get this straight; you are recovering from the audible sequelae of the flu and yet you are exploring a portion of the TCT in the winter. Thou art built of sterner stuff than I who doth not suffer so, while remaining ensconced in comfort and jealousy. Methinks thee provideth an illegible link to thy whereabouts to ascertain the feebleness of my sight and impotence of my scrutiny after so long failing to remedy the colour of my perspective. It is not that the faculties are unserviceable, but merely that the flesh is weak and dispassionate. Thou hast the spirit of the eagle and shareth in its penchant for flight, while not to the south at least to the north.

I have re-set my camera's internal "core" white balance to the neutral zone and this protocol should successfully translate to all trivial menu settings for ambient light source. Now all I need is a subject but dare not venture to where eagles fly.

[Charline]

Hahaha, I thank you for thinking so highly of me, but am not sure if I deserve it. 


Yes I am still recovering from a bad flu and on antibiotics. But I'd rather live a productive and  maybe shortened life than a long boring one. That's me, too bad. When I am out shooting, I often don't feel sick. I save my sick days after I return home.

[Shortsighted]

I hope that your indomitable spirit does not get you into a dangerous predicament in winter. I've been known to carry and ice pick and a rope in my backpack when descending near the water in winter. I don't profit from your hot blood though cuz even the garage is cold as sin, but it makes a great extension of the the fridge over the winter months. I dropped by a local pond today just to see if there were any merganser. There were none. A few swans and Mallards were patrons of the section of the pond that was not with an icy skin. Apparently the immature Eared grebe that had been present at Sam Smith for quite some time was not seen yesterday or today. Last report was on the 20th (Wednesday). Only one of the two Purple sandpipers at Beaton Point was seen a couple of days ago and none yesterday, or today. The Ottawa area seems to be getting a lot of attention lately.


BTW - If you had the flu then you were suffering the ravages of viral spread in the lining cells of your respiratory system. This would continue until your body manufactured suitable antibodies and even then damage already sustained would burden you with residual symptoms. Antibiotics are intended to prevent the reproduction of bacteria, or to kill them outright and are therefore probably not necessary unless you have developed a bacterial form of pneumonia, in which case you would be severely ill and would have had a very sudden onset of symptoms identified right down to the hour it all began. Viral pneumonia is less severe (usually) and has a slower (more gradual) onset. I hope that you are well on the way to a complete recovery so that you can get back out there and make be look like a slacker. It's not hard. Anyone could do that.

[Charline]

Thanks again for your concerns. I was in the emergency last Sunday, where I was coughing my lung out with old and new blood.


After getting this medication from the doctor, I was feeling much better in a matter of 2 hours. The drug is antibacterial antiviral and anti-inflammatory. Some doctors are using it to treat Covid and flu. I didn't have Covid though.