Oh shoot.

To myself I would think... why can't I do that? I could use Rick's camera, and mimic the way he would shoot... but never capture the same quality photo that he would. Although I guess I thought I asked him in fifty different ways on a hundred different days how to shoot I finally heard an answer that made sense. He said... stop putting the camera on program. Oh. You have to shoot manually. You have to actually know how the camera works and set it according to what you want the results to be. Oh. Oh no! That is a little intimidating. Considering the first booklet in a series of 5 manuals for the camera is at least a half inch thick. But then I started to factor in the other things that he has said over the years. Just shoot... and shoot and then yeh, shoot some more. I have seen him literally shoot 1000 images to end up with 5-8 that he really loves.

So after some really disappointing football pictures in which I see now the camera was not set for night action shots... I grabbed the camera and spent the afternoon in the backyard. And this is what I got. I am marginally pleased... Dakota our soon to be 12 year old golden retriever was the most willing participant. Colton much less willing as you can see. And just as I was about to get up and leave... a monarch butterfly floated to a tall flower in the garden and perched... for like a second... but I got him... and took it as a sign that maybe football is in my future!