RPG Xbox games are not usually my cup of tea. I much prefer first person shooters to role playing games. However, on recommendation from a ‘friend’, I updated to the new Xbox and picked up a copy of the Skyrim game in early February.

Hmmmm…from the (lack of) posts over the last month or so, we can see what happened after that! Quests and bandits and dragons can be quite addicting….thank you ‘friend’ 😉

But in the end, all’s good. Along with some business networking in February, I popped out to the local parks when the sun poked out. More walkabouts and playing with the camera than any serious photography.

Early this month, I got out to Delta and to the Reifel Bird Sanctuary to see if I could see their Sandhill Cranes. Lots of ducks, coots, geese and pintails, but no cranes for me this time.

On the way back home, I stopped on the dike near the Delta Airport and got some photos of a couple of Snowy Owls nestled amongst the logs on the beach. To find them, all I had to do is look along the dike and spot the bevy of other photographers with their half-meter lenses looking seaward. Heh, it does get to be quite a show.

Over all it was an interesting day, and I learned how much more I need to learn about long lens photography. This Snowy Owl shot was done with my Sigma 120-400 lens on the Nikon D300. I used a Manfrotto ball head and tripod under the lens, but should have used a remote shutter release as well.  The exif data should be accessible from the photo on Flickr, along with some other shots from the day.