Kites, No Strings

What came first
The kites we control
Or the ones without strings?

After fifteen years of chasing the art of photography impressionistically, I am finding myself just making photographs of “things”.
In 2016 I started investigating serious video production and realized quickly the adventure that it is. Moving images with appropriate sound is a huge task if it is to be done well. Funny, making video was what got me into serious photography back in 2004.
I make these declarations because the artistic journey is a muse who must be treated like a spouse. Pay attention, or you will find yourself lost, and alone.
So now I am looking to just make some nice photos of birds. It was part of the journey some fifteen years ago, but now there is a lot of “stuff” to unpack to get there. I grew to not care for the details. Now, the details are everything.
Yesterday I walked about with an old Nikon 400mm 4.5 with the AU1 focus and my D750. The cover photo was NOT made with it. I wanted to try it out after letting it sit for about a decade (or longer). I made the rookie mistake of forgetting by monopod so everything I made was handheld. The total package is about ten pounds. I had to throw it over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes just to carry it. Making a frame required even more preplanning than usual and a shutter staying at 1/1000 or faster
My thinking was that even if the work was a little shaky, I could at least get an idea of the lens’ capability. When I opened the files, I realized why I stopped using this lens. It has a terrible rendering of strong light. The purple fringing is atrocious. My plan to sell the lens has changed. I cannot in good faith sell this old beast. It is a good lens to manually learn, but the results are so spotty it doesn’t make sense to sell it.
I’ll give it to Goodwill and maybe a newbie will pick it up for $50.
Don’t get me wrong, impressions are not off the menu.

Have a good weekend!