Things I Couldn't Do With My Pocket Camera

We took an evening stroll around 10pm the other night to a nearby nature sanctuary and I experimented a little more with the new Canon rebel.  While I still have lots to figure out with this camera, these are shots I could never have gotten with the Powershot. 

These are really far away, but I was able to enlarge the images in reasonable focus.  I'm hoping to confirmation from my bird guru Dianne (got the confirmation), but I'm reasonably sure these are ring-necked ducks.   My Guide to Birds in Alaska says:

"Breeds in eastcentral Alaska in such places as Tetlin Lakes and the Yukon Flats and more rarely in southcoastal and southeastern Alaska."

And I don't recall ever seeing these before. At least never identifying them before.  But this camera makes it easier to remember exactly what they looked like. 

click to enlarge a bit

This camera makes it possible to see the ordinary in a new light.  Just look at the feather pattern on the wing of this gull.  (I think it's a ring billed gull)  Below it's circling back.



All that said about the new camera, it doesn't fit in my pocket and so it's not nearly as convenient to carry with me all the time.  So it will only be going out when I'm specifically going to look for birds or other distant objects.  For now anyway.  It's hard to remember the days when I dragged my old Pentax camera and telephoto lens around.