That Flamingo Eye - And Curve!

I enjoy photographing these crazy looking birds, I must say!

Pink.

Like, who would of thunk that one up?

I mean, just look at that FACE!

Crazy!

With that "backwards beak"! What is that all about (well, very important, it turns out!)? You know, when eating, that is! Yeah, they move it back and forth through the water, while "filtering out all the good stuff", whatever that is!

I like it, that's all I can say ... If, and when, I ever see one, yeah, and photograph them.

And no, I can't really say I've photographed them, you know, in "The Wild", but yeah, that would be WILD! I mean, all those beaks, legs, faces, and eyes, and PINK, PINK, PINK!

Can you imagine?

No, I've only seen them at zoos, and at this place, somewhere in North Carolina, out East somewhere! I can't remember where I was, I just rode with Jack Daulton somewhere with the Hickory Camera Club one weekend ... Some wildlife "zoo", or something, you know, with birds and animals out there for people with cameras to, you know, photograph!

But yeah, it wasn't called an actual "ZOO", if I remember correctly!

I can't even think of the name of the place! Or where we were at the time I pressed the button! Hey! Jack was driving, and we were just talking, you know, about photography! I had no idea where we ended up!

And yes! I'm looking at the old Road Atlas thing I used back then, heck, I can't even remember what year it was, let me check, you know, "The Data", and see what year it was! Not that that will help that much, but yeah, I feel weird that I can't even remember that!

OK. Two years ago this month, in fact!

Yeah, not THAT long ago!

But yeah, that said (or written!), it seems like "light-years ago" to me. like, right this second!

Unbelievable.

Maybe I can blame it all on that fall I took a couple of weeks ago (or a MONTH!), you know, where I ended up in the hospital for four nights, and yeah, I can't remember a thing about it!

Well, except that I ended up in the hospital bed for, you know, those four nights! Yeah, and I guess they did all kinds of tests and things on me, like, an MR, that yeah, I can't recall at all ...

But if you know me, yeah, you know I just go wherever Jack Daulton tells me to go! I knew it would be a GOOD TIME, and that I would get, you know, a "picture or two", regardless of where we ended up!

Which, is rather strange, seeing that I never joined the Hickory Camera Club, you know, once I retired from teaching ... My Bad.

Just not my thing, I guess ...

Anyway ... Wherever it was, and whatever it was called, it was a pretty cool place, that I remember!

And, if I remember correctly, yeah, where was this "group" of Flamingos in a fenced in area, before you even entered the place! You know, a "bunch of them" anyways! More than one, I'm sure! But yeah, I couldn't tell you how many there were of course, but yeah, "a few of them" anyways! I don't know ... Ten? A dozen? Something like that, but yeah, probably way less, I'm pretty sure!

At least six! How's that?

Like I said, any more that two or three, would be a "BIG GROUP" to me! Give me a brake!

And no, I can't tell you where we were either! I did check, and my Road Atlas that I had back then does have the towns of PLYMOUTH and then COLUMBIA circled, so yeah, maybe one of those places, or, if not, around there somewhere! Like I said, "Out East" somewhere!

Someplace I had never heard of before, that's all I remember about it!

In fact, all I do remember is that yeah, we spent one night "out there" somewhere, and then drove back the next day ... You know, a "WEEKEND TRIP", how's that? But yeah, that's all I got ... Although, I do remember making it out to Outer Banks, you know, something about the Visitor's Center right out there at the beginning someplace, yeah ...

Maybe that was where we actually stayed the night, I don't know ... Like I said, it happened like, over two years ago, or so!

Which yeah, trust me, is like a "LIFETIME AGO", to me right now!

Did I mention I was "knocked out" in that fall I took?

So yeah, at this time, that's all I got!

Works for me!

I mean, I must have gotten pretty close to this bird, even with my long lens ... Which, I just checked, yeah! It was my Nikkor 200-500mm, "Wang-Zoomer" of a lens! Hey! Jack mentioned some wildlife place, so yeah ... I made sure I had the "Big Gun" with me, what can I say?

I think Jack had his too! You know, if I remember correctly, that is! Yeah, I remember something about shooting with him once I got mine ... And he liked it!

I do what what I can!

But yeah, I like THIS image!

With that SHALLOW DEPTH-OF-FIELD, and yeah, that SHARPNESS!

In fact, while checking that whole DATA thing, yeah, I came across some other very interesting info, you know, if you are into that sort of thing! Yeah, first off, what "surprised me" was the ISO!

Yeah, me, shooting at 1600 ISO!

In the daytime! Say what?

Yeah, for me, that's quite rare!

But here you go ... "The Rest of the Story"!

f5.6 (Like, you know, for that "WIDE OPEN" and Shallow Depth of Field look!)

1/6400 second (Why I went with that whole 1600 ISO thing, for those "FASTER SHUTTER-SPEEDS!)

-0.7 step (you know me! MINUS something)!

460mm (I found it weird that I wasn't at 500mm, but yeah, that's just me!)

There you go!

See?

I do change things up every once in awhile!

Who knew?

Me shooting at 1600 ISO, and NOT at 500mm (what was I thinking?)!

With me, you never know!

And yes! Good luck with that! And finding yourself out there with the flamingos!

Enjoy the PINK!