I hate cell phones

[Harryb]

Hi you'll,

I had some free time so I went off to the Wetlands this morning. The place was dead. I decided that I would find just one bird and follow him around to see what happened. Just as I made this decision who should fly in but an old friend.
http://behret.smugmug.com/photos/19140606-L.jpg

So he was elected. He soon took off with me in hot pursuit.
http://behret.smugmug.com/photos/19140615-L.jpg

You have to understand that the Wetalnds are a series of water filled cells with a narrow one car road on top of a dike that slants down into the cells at an approx 45 degree angle. I followed that eagle whereever he went. I did U- turns, I went into reverse, I did whatever I had to to follow this eagle. He was in hunting mode and looking for a fish and I was going to be there when he caught it. He soon perched on another tree.
http://behret.smugmug.com/photos/19140618-L.jpg

then he took off
http://behret.smugmug.com/photos/19140628-L.jpg

I followed and we play tag for around an hour and a half until he finally perched again.
http://behret.smugmug.com/photos/19140609-L.jpg

Somehow I knew this was going to be it. I got out of my car set up the D2h with the 300mm + 1.4 TC, set up the D100 with the 80-400 set to 200mm in case he flew towards me. I got my bottle of water out and put some Springsteen on the CD player and waited.

And then my cell phone rang and it was my wife. I had to call this rep of our thrift plan and I had to have them fax some form to Linda at once! So I called the thrift plan, waited while their system listed the thousands of available options until I got a person. They said it would only take a moment. Then their computer went down. I waited and waited and waited. Finally the rep came back and thanked me for my patience while she was thanking me the eagle spread its wings, swooped off its perch, hit the water, came up with a big old fish, turned its butt towards me and flew off into the distance.

As it flew off I uttered the only two words I knew that could describe my feelings. The thrift plan rep was outraged that I would accuse her of having an incestous relationship with her mother and hung up on me. I had to call back and get another rep. As she finished with me and faxed the form off she said "Oops I shouldn't be talking to you. Your name just got put on our abusive callers list". I hate cell phones.

[GREAPER]

Funny story and fantastic pics Harry

[ehughes]

Your name just got put on our abusive callers list :lol3 :lol3

Great pics Harry, I'm still jealous over your eagle..

Ed

[bfjr]

Harry that's great :clap made my day, thanks :thumb
Pictures as always Pristine :thumb So Sharp :thumb
The story just great, and I thought I was the only one, please allow me to explain:

Last night trying to nail a BIF. I'm all set up perfect like, while my wife walks slowly toward him (knowing the magic distance helps :D), the cell rings I reach down to turn it off, he leaps in the air flies right over me. I BLOW IT!!!!! Grrrrrrrrrr :wxwax :lol4

I feel so much better now :clap

[John Mueller]

Bummer Harry.
Great story and pix though :D


Potty mouth:rofl:rofl
















:hide

[Andy]

Hi you'll,

I had some free time .....



uh, harry... you *are* retired now, aren't you? so, dude, you're whole day is made up of free time...

[Steve Cavigliano]

LOL Harry,

You should be ashamed of yourself for swearing at that poor clerk :lol LOL @ being put on the abusive callers list too. Congratulations :lol3

Oh well, you'll just have to get him another day :dunno

I was going to say, leave the Cell in the car. But, since that seems to be where you do most of your shooting, that won't work :lol4

Anyhow, you got another nice series of shots here. I really like the last one. Lots of detail and I just loves detail :thumb :thumb Not to mention that baldys are pretty much my favorite bird subject :clap Wish there were some here to shoot, other than the zoo eagles :rolleyes

Thanks for sharing,
Steve

[DeanMcM]

Great shots (even if they are from a Nikon) :thumb

About 10 miles form me we have the Rio resevoir. They have a great
eagle watching spot. I was there along time ago, might check it out
again soon.

Thanks

[Tim Kirkwood]

Sorry about the lose harry. They really should put a button on those things to turn them off.



Very very nice shots, I love eagles.:thumb
Tim

[Harryb]

Funny story and fantastic pics Harry
Thanks Brian. the story is more funny in retrospect than it was in the moment. :D

[Harryb]

:lol3 :lol3

Great pics Harry, I'm still jealous over your eagle..

Ed
Hey Ed,

Thanks but from what I've seen lately you ain't hurting for photo ops. :D

[USAIR]

Great photos
Very funny story :lol3

Thanks
Fred

[Harryb]

Harry that's great :clap made my day, thanks :thumb
Pictures as always Pristine :thumb So Sharp :thumb
The story just great, and I thought I was the only one, please allow me to explain:

Last night trying to nail a BIF. I'm all set up perfect like, while my wife walks slowly toward him (knowing the magic distance helps :D), the cell rings I reach down to turn it off, he leaps in the air flies right over me. I BLOW IT!!!!! Grrrrrrrrrr :wxwax :lol4

I feel so much better now :clap
Hey Ben,

I'm glad I made you feel better. I'll be turning my cell off at critical moments in the future.

[Dee]

Really good catches of the eagle in action! Wow! :clap :clap

Hey, most cells have caller ID, just say no -- don't answer, that's what voice mail is for....

Or if it's someone you have to answer, get an earpiece that way you can talk and shoot at the same time!

Hey if you have to carry the thing (cell phone) with you, stick it in a pocket of your vest and plug in the ear thingie! Problem solved!

Sorry you got on the abusive caller list --

Glad you can laugh at it now!

[dragon300zx]

Great pics as always Harry. I am finally home and working on dling all my photos to my desktop right now. I wish I coulda stayed longer and taken you and your wife up on the dinner offer but I ended up not getting back to bradenton till about 10:30 and went right to bed.

For those of you who haven't had the chance to meet Harry you are missing out. Not only is he a great photographer but he is also a great person. I got the chance to shoot with him at this wetland last saturday and it was a great expeirience. I will be posting pictures in the days to come.

[ginger_55]

Hi you'll,

I had some free time so I went off to the Wetlands this morning. The place was dead. I decided that I would find just one bird and follow him around to see what happened. Just as I made this decision who should fly in but an old friend.


So he was elected. He soon took off with me in hot pursuit.


You have to understand that the Wetalnds are a series of water filled cells with a narrow one car road on top of a dike that slants down into the cells at an approx 45 degree angle. I followed that eagle whereever he went. I did U- turns, I went into reverse, I did whatever I had to to follow this eagle. He was in hunting mode and looking for a fish and I was going to be there when he caught it. He soon perched on another tree.


then he took off


I followed and we play tag for around an hour and a half until he finally perched again.


Somehow I knew this was going to be it. I got out of my car set up the D2h with the 300mm + 1.4 TC, set up the D100 with the 80-400 set to 200mm in case he flew towards me. I got my bottle of water out and put some Springsteen on the CD player and waited.

And then my cell phone rang and it was my wife. I had to call this rep of our thrift plan and I had to have them fax some form to Linda at once! So I called the thrift plan, waited while their system listed the thousands of available options until I got a person. They said it would only take a moment. Then their computer went down. I waited and waited and waited. Finally the rep came back and thanked me for my patience while she was thanking me the eagle spread its wings, swooped off its perch, hit the water, came up with a big old fish, turned its butt towards me and flew off into the distance.

As it flew off I uttered the only two words I knew that could describe my feelings. The thrift plan rep was outraged that I would accuse her of having an incestous relationship with her mother and hung up on me. I had to call back and get another rep. As she finished with me and faxed the form off she said "Oops I shouldn't be talking to you. Your name just got put on our abusive callers list". I hate cell phones.
I am sorry, Harry, but I am sitting here laughing..............You the dirty old abusive caller...........

And you missed your shot, that is the worst part. The abusive caller is funny, missing the shot is not. I wonder which we will remember the longest.

I carry my cell, but don't answer it if it is my sister, if I am busy, if I don't hear it, if I can't get it in time. It is for our convenience. And the really cool part is that you can call back at your leisure.

However, if you had done any of that, we would all have missed the amazing secret thing about Harry: He makes abusive phone calls. And knows some really cool language, too.

Great shots of the eagle. Now all you have to do is get one of him catching a fish and plug it in.

I sure envy you the road system they set up for photographers down there.

ginger

[Harryb]

Bummer Harry.
Great story and pix though :D

Potty mouth:rofl:rofl


Thanks John. Potty mouth!:rolleyes I think my terminology was kind of apt considering the situation. :D

[Harryb]

uh, harry... you *are* retired now, aren't you? so, dude, you're whole day is made up of free time...
Hey Andy,

Aren't you supposed to be in California molesting some sea gulls right now? :smack

[Harryb]

LOL Harry,

You should be ashamed of yourself for swearing at that poor clerk :lol LOL @ being put on the abusive callers list too. Congratulations :lol3

I was going to say, leave the Cell in the car. But, since that seems to be where you do most of your shooting, that won't work :lol4

Anyhow, you got another nice series of shots here. I really like the last one. Lots of detail and I just loves detail :thumb :thumb Not to mention that baldys are pretty much my favorite bird subject :clap Wish there were some here to shoot, other than the zoo eagles :rolleyes

Thanks for sharing,
Steve
Hey Steve,

I was cursing at the gal if I had been I had other more appropriate and just as offensive expressions. :D

Glad you like the shots they weren't easy to get. That eagle landed on four different trees and managed to be backlit every time. :uhoh

[Peter Dumont]

Hello Harry !

Now you know why I don't have a cell phone .:):

I didn't know you had acquired the D2x, but I can see it has come into the right hands. :clap
Great eagle pictures Harry .



Bye,
Peter Dumont

[Harryb]

Great shots (even if they are from a Nikon) :thumb

About 10 miles form me we have the Rio resevoir. They have a great
eagle watching spot. I was there along time ago, might check it out
again soon.

Thanks
Hey Dean,

Thanks and good luck with your eagles. You'll need it if you are going to try taking an eagle shot with a Canon. Its a well known fact that eagles hate white lenses. :smile6

[Harryb]

Sorry about the lose harry. They really should put a button on those things to turn them off.



Very very nice shots, I love eagles.:thumb
Tim
Thanks Tim. If it had been anyone but my wife calling I wouldn't had answered.

[Harryb]

Great photos
Very funny story :lol3

Thanks
Fred
Thanks Fred, Great hearing from ya.

[Harryb]

Hiya Dee,

I have caller ID on my cell and if it hadn't been my wife I wouldn't have answered. In the future I'm just turning the dang thing off at critical moments.

Thanks for the kind words about the pics.

[Phil U.]

Funny story Harry - better luck next time.

I don't know why, but for some reason this reminded me of this story:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1009&message=5039204

[Harryb]

Funny story Harry - better luck next time.

I don't know why, but for some reason this reminded me of this story:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1009&message=5039204

Hey Phil,

Thanks and there will be a next time. I'm not done with that eagle yet.

Thanks also for reviving that old peeper story. I just may have to find a less exciting hobby. :D

[Phil U.]

Hey Phil,

Thanks and there will be a next time. I'm not done with that eagle yet.

Thanks also for reviving that old peeper story. I just may have to find a less exciting hobby. :D

Yea, a couple more stories like that and you'll really have your dirty-ol'-man reputation all set. :rofl

[Harryb]

Yea, a couple more stories like that and you'll really have your dirty-ol'-man reputation all set. http://dgrin.com/images/smilies/yelrotflmao.gifThat rep was established before I even started back in photography. http://dgrin.com/images/smilies/pimp.gif

[Harryb]

Great pics as always Harry. I am finally home and working on dling all my photos to my desktop right now. I wish I coulda stayed longer and taken you and your wife up on the dinner offer but I ended up not getting back to bradenton till about 10:30 and went right to bed.

For those of you who haven't had the chance to meet Harry you are missing out. Not only is he a great photographer but he is also a great person. I got the chance to shoot with him at this wetland last saturday and it was a great expeirience. I will be posting pictures in the days to come.
Hey Gary,

Thanks for the too kind words. It was great meeting you and I just wish we had more time.

[dragon300zx]

Don't worry I'll be down again and more central in the state (Orlando) so I can spend more time over there. If you are ever up in the freezing north (detroit is not so north I know but it still freezes) of Michigan let me know. BTW did ya see the couple shots I posted? More coming but I had to start somewhere.

[Khaos]

Great shots! I'm with you, if it wasn't for work, I would not have that electronic tether on my person.

[Harryb]

I am sorry, Harry, but I am sitting here laughing..............You the dirty old abusive caller...........

And you missed your shot, that is the worst part. The abusive caller is funny, missing the shot is not. I wonder which we will remember the longest.

However, if you had done any of that, we would all have missed the amazing secret thing about Harry: He makes abusive phone calls. And knows some really cool language, too.

Great shots of the eagle. Now all you have to do is get one of him catching a fish and plug it in.

ginger
Hey Ginger,

I'm happy that my tale got a laugh out of you. I guess my dark secret about my less than pristine use of language is out now. :rolleyes

Thanks for the kind words about the pics.

[Harryb]

Hello Harry !

Now you know why I don't have a cell phone .:):

I didn't know you had acquired the D2x, but I can see it has come into the right hands. :clap
Great eagle pictures Harry .



Bye,
Peter Dumont
Hey Peter,


Great hearing from you again. I got the D2H not the D2X (I'm not as rich as Andy :cry ). Thanks for the kind words.

[Harryb]

Don't worry I'll be down again and more central in the state (Orlando) so I can spend more time over there. If you are ever up in the freezing north (detroit is not so north I know but it still freezes) of Michigan let me know. BTW did ya see the couple shots I posted? More coming but I had to start somewhere.
I'll be looking forward to your future visits. In the unlikly event that I'm up north I will give you a holler.

I've seen and responded to your first pics and I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of them

[Harryb]

Great shots! I'm with you, if it wasn't for work, I would not have that electronic tether on my person.
Thanks Khaos. I know what you mean about the "electronic tether". One of the things I'm trying to get away from when I go to the Wetlands is the constant ringing of the phone.

[mslammers]

Hey Gary,

Thanks for the too kind words. It was great meeting you and I just wish we had more time. Why my cell phone is off unless I am calling out. I figure they can wait. I liked the "just before the fish" shot, ruffled feathers etc. I bet he was listening to the cell call and got ruffled too.

[Harryb]

Why my cell phone is off unless I am calling out. I figure they can wait. I liked the "just before the fish" shot, ruffled feathers etc. I bet he was listening to the cell call and got ruffled too.
Thanks Mel and I now turn my cell off when I go out shooting.