Let's just say that the last few days have been very frustrating. I don't do frustrating well. I do frustrating with a side of tantrums, not big ones, but tantrums all the same and sometimes tears. But I'm a stubborn cow and I don't give up, as much as I might want to and oh how I have wanted to! And so, cue extended period of frustration.
And falling down. Because when I'm in this 'must do the thing at all costs' mode I push my body above and beyond what it can currently do and so I spent a good deal of this afternoon crawling on all fours, my knees sitting in the shallow rock pools, my hands scraping over the sea snails until I could find a decent ledge to push myself up from. And after all that, I still didn't really do the thing 😩 Probably should explain what the thing is at this point, right?
As I am the luckiest birthday girl in the world, I was given an Olympus Tough camera for underwater fun a couple of weeks ago. I hate learning new things. Scrap that. I hate relearning the things I already know how to do. And using this camera is a whole new world of learning and let me tell you, my brain is already full to the brim and there is next to no room for anything new thank you very much.
So I've spent a few full days trying to get some really lovely images for you all, showing the intertidal rock pools in all their glory and nice and close in the microscope mode. In reality I spent most of that time swearing and bitching and moaning and being pissed off in general at my lack of skill, especially after watching a review calling the camera, "possibly one of the easiest compact cameras to use underwater in the world" 😂😂😂 I've come close, but as of yet, no cigar. I can see how amazing the images COULD be, so that's what's probably holding me back from sharing at this point. I'll get there though - remember the stubborn cow bit? And it will be worth the wait (well, at least I hope so!)
In the meantime, here's some Australian Ravens, adults with the white eyes and the smaller younger bird with the smaller beak and brown eyes. These are what I like to call, 'standing around waiting for the whales to perform' shots. These Ravens were hanging around, cawing away, waiting for scraps to be thrown to them by nearby picnickers and flew away with the holy grail of picnic food - prawns!!!
Sure these images aren't of Whales or of the secret life of rock pools, but they're a nice reminder of how easy it is to miss the beauty around us because we see it everyday.
Australian Raven
Kiama
