New gear rekindles drive to get outside

Getting new camera gear is like getting a new gun. You just don’t want to stop shooting it. But with camera gear, you can shoot it nearly anywhere, without getting arrested.

When I left my day job, I realized I needed some new camera gear if I was going to do my photography full-time. I didn’t need much. I already had enough to make a pretty good start at the photography business, but I needed a new telephoto zoom lens and a more advanced camera body, so I ordered the new stuff about a week ago. I finally have all my new gear, and now I just can’t stop shooting.

I kind of wish I’d waited to order the new gear until the spring, when it’s easier to find pretty stuff to take pictures of, and when it’s a little easier to find wildlife to photograph. It would have been a good idea to wait until it’s a little warmer outside, too. Maybe I should have included a new pair of gloves in my gear order.

But it’s OK. It’s good practice for hunting season, and I’m finding plenty of cool stuff to get pictures of. And it’s a good excuse to get outside. And now that I’m my own boss, it’s easier than ever to get permission to step away from the computer and head outside.

So maybe it’s better that I got the new gear now, when there aren’t many hunting seasons open. I can get all the new gear excitement out of the way now, then be free to focus on turkey and bear hunting in the spring. I’m pretty sure my boss will let me go hunting this year.

Granted, I’m missing out on the end of the goose season while I’m running around with a camera in my hands. Maybe enough of the new will wear off my gear before the season closes in most of Zone 1 of the Central Flyway on January 28, or in Goshen and Platte counties on February 12. Or maybe I could combine hunting and photography with a light goose hunt. Hmmm. Now there’s an idea.