In December, I had the opportunity to visit South Florida for some birding. It was the first time I had been there, and it is certainly a place to which I hope to return. While in the J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island, I experienced by first serious case of lens envy and ran into several other photographers that I want to praise here.
Ding was an interesting mix of professional photographers using big white lenses that retail for over $6,000 and point-and-shoot amateurs. Heck, there was even one guy using his cell phone camera to photograph birds! Anyway, the poor pros were getting bombarded with the usual idiotic comments about the size of their lenses. Many had been there for several hours and had already endured a near constant parade of such comments. The thing is, they were so remarkably pleasant about it that they did all photographers proud.
Not only did they take the time to respond to all the questions and comments, but many invited passersby to look through their cameras, discussed the type of shots they were going for, and seemed genuinely eager to talk about their craft. I was really impressed.
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I love nice people!!
