Wine, women, and quilting; Part I

I went on a quilt retreat with 7 women from the Northlake Unitarian Church Seamsters Union (and yes, we have a shop steward...) at the Quilting by the Sea shop/retreat the first weekend in May. I got a lot done, had a great time talking, and sipping some delicious wine with our potluck dinner on Saturday with lots of laughter. I also got in some fabulous walks along the beach before everyone else got up. Yes, I'm the one who wakes at 5:30 no matter what. Since I really like having the time for a bird walk while on Whidbey Island, it all works out fine. (Except for the latte places not opening until 7:30 so not even Langley is perfect.) Here's some pictures I took Sunday morning.

The morning started overcast, but it was obvious the sun was trying to break through the clouds. The first shot is this wonderful heron on the beach, backlit by the clouded sun.



I kept walking toward him, snapping as I went, trying to get the right composition and distance. When I got too close, he took off, flew over the water to a spot behind me on the beach. I am completely satisfied with the picture I got of him in flight - it is uncropped, just the way I shot it. Since my camera has a noticeably lag time between my pushing the button and the picture being taken, this was a big accomplishment for me in using my camera well.




And lastly, I got more pictures of him on an area of the beach where other birds were getting their breakfast.



Lots of inspiration in these shots, and the rest I took. I look forward to using the flying one in particular.

Tomorrow, or Tuesday, I'll have shots of the things I worked on at the retreat.