First upland outing with the LX5 this year - a PE

I've been shooting an X Pro-1 all spring and summer and have been very pleased with the image quality - every bit as good, if not better, than my big Canon equipment with a camera that is half the size and weight of the Canon, plus it has the OVF/rangefinder-type interface that I like. Of course, all I was doing was photography in the spring and summer, so I could manage changing lenses and all of that. However, things have changed now that the bird seasons are open again. With only prime lenses and without a "holster" to carry the camera, the Fuji seemed like too much to manage in the uplands, while trying to manage dogs, gun, etc, etc - so, I went back to my trusty Leica for Opening Day.

Finally, opening day is here, the LONG wait is over and we can start hunting birds again!! 14 year old Maggie, The Chaser and I were able to get out to one of the family farms to chase doves for a few hours. Given the very limited nature of my life these days due to my 24/7 caregiving duties for my wife, the start of the season is a really big deal for me!

We have been getting hit with big storms (the remnants of Isaac, I suspect) the past couple days, so I was concerned we'd get rained out. It was storming all morning, but happily, the skies cleared up just we as went out to hunt - the Red Gods were smiling on us!

Somehow the dogs sensed the excitement of our first hunt this year and they took off like super-charged rockets into the fields:

For while we tried for some pass shooting and the dogs helped me scan for birds:

After a bit, they remembered that they should stay in cover like me to keep the birds from flaring:

Looking out over a meadow:

Checking for birds over the beans:

Due to the only available nurse coverage, we were stuck with hunting in the middle of the afternoon, normally the very worst time for pass shooting. Plus, a renewed storm was brewing, which made for increasingly beautiful skies, but was also bad for pass shooting. Given that the dawgs and I are the only ones allowed to hunt this area, very little was moving, so we switched over to covering ground and jump shooting. It was plenty hot and humid for walking miles, but I much prefer that to sitting around anyway.

End of Part One