First, always check your camera's settings as you may have left the settings from a previous shoot still in place, things like "White Balance" as a main culprit! I still had it set from when I was doing some shots from my daughters Volleyball match back in February and when I went to check a photo on the back panel, strange blue hue to it. Yep, WB was set to fluorescent lighting inside......Yikes! Especially when you are shooting outside in natural light! Just keep it in mind.
So I go through the main area of the NWR and end up going out another county road on the North side of the refuge. Just looking around and seeing if any other birds might be in range as I brought along my 135-400mm. Nothing really close and then while trying to be friendly and hug the side of the road so a local farmer could pass, my vehicle started to slip on the soft soil/gravel on the edge and soon I was in the shallow drainage line that runs along the side of the road. Put it in 4x4 as quick as possible but no luck, it just made my right side dig in more and after about 5 minutes of trying to pop over the high side of the ditch my ford came to rest. Called home to get AAA headed my way and 40 minutes or so later was out of the muck. Then cleaned out as much as I could and drove to knock the rest out. After getting home, put on the power nozzle and had to get under the vehicle and blast away at the mud. Still think I will be dripping mud or dry dirt clumps for several weeks down the road.Lesson: It's spring in Oregon and those county roads can get a might soft on the edges. I included a shot of my final resting spot before I got pulled out.
Tim -
