I am settling in here in Denver, a week back from Yellowstone. Most of my Yellowstone images have been edited so now it’s time to start thinking about my next photographic adventure.

Next up will be the annual Sandhill Crane migration in Monte Vista, Colorado. This year I’ll be heading south around March 13th. I try to do this trip every year, normally the week after the Sandhill Crane Festival, and some years are better than others. We have a lot of snow on the ground right now, so hopefully that will melt down a bit before the trip. The only bad year I ever had was a few years back when a major blizzard rolled through the state a week before I made the trip. The snow and cold was so bad it chased most of the birds away, which is rare, as these birds have no problem with freezing temperatures.

I can’t be worrying about the weather though. One makes their plans and one executes those plans. You photograph in the conditions you get. Funky weather can actually be beneficial though, so no worries here.

Now that I’m down to idle time here at home, I’ve been playing with re-calibrating my computer monitors. I have a three monitor setup on my office rig, using two LED monitors on the desktop and adding the laptop internal OLED monitor, so keeping the color matched between the displays requires frequent calibrations.

One of my monitors is an old HP 2511, which I’ve been using for about 10 years now. It’s been a good monitor over the years but it is beginning to show signs of its age. The color on it drifts more than the others and I have to constantly dink around with it to make it match the other monitors, and it’s getting more difficult with each passing month. It’s probably about to poop out. Nothing lasts forever. I’ve been looking at new monitors in anticipation of having to replace it, but I won’t spend a dime until it drives me into a decision making process. I’m cheap. I prefer to use my photography gear until it simply wears out. Not always though. Sometimes I wheel and deal gear and dump gear I’m not using and acquire newer gear that I probably won’t use either. Right now, I’m down to two camera bodies and a handful of lenses.

Speaking of lenses, I did end up taking two prime lenses to Yellowstone. The Nikon 28mm and a Sigma 50mm. I should have taken the 24-70 f/2.8 Vr lens instead, as I only managed two photographs from the 50mm prime before it bit the dust. Fortunately, I purchased that lens used a couple of years ago and at a really cheap price, so I’m not out much. Lesson learned, next time take the new 24-70mm instead. But I had to try it. As for the 28mm prime, it did well as my main landscape lens so no complaints there. I’ll hang on to that one.

So, a new weekbegins. We are all staying warm, dry, and happy here in Colorado. Hope life is well for you, my readers.