The beauty of the Coorong and challenges of new technology…

Last week we came home from Naracoorte via the Coorong, it was a very beautiful journey home.  We were so lucky to see not just Pelicans flying in formation but also lots of birds of prey and many smaller birds. The Pelicans are huge and look almost prehistoric but fly so gracefully making a spectacular sight when there is a flock of them in the air. There were a couple of Wedge Tailed Eagles, Black Shouldered Kites (which to me to start with looked more like seagulls very skilled at hovering) and Kestrels.  The sky was beautiful, a watery sun getting ready to set, storm clouds gathering creating a very dramatic light over the land and the water.  Everything was calm and fairly still, a gentle breeze blowing, the delicious smell of the promise of rain hanging in the air, as the light was fading birds were calling to each other to roost… a magical moment.

 

Having taken a few photos with the new camera I thought perhaps it was a good idea to download the programmes that came with it.  They promised to not only enhance the whole experience of taking photos but help me understand all the new symbols which appeared at various times on the cameras touch screen.  (That in itself can cause issues if you inadvertently touch the screen after you've set up a shot !).  About ½ hour later everything which was offered on the disc was downloaded and I was rearing to go.

There is a programme for the photos, not just to file them in various orders (including date and time) but also to enhance them and make them look even more professional.  There is a programme for doing similar things to any videos and one for updating the GPS system on the camera.  

The clever little thing can pinpoint and name where each shot was taken and very neatly records the name on each photo.  It also has a compass in case you need to know which direction the camera is pointing.  And there are many more features which as yet are still a mystery. In fact I was surprised to find that it didn't make coffee, or perhaps it does I've just not found the right button yet.

And then I realised the new photo programme was very quickly uploading all the photos I had stored on the laptop, which, to my surprise amounted to some 7,000!  Don’t you hate it when programmes seem to just whizz off and do their own things?  So I stopped it in it’s tracks and deleted a few of the photos, checked the originals were where I expected to find them in their original folders, then carried on deleting the ‘old’ photos from the ‘new’ programme. 

Ready to start learning about the new technology I keenly revved up the laptop the next day ready to learn more about the amazing functions of the new camera only to discover I’d lost all the photo’s I’d ever uploaded.  I sat in stunned silence for a little while, and then finally realised that, thankfully, I also had most of them stored on a portable hard drive.  Phew what a relief.

I've now deleted the photo and video enhancing programmes and have put learning the new technology to one side for the moment.... there is always another day.....

Isn't technology wonderful when it works as you expect it too?