Last January I took a work day off and crawled out of bed at 3:30 am. I met up with a client of mine who is also a photographer and we drove over two hours north. The day prior I had rented a Canon 500mm 4.0L IS lens in Seattle and had to go through rush hour traffic to get back home.
When we got up to Rockport it was about 28 degrees with snow on the ground. It was cold!! Once I spotted my first bald eagle I didn't notice the cold at all. We walked and walked and walked trying to get into position for good shots. We spent about 7 hours up there before making the long drive back.
Hand-holding that 500mm lens all day made my arm ache the next day. I could hardly move it, but it was well worth it. With gas and lens rental and a day off work it was kind of a pricey trip and definitely the most effort I've put in to getting a shot...my proposal shot being a close second.
I plan on doing it again this coming winter!
