A Test of Strength, an Attack From Above

Another trip out to the bird sanctuary today, and I came home with a almost full memory card. Lots of good shots, some of which could have been better if I'd had time to tweak the exposure more, such as a photo of a Northern Harrier flying overhead, but I suspect that I will get another chance. The highlight of the afternoon was wet, drenching snow. When I set out for my walk I knew there was a chance for light rain, but I left my rain cover in the car, thinking it wouldn't be too bad.

 Nikon 300mm F4 AF-S, ISO200, 1/500s, @F5.6

It started to rain around 2PM, nothing too serious, but within ten minutes it was snowing, which was extremely odd since it was well above freezing. The problem with this wet snow is that it got everything wet. My D300 + grip, and lens were dripping wet, and yet it kept going! I was a little scared to be honest, I've never had it out in heavy rain/snow fall like that before, and seeing the entire camera wet was a bit unnerving. I made sure to carry the camera with the lens mount face down, to make sure no water got in the camera, and that may have saved the camera from water damage. I got back to my car, and put the rain cover on as soon as I could, but the D300 was exposed to wet snow for at least eight to ten minutes. The ironic part of this story is that as soon as I got the rain cover on the snow stopped. The camera and lens are fine, and I went out and shot for a few more hours. I don't think I'd want to expose the D300 to that much rain very often, but I feel safe in the knowledge that the dust and water seals on the D300 + grip are effective!