It was early evening. The day still had a potential. Woody Point in the morning, Lobster Cove + concert in the afternoon, and now I tried to shove in another short easy stroll – Berry Head Pond trail sounded ideal.

When I arrived at the trailhead I was sola there, but then a couple came. I told them I was happy they were there for my safety, as I easily get lost.

I walked on happily and they were a bit behind. Unexpectedly, a bit ahead, the path was blocked with fallen trees. It seems like the only way out was walking towards the highway. It was late and I did not want complications, so I turned back, and here they were again. R., the husband, explained that the path was blocked deliberately. The only way to go in that case was heading towards the paved road. And, indeed, several minutes later, the path continued, circumnavigating the pond. This is the kind of things travelbooks don’t tell you!

I formed a good connection with D. thanks to our identical cameras (Cannon SX50 HS). It’s always a joy to meet somebody with the same shoes or shirt, but with a camera it makes the meeting professional.

We started sharing notes, and discovered each of us was unfamiliar with features the other used all the time… I felt lucky I bought mine in Israel, as it came with a full 250-page manual in Hebrew. The book is compact and fits right into the camera case pocket. She never got a book with hers and was told to download it from the Internet. Of course, she never did…

D. showed me the advantages of slanting the screen to take pictures from above a crowd. I showed her how to have the instrument shoot three pictures at different exposures. I find this to be the most useful feature of the camera. This way I make sure I got the best exposure. It is rare that none of the three shots works.

Talking about photography got me inspired to use the black and white feature, too. Here are some of the results: