Scolded by a wren

I don’t know—there are just some aspects of photography that apparently aren’t for me. A tripod is great, for instance; it saves your arms from falling off when you’re waiting ages for a little creature to finally turn your way—or to be gracious enough to actually start doing something, which usually happens right when your arm drops and your attention wanders. How often have I wished for that support? How often has my shoulder ached after holding the setup up for five minutes straight? Plenty of times—and I usually only made it through thanks to my Kung Fu training. So, I finally decided to do it right and headed into the undergrowth with a tripod and a stool, only to get scolded by a wren from behind. It just perched right behind me and started fussing. I nearly landed in the mud trying to turn around with the tripod and three-legged stool between my legs; luckily, the bird stayed put, kept scolding me, and shot me that look of utter contempt in the third photo. Yeah, it’s right: you aren’t exactly quick on the draw with a tripod. The kingfisher shots were taken at the very end—without the gear. Am I doing something wrong here, or is life telling me I’m better off without a tripod? 😉