Mission Johnny Pink took me to a different part of the Sulova Basin—big enough that you can absolutely see how someone could get turned around out there. I headed toward the river, but I ended up spending most of the morning in a field I wasn’t even planning to shoot, because it turned into a straight-up hummingbird day. The light was ugly—completely overcast—and we’ve got torrential rains coming, so I leaned into the setup I brought: the Canon R50 with the 600mm f/11. I’m really enjoying this combo. It’s not perfect, it’s a struggle, and it’s an amazing amount of fun. A big takeaway from this walk is what “letting go” looks like with a more entry-level body in real wildlife conditions. I don’t have the pinpoint control I’m used to on my R7, so I’m kind of at the mercy of the camera—especially on fast little birds. To make it work, I’m shooting as slow a shutter speed as I can get away with and letting the lens stabilization do its job. I also tried working angles on a hawk (even with a bright, white background I didn’t love), spotted other birds along the way, and finished near the river where the vegetation’s been cleared and the ducks were about all that was left. I’m coming back with the R7 and this same 600 f/11 to really compare it in the exact same field.