Testing my New Nikon P80 During a Walk in the Valley

I am a lucky fellow. My father in law returned yesterday from a business trip to Shanghai, and brought me a present - a Nikon Coolpix P80. It was perfect timing, as I was beginning to dream of a new camera. I have to read the instruction manual a few more times until I can make heads or tails of all the funky functionality.


So yesterday afternoon I went out for a hike into the valley to try out the camera. I have a lot more figuring out to do with it, but here are the pictures I managed to snap.


An old piece of iron laying in the woods. I'm guessing it is part of some old tractor or farm equipment. The area used to be an orchard.


The cold winter winds are beginning to blow. I stood quietly in the marshy meadows hoping to see deer - I saw no movement. I would need to wait until dusk I suspect.


The rivers are swollen with recent rains. Green ground cover is holding onto its colours.


Most plants have gone to seed, and I see tinder bundles all throughout the woods.


I was surprised to see these Oyster mushrooms looking so fresh and recent. They'll be frozen and wilted in a day or two.


The subtle rich colours of Turkey Tail brighten up a little patch of the woods.


Bright berries cling on to the stalks.


The macro feature seems to work easily.


Now the 'landscape' feature of the camera.


I try to use both the pre-set features (like 'landscape' and 'closeup') and also use the manual set up to achieve these shots.


More Turkey Tail.


The river valley.


A close-up of the rushing river.


The path leading down into the valley is slick with mud and wet leaves.


Dried mushrooms and fungus litter the tree stumps.


Choke cherries.


I came across the largest pair of Puffball mushrooms that I've ever seen. Now I actually haven't seen fresh Puffballs before, but as I looked into the woods I first saw the one above. I thought it was a piece of construction foam or something. I pushed through the underbrush to investigate and realized that the skin looked like that of a young Leopard Earthball, only this was the size of a large pumpkin. The dusty orange inside was entirely composed of spores which I knocked about, creating clouds in the air. Amazing. I put my Mora knife on top of it to show the scale of the fungus. When they are young and white inside, you can eat them - frying them up in butter.


There is nearly a foot of snow on its way late this afternoon. Or so the meteorologists tell us.


The puddles with freeze over, and snow will build up in the valley.


This pumpkin, which appears to have been rolled down the valley walls, will look like a white lump.


The seed heads will stay on the branches, ready for some mid-winter campfires I'll be having down there.


The last of the berries will succumb to the sparrows and other birds.

And I'll still be learning how to use my new camera.

Cheers,

Mungo