"When in Doubt . . . . . . ."

Yesterdays lethargy seemed to have dissipated after a decent nights sleep, so this afternoon I headed along the Wyrley & Essington canal towards Rough Wood with a spring in my step, and my trusty camera & tripod in my backpack. I wanted to take a few more bracketed shots to create HDR images from.
Setting up the camera on the tripod, then manually setting the exposure is a long-winded process, but I enjoy it - it gives me a chance to stop and look carefully around me, rather than just pressing the shutter button and moving on.

On the footpath from Rough Wood back towards Bentley I set up the tripod, and was deciding which aperture to use for the shots when the voice of a relative of mine came into my head.
Uncle Bert was a great photographer, until old age robbed him of his sight, and his ability to pursue his 2 great loves - photography and golf.
Even when his eyesight was too weak to allow him to view my puny photos Bert was always ready to encourage me, and he was a goldmine of information.
One of his favourite tips was "When in doubt, use f8" . . . . it was this tip that I heard Bert saying in my mind as I played with the 5D's settings.
Then, turning round, I noticed this fence post right beside me. I presume its some sort of orienteering marker, and it was just a remarkable ( if spooky ) coincidence that "F8" was what I was thinking at that exact moment, but it made me chuckle.

In the event I did end up using f8 for my bracketed shots - Bless you, Uncle Bert, and thanks ......