windmills of my mind (a one shot wonder)

So - it’s mid-morning and I’m having a coffee break. I notice this windmill spinning occasionally (and occasionally is the operative word) in the sunshine. So I pull up a garden chair and sit and wait. And wait.

The camera’s on shutter priority and I guess 1/20th of a second will do as a first attempt. It very nearly becomes my only attempt. Why does it spin when I look out of the kitchen window and stop when I try to photograph it?

The breeze picks up and I get ready - focus on the centre - a beep confirm we’re good to go and …. nothing. False alarm. This happens about half a dozen times. The battery warning light is flashing and I don’t know which is going to run down first, me or the camera.

I try blowing on the vanes but I simply don’t have the puff. Anniemay is at the gym, presumably engaged in a puffing challenge of her own. So I can’t ask her.

I think I must be crazy to sit here in the vane hope (ha!) that something will happen.

I decide to count to 100 then call it a day. At around 90 the breeze picks up again. Too slow - the vanes are still reasonably sharp at that shutter speed. Delete. I daren’t set it any lower - even with stabilisation, I’m not that confident I can hold the camera steady enough for any length of time.

Finally - it spins. A real whoosh and then it’s all over. One shot and it’s taken nearly half an hour and one new battery.