Anticipation

Sometimes I feel very childlike. I ordered my new 70-300mm lens yesterday and I am so anxious for it to arrive. It was originally supposed to arrive today, but Amazon Prime One-day has failed me this time. My camera is instead scheduled to arrive here tomorrow by UPS Next Day. I have been thinking about shots I would like to try, and things as random as where in my camera bag I will place the lens. It is not often that I get so eager for something to arrive, but yet at the same time I am nervous as well. I have purchased a $500 piece of hardware to extend my photographic system, but is purposes do not match with what my photographic goals have been lately. I still selected this lens after all of my doubts simply because it is the one that caused me to want to explore upgrade and expansion options for my camera. I will gradually do things to make my system more flexible as I progress, but it  is going to take time for me to adapt to each new addition before I can move on to the next. I do not want to do what I used to have a habit of doing at Christmas, getting overwhelmed by all of the new toys (toys for me have been things electronic since I was about 6), and just picking one that I would obsess over and focus all of my attention on.

I suspect it will take me a few weeks, around 7 or 10 photo expeditions, to fully learn the new lens and its capabilities. After all, I have to learn its behaviors for all of the situations that I have become accustomed to with my present lenses.