Lady Eaton Drumlin in late Summer

I had been busy this past week working on my thesis revisions, so I didn't really take any photos during the week.  It had also been relatively uneventful this week, aside from the fact that another graduate student in my lab successfully defended his Master research and we went out for lunch at a popular BBQ place in Keene, and then last night we had a post-defense party at my supervisor's place.  Weather-wise, it definitely feels that autumn is approaching (although it was really hot on Wednesday) with the evenings getting colder now.

On a somewhat unimportant note (to most people), Olympus announced the release of a new camera called E-M1 on Tuesday (news here).  As my Olympus E-620 DSLR is getting older, I am thinking about upgrading the equipment to improve my photography skills.  However, this new camera is very very expensive and I need to buy an addition adapter for my current lenses (which kind of defeats the purpose of using a small and lightweight system like Olympus).  So eventually I will be in a dilemma of continuing with the Olympus brand or switching to a new system (e.g., Nikon) that is more well-supported by the company and its customers. 

In the mean time, I will continue to enjoy my E-620 and the photos that I can get with it.  Today, I hiked around the Lady Eaton Drumlin before going to school to do some work, because I seriously needed to be outside and enjoyed nature a bit.

First wildlife I saw was a Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens).

A smaller bill (relative to the size of its head), contrary to the larger-billed Hairy Woodpecker.

A wasp visiting goldenrod flowers.  The ability to take good macro photos with my telephoto 70-300 lens is one reason why I like using my E-620.

While walking, I noticed something on a dead leaf.  Looking closer, it was a Robber fly with a prey.

The prey was a leafhopper.  I spent a few minutes photographing the pair, but when I stood up, the Robber fly got spooked and dropped the prey and flew away. Sorry.

Something was making the cocoon-like things out of the sumac leaves, I wonder who.

The weather was really nice today.

Walking through the forest.

 At seeing the flowers of this plant, this is what the berries of Star-flowered Solomon's Seal (Maianthemum stellatum) look like.

A similar shot was taken this Spring from the same spot where the sumac leaves weren't out yet.  The second reason why I like Olympus is because of the excellent straight-out-of-camera (SOOC) JPEG photos, especially of the pleasant colours.

I picked some apples at the bottom of the drumlin and then photographed these handsome and young geese on the field.

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)

The third reason why I like Olympus is because of the 2X crop factor of the sensor.  Therefore, my 70-300 lens is actually 140-600 lens, which is very useful for photographing wildlife.

I am hoping for Olympus to come out with another camera (without the hefty price tag) so that I can continue to enjoy the system and use the equipment that I currently own.