Part of the reason that these lenses are so costly is they're intended for extreme distance and light conditions. AND, depend on the expert skills the Pro's who own them bring to their photography. Certainly some advanced (VERY) posses these skills and produce great images for free.

For the rest of us, there are more affordable, smaller maximum aperture zooms. And for the Mirrorless Canon folks, some f11 600 and 800 mm lenses have been introduced. Good images have been shown by the evaluators as well as for the Tamron and Sigma super zooms, as well.

It is simple arithmetic. How many super telephoto images do you need to produce to produce either the $$ or Psychic income to match a $12K purchase?. A third grader's roll of he eyes at the Long Division problem tell the story. Do the best with what you have.

An alternative is the 300 mm 2,8and f4 lens, with appropriate adapters. Also the EF 400 f5.6 is approachable. A satisfying thought to those of us, and I do mean me, on a budget, is think how good I'd get if I practiced diligently and frequently for as long as it takes to save for and justify a $12,000 lens purchase (I'll only use 5% of the time).

Aren't you glad those Pro's have those lenses so you can see the images they make for us?
C

PS: A hint to why Canon has upgraded their recently upgraded and re0designed EF Super Tele lenses with RF mounts. Those who have 'em are unlikely to want to re-purchase them, and all in all, that's a small market.

Ahhh, Gene. leave it to you. Softshell Crab, the unsung under-rated American Seafood delicacy. A long time favorite from my youthful summers on the Croton River.
C

Nevada, too. The week after Labor Day! Nice to see the colorful balloonists in the sky. Just what I expect the NM sky to look like.
C

My dad had a few Studebakers. His 1955 Commander had a V8, and it would scoot. I remember changing the Spark plugs required it be on a lift because the compartment fit was so tight. A beautiful and very comfortable car.

Studebakers require a special taste. Like Speyside Scotch. Not for everybody, but satisfying for the ones who love them.

The entire Olympic Peninsula with Olympic Nat'l Park are great all by themselves. The best views of Mt. Rainer are from across the Bay. This is the less populated and less industrialized side of The Pacific Northwest Coast. Amazing scenery. Port Angeles is terrific on its own. If you can't get to Canada, so be it. Fly in next time. You won't be disappointed with the Olympic Peninsula and the Entire Seattle area. Use the Ferries and eat the Oysters--a huge variety, and the great fish. Have a great trip and do that Foreign Country we love so much next time.

Beauty, Eh??
C

Not to be contrary, but I've used Creative Cloud for years and find that the one or two times that there was a feature I needed in Photoshop was all I ever used. $10 a month for LR is a deal. Ignoring Photoshop (gives me an exquisite little kick) is FREE. And I bet it's still cheaper than C-1 (and easier, too).

Having planned a few trips in the era of "Google" Maps, I suggest purchasing a few REAL PAPER maps. Best source for Rand Mc Nally as well as State official road maps is Amazon. If you're a member of AAA, their maps are peerless for the driver. I've even used their European maps to great advantage--they're in ENGLISH.

I suggest that there's lots more to W. Va. than Harper's Ferry, charming as it is. Take your time, Stop at scenic spots and maybe even spend a few nights on the road. We're in our 70's and we've discovered our Road Trip daily max is about 600 miles or about 12 hours with stops.

Pace yourself. Take great photographs, like you usually do and worry less about time. We all have constraints, but be realistic! We have similar sentiments about visiting relatives. Take the time needed and don't over do. Enjoy the journey and the visit.

the transition zones of West Virginia as it climbs up from teh Ohio River across teh mountains is breath taking. The Eastward parts are very pretty, too. Look for the beauty, and try to take a few days. Make the up on the Interstate Hwy. portion of the trip. Choose one route Eastbound and the return via a different route Westbound.

C

And let's keep shooting as they come OFF! and STAY off.

I've gotten stronger on my concern for the subtle psychological and for kids, developments socialization masks have on humans. Those "Smiles" that seem to automatically come to our faces are more than the grins, but our non verbal acknowledgement of others and signaling a pleasing, if fleeting encounter. All thos little micro experiences add up. Up to the big pile in my 77 year old brain, and add the the experience of being independent in the social world for a 7 year-old.

Great combo of balance: Composition, texture and lines, geometric and leaf shapes. Love these photos. And I love the Adirondacks, especially lake George, Placid and Champlain. Also Loon lake.
C

I'm pleased that you had your priorities in order. No room for that photo stuff when there's good meat to ingest! Call it Post-Visualization.
Bravo, my favorite. Will make one soon,
C

A few years ago I suffered from a rogue person stealing my 50D, which at 16MP was about equivalent to your T2i. I looked at teh T8,7, and teh *)D. I chose the EOD 77D with the same sensor because it was significantly lighter than the 80D, had a generation newer version of the software.

Prices for it, and they're available Refurbished, have come down and could prove to be a bargain. I;ve had it for 3 years and still love it, especially for its usability and weight.
C

Great set. Your last photo show why the flowers "seem" to flow like rivers. It is the water from trickle to flow that starts and sustains the bloom.

Pretty country. We're seeing some bloom over the hill in Reno/Sparks.
C

I use this lens on a Canon body. It is excellent. I don't do video, so I can't definitively comment, BUT the variable aperture is from f2.8 to f4. That's nor much over 17-70mm zoom. And stopped down to f4, there is no variability at all.

This also has "Macro" close focusing abilities. That has enabled me to get close ups of details, flowers, etc.

I have used the longer focal lengths for portraits with excellent results, and decent Bokeh for backgrounds several feet behind the subject. I had one stolen and promptly replaced it. So nice I bought it twice! The Canon offerings and I assume Nikon, too can't hold a candle especially at the $400 price I paid at the time(s).
C

PS: OS works really well, too.

Better out of the corner of your eye than in the middle of your windshield.

Distracted driving is an vocational and avocational hazard.

Why did the Mustang cross the river? To take a nap, of course!