Finally...

First of all: I'm still here but haven't been photographing that much lately.

There is a good reason I've picked it up again: some new gear.
After 'only' 32 weeks of waiting I finally received my Lee ND Soft Grad kit last Wednesday.
Besides that, I bought a new tripod and ballhead.
Reasons enough to go to the Zuidlaardermeer tonight to at least test the tripod and possibly the new filters.

The new tripod simply works great. It's very stable and the ballhead gives all the stability, flexibility and precision I need.
For today's blip, I used the Lee Big Stopper. I didn't get results from the ND grads I hoped. The reason? Read on...

While photographing this jetty, I saw the beautiful light coming in to the left.
Quickly I moved to a nearby location where I could properly catch it. Put down the tripod, put the camera on top and determine the composition.
Only thing left to do: get the ND grad filters from my bag and select the right one. But just when I was about to get them: rain!
Immediately a series of raindrops visible on the front lens. Putting a filter in front would immediately cause to catch rain drops as well which would be very visible on any photo.
My weather app showed I was in the middle of the only shower in the wide area...

The great moment only lasted a couple of minutes. Minutes during which I had to protect my gear and could not take any pictures. Better luck next time...