Many times, so much goes into the preparation of a shot. Some of this includes travel time, familiarizing yourself with your subject and its habitat. Some of us will spend hours upon hours digging into every detail; planning every step of the anticipated shot as though it were our swan song. This anticipation of the shot can be just as thrilling as the actual capture.
If you are like me, you enjoy the long hours of preparation/research and most especially the time in the field. I thoroughly enjoy my quiet time in nature and appreciate all the sights and sounds associated with the great outdoors. To me, the shot, only happens when you become a part of your surroundings.
For those of us nature lovers there can be a lot of frustration towards folks that just don’t seem to get it. I’m more impressed with the patience and care shown while in the field. When that photographer gets a shot, it is usually well thought out, and executed to perfection because they have spent the time observing their subject and making a genuine connection. And, it shows.
I do know that with wildlife photography, things can happen very quickly and opportunities are fleeting, I do know this… Sometimes we take what we can get, I have been there and done that. But, I also know that many folks are just not willing to put in the time, to be patient and to wait until something special unfolds.
So for all of the snap-happy photographers out there— I dare you to take your time, to work a shot, to create rather than click. To be clear, I am not saying that you shouldn’t take the document shot, I’m saying go beyond that shot- dig deeper.
*The above shot of a drake Harlequin duck was captured at the Barnegat Jetty in NJ. I didn’t want to photograph a sitting or floating duck. I wanted one standing on the rocks. The mussles and open bill were a bonus. It was an exhausting challenge to photograph daily from the jetty in the middle of winter, but I loved every minute of it! I spent time waiting patiently on the icy rocks, literally frost bitten at times. After several seasons of rock hopping, I even wrote a photography eGuide for the Barnegat Jetty.
The image of the two women walking the beach near the jetty (that was in my email blast) is of me and Carlotta Grenier.
Herb Crawford the owner of the Lonaconing Silk Mill passed away, he will be missed by many and I was sorry to hear the news. Scott Vincent who assisted me on many of my workshops at the mill sent me a link to his obituary,