It's been said that a wildlife photographer's greatest asset is not his eye, equipment or experience, but patience. And that in a nutshell is why I never even tinkered with making wildlife or nature photography my life's work. A cocker spaniel puppy has more patience. If a picture's not there in 20 minutes, I'm gone. Outa there. History.
Check fatali.com for Michael Fatali's exquisite scenic work, mostly from the U.S. southwest. Click on his images, click again on his field notes, and you'll see he sometimes waited four days for the light to be just right. FOUR DAYS! Dallastown's Cliff Beitel spends days looking just the right bird photo, and it shows in his amazing artistry. Once they see it, they click into 'artist' mode, and experience and equipment join in. Both of their links are along the right side of this blog.
As much as I love the outdoors, my work isn't going to be on Country magazine's cover anytime soon. Instead, it'll end up in a shoebox under my bed, just like everyone else's.
So, driving to Hanover, I spot two majestic swans swimming on Spring Grove's pond. Now, how can I miss?
Oh, it's easy to miss. I do it all the time.
First, the swans' pure white feathers disappear into a blob of nothingness when the camera's meter reads all the dark water and not the white. (Trick the meter, and underexpose to get the swans' detail.)
Secondly, the sun is behind me. Shooting with the sun over your shoulder is a good rule, but one that occasionally should be broken. Today, the water dripping off the swans' beaks disappears when shot that way. (Water generally shows up better when backlit.)
Thirdly, the swans' posture just doesn't work for a photo. The pond, half frozen, gives a nice line to the image, but the birds are too close, too far, too high or too low. (When approaching a subject, sometimes it's better not to have a pre-determined photo in mind. It clouds or even erases other possibilities.)
Lastly, one more way to mess up a photo, and one that most people don't think about. Dragging out the heavy artillery, the big lenses, isn't necessarily the best way to shoot nature. Filling up the frame with the swan might have been too close, and it could have been shot in a zoo. Show a little of its environment, the water, the shore. (Just because you can get photographically on top of the bird, doesn't mean you have to. You don't need a picture of its eyeball. Or maybe you do. But make that decision, and don't automatically put out the big guns.)
And there's plenty of other ways that a picture just doesn't work. The water's too rough. Too smooth. Too dark. Too many reflections.
This photo is OK, certainly not up to Fatali or Beitel standards. But it took 10 minutes, and I was headed to Hanover to buy pretzels.
Wow, I really enjoy this blog Bil. I'm learning a lot just reading about all the things that go through your mind when you're shooting.