The Waiting Game

One of the most interesting aspects of bird photography is the patience required to get the shots that you want. Due to the nature of how we make good photos, there are often a series of components that enable you to getting the shots that you want. First and most importantly is the subject, and secondly light.

For example, if you looked at my last two posts with photos of the baby Sandhill Crane you'd notice that the ones from the second day are a little easier on the eye. The biggest change between the two days I was shooting was the lighting conditions. The first day was bright and sunny, which meant that highlights were lost in various parts of the image, it also made the colours rather flat looking. The second day it was partly, or mainly overcast, and the colours pop out more, not to mention the fact that details are retained across the enter frame. Ideally these shots would have been taken during the greatly desired "golden" hours of the day, but various limitations prevented that. Considering that the photos on both occasions were taken during the middle of the afternoon, there is a dramatic difference.

I mentioned that light and subject were the most important aspects of the photo, and only by getting both of these right can we start to achieve the results we desire as photographers. That bird that looks elegant to us in the sunlight, often doesn't look very nice when we get home and look on our computer screens. That is why patience is an important part of any kind of photography. For family images and snapshots getting great lighting may not be as important, because those photos are for memory sake, rather than for the art of photography in and of itself. When we are taking photos for the sake of taking photos, looking for the best possible results it takes some work though. Sometimes we get lucky and the light and the subject just happen to come together when we take a snapshot, but that does not happen often enough, so we have to work at it.

The first aspect of that work is either waiting for the light to be right, or making the light right via speedlights or other lighting equipment. Personally I like to wait for the light to be right, but sometimes that just is not possible. Sometimes if the light isn't the way I want it, I just wont make a photograph, while other times I'll just shoot anyway. When I am just shooting, knowing the photo isn't going to be great, it is often because it is of a subject I do not get to see very often, in which case I capture the moment for the sake of memory. I will do my best to get better shots of that subject in the future, hopefully under better conditions. That in and of itself can be part of the the waiting game. Sometimes you cannot get the results you want in one outing or shoot, so followups are required. One of the most important things I have learned in photography is to never stop, you will continue to improve your skills with time and practice!