It took me long enough…
After listening to my favorite podcasters talk for month after month about the need for a photography blog, I’ve finally decided to blog like it’s 1999. (does an 11 year lag make me fashionably late?)
My plan for this blog is to share some of my favorite photography tips, equipment, locations and techniques. And occasionally talk about my classes, tours and workshops.
There’s really nothing I enjoy more than sharing my love of photography with others. There’s something unexplainable – something magic – about being behind the viewfinder as the sun rises over Scituate Harbor’s lighthouse. Or tracking a pair of Snowy Egrets through a big telephoto as they land. Or shooting a the Osprey as they fish in Maine.
And the first tip I’ll share about shooting wildlife is PATIENCE.
One of my favorite winter activities is to chase Snowy Owls at Plum Island and Salisbury Reservation in northern Massachusetts. These are an absolutely beautiful bird! And last year, I made about 15 trips hunting for them, each time driving almost 2 hours each way, lugging about 40 pounds worth of camera gear. Most of those trips were unsuccessful – no Snowys.
Salisbury Reservation, 2/2009 - (C) MacPherson Studios
The camera was a Canon 40D. The lens was my favorite piece of glass – my 600mm f4 L IS. The camera, tripod, gimbal mount and lens weigh in at a backbreaking 22 pounds.
But patience and persistence paid off! I found this guy after about 2 hours of searching, and then stalked him for 45 minutes, working my way closer and closer. 10 steps and shoot. 10 more and shoot. By the time I got this close, I had been out in that arctic weather for 3 hours and was well and truly frozen. But it was really worth it!
So if you want to shoot wildlife, be prepared to spend enormous amounts of time and effort – often in difficult conditions – and to come away empty handed. But if you do it often enough, be prepared to get LUCKY!
My basic premise is that if you want to shoot wildlife and you don’t come home hungry, tired, banged up, frozen / sunburned and broke, you’re not doing it right. There are some exceptions, but not that many – it’s hard work!
But the rewards are tremendous!
