Shutter Mike Photography

My plan this morning was to photograph the wildlife at the Riparian Preserve in Gilbert, AZ.  Although I found a few of the 90 or so photographs that I shot to be acceptable, overall I was not happy with the results of today’s outing.  But I did get my photography lesson for the day.  That is, not every picture has to be perfect and in fact, the perfect ones are the exception and not the rule.  I just have to keep shooting and practicing to get better with every shot.

A few other “lessons learned” about wildlife photography in particular as a result of this morning’s outing were:

1. Patience is key.  When photographing wildlife they do not pose, wait or ham it up for you.  You sit and quietly wait for the best shot.  You are on their turf.
2. Time of day and time of year matters.  In the case of the Riparian Preserve, a wetland, there isn’t much water in August.  Not much water means not much wildlife, or at least not as many opportunities to photograph them.  Make sure you know how the seasons affect the area you are photographing.
3. Bug spray, bring it – wetlands, wildlife, outdoors = bugs.
4. Size matters and I have lens envy (see the photo at the right).

Click any of the photographs in this post to see a larger version.

Duck at the Riparian Preserve

Gilbert, AZ

f/7.1 – 1/15 sec – ISO 100 – Focal Length 300 mm

Bird Watching – Riparian Preserve – Gilbert, AZ

f/6.3 – 1/400 sec – ISO 320 – Focal Length 250 mm

Wetlands – Riparian Preserve – Gilbert, AZ

Right – f/5.6 – 1/20 sec – ISO 400 – Focal Length 35 mm

Left – f/6.3 – 1/20 sec – ISO 200 – Focal Length 40 mm

Wetland Birds – Riparian Preserve – Gilbert, AZ

Right – f/6.3 – 1/500 sec – ISO 160 – Focal Length 300 mm

Left – f/6.3 – 1/500 sec – ISO 160 – Focal Length 300 mm

Wetland Birds – Riparian Preserve – Gilbert, AZ

f/6.3 – 1/500 sec – ISO 100 – Focal Length 300 mm

Heron – Riparian Preserve – Gilbert, AZ

f/6.3 – 1/500 sec – ISO 320 – Focal Length 300 mm