I was up very early this past Sunday so I could meet the sun at the Gilbert Riparian Preserve and photograph the birds that congregate around the watering holes dotting the preserve. The sun beat me to it, but it was still early enough to take advantage of the great light from the rising sun. One thing you have to accept when shooting wildlife and nature is that it can be hit or miss. This particular day started out more miss for me. Although it was not a morning lost since the preserve is still a beautiful place to just wander around and at 6 am on a Sunday it is still quiet enough to leave you alone with your thoughts.
While I was waiting at the side of a water basin for a duck or goose or heron (or anything really) to come into view I could see another photographer on the other side with a lens that looked more like a telescope. They were obviously well prepared and well equipped for capturing wildlife, birds in particular. My Sony Alpha 850 and 100-300 mm lens looked very amateur in comparison and it got me to thinking, was I wasting my time on birds? Would that photographer with that equipment take a better picture every single time so I should not bother? And if I was wasting time on birds, should I find one particular photographic subject and focus exclusively on it? Wildlife? Landscapes? Portraits? Architecture?
I do not have the answer to these questions and they tend to only lead to more questions for me. Why do I photograph? What is my ultimate photography goal?
At this time I photograph for the love of photography. I have never sold anything nor made a dime off my photography. Someday I would love to photograph for a living – if I could photograph what I love. But for now I am exploring all aspects of photography finding what I like, what I am good at and what may, someday, get me noticed. The more I shoot the more I figure out what I like shooting. And the more I shoot the more I love shooting. So in the end, it does not matter that someone else has found their photographic niche and is probably good enough at it to invest thousands in a very professional lens. What matters is that my photography gets better and my confidence in the images I produce improves.
When I was about it pack it up and head home last Sunday a family of geese, father, mother and five goslings, waded ashore right at my feet. The young geese pecked at the shore for something to eat while the mother kept watch from the water and the father stood on shore keeping an eye on me. The opportunity had come to me and my telephoto lens was not necessary for capturing this moment. So lesson learned; have patience and keep shooting to continuously produce each image better than the one before.
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