Monday, February 28, 2011

Seek and Ye Shall Find..

“nature itself means nothing, says nothing except to the perceiving mind…..Beauty is where it is perceived…you surely will see…..if you are prepared to see it-if you look for it…”                                                                                        Henry David Thoreau

This was a quote I came across from Thoreau, I had never read it or heard of it before and to me it spoke volumes. Thoreau is well know for his unique insite into nature and his nature writing and I think, for me as a outdoor photographer, I will hold this quote close.  I hear many people ask what there is to photograph in any giving place and I've done the same thing myself.  As photographers, we need to perceive the beauty in everything, always be open, always be looking....natures beauty is everywhere. 

Friday, February 11, 2011

Nature Photography Blue Ribbon


I was invited by Southern Appalachian Nature Photographers, (SANP.net) to be one of the judges at their annual salon last Saturday. This photo club, located in Knoxville TN, is dedicated to nature & outdoor photographers and, in my opinion, is one of the best camera clubs in the country. As you may imagine, the competition is stiff and the quality of the images were top shelf, which made my task extremely difficult. Judging was done by a panel of photographers, including myself, and this made the entire process very fair.

I bring up the contest on my blog because, as I felt good about the “winners” , 1st, 2nd and 3rd place and even the honorable mentions, it’s the ones that didn’t place I really thought about later. I saw many great images that won and I saw many, many more great images that didn’t take home a ribbon, images that I would be proud to have in my files. Contests are a lot of fun to enter and even more fun to win but not everyone gets a ribbon.

To me, I’m a nature photographer because of the pleasure I get from being outside, from witnessing the sunrise or from viewing wildlife in its natural habitat. Anyone spending time in nature, hiking, viewing nature or being a nature photographer is a winner in my book. When I got my first camera and starting taking photos of Cardinals in my parent’s backyard, it wasn’t to sell an image or to win a contest. I was taking photos of the birds because I thought they were beautiful. Today, twenty years later, I don’t know where those first 4x6 prints are but the experience and the memories are still with me. The memories and the experience should be every nature photographers winning ribbon.

This image of the coyote was taken in New Mexico a couple of years ago and I love this image, it means a lot to me. I have seen many images of coyotes by other photographers that were stunning, incredible and very impressive and to me this one is an “ok” image. I’m positive this image would not win a contest; the wildlife images I saw at SANP blow this one away. That’s fine to me. When I took this image, I was down in the bottom of a drainage canal photographing Mallards as they coasted in for a landing on the water. I noticed this guy trying to sneak up the edge of the water to grab an unsuspecting duck, he wasn’t having any luck and what he didn’t expect was me crouched down in his hunting area. I slowly turned my camera his way and as he got closer, I started to click off several frames. This one was my favorite. Once he caught wind of me, he paused, and headed off to find another area to hunt. For me that was a great afternoon; I was outdoors in a beautiful location, I was watching and photographing Mallards on the wing and I got to be up close to a wild coyote in his natural environment…I was totally in touch with the moment and with nature. That’s my first place ribbon.

Every image you take has a special Meta Data, not the information stored in the camera but the experience and memories stored in your mind that are special to only you. These are more valuable than trophies, ribbons or money. I would encourage anyone that wants to compete in contests to do so, they can be a lot fun, likewise with trying to market images. At the same time, I would like to remind everyone to think often of your nature photography experience, for that is your true blue ribbon.


Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Deep Thoughts




A placid blue the water be,
A calming peace it brings over me, 
No waves, no ripples to ruin its perfection,
The depths of the water mirrors the depth of my reflections.
                                                             HRS 2011