I have often said that I could write a book on the photo opportunities I have missed but let’s just stick with a blog entry.
The trouble with being interested in a variety of photographic genres is it means a decision has to be made as to which genre will be my focus on any given day. Often the decision is made the night before when weather reports have been checked and a location is chosen. If the the forecast is good with a little sunshine from sunrise, then I will probably choose landscape photography and place my 16-35mm lens on my camera body however if the light is good, more diffused by cloud cover but not too much of a breeze, I will choose my 100mm macro lens and go in search of pretty wildflowers or insects and bugs. If I want to take it more easy I will often choose my 400mm lens and go in search of wildlife because, for the best wildlife opportunities you need to take it slow. Marching out across the countryside at a pace and then suddenly stopping when you see some gorgeous wildlife opportunity will just send your subject off in fright.
This is exactly what I learnt when I first ventured out of the confines of a bird hide to look for wildlife rather than wait for it to come to me. I was out very early one morning walking around Dinton Pastures, a local nature reserve. There was a hard frost and weak winter sunshine giving all around a fairytale-like appearance. As I walked along the banks of the Lodden I saw a kingfisher perched no more than a few metres from me. The composition was magical with the sunlight sparkling upon the frosty branch and catching the iridescent blues and greens of the kingfisher’s feathers. I made two mistakes that day. I stopped abruptly in my path and in awe I took a sudden intake of breath and she was gone sending out a high pitched ‘peep peep’ as she departed. I learnt from that experience but the missed opportunities still occur.
Only this week I was walking alongside the Basingstoke Canal in Hampshire when I spotted a kingfisher on his riverside perch. He sat at length. Some cyclists came whizzing by at which point he ‘peep peeped’ and he was off but within minutes he was back. I stood motionless in a shady break in the hedge watching but knowing he would be a mere speck in my view finder as landscapes were the focus of the day. When he was spooked for a second time I waited another 40 minutes but this time he did not return and I wanted to get walking before I lost anymore of that special early morning light for my landscapes. Within a few paces I came across a roe deer on the opposite bank (barely any distance) but my lens would just not do her justice.
During lockdown I have become attuned to the local wildlife. I know where the shy muntjac hangs out. I know where the whitethroat, skylark and yellow hammer flit about silently in the pretty ditch. I know where roe deer emerge from the copse to feed among the curly dock and I know where the roe fawn browses along the camomile track. However, it is important not to routinely visit these sites as it might frighten the wildlife away in search of new habitats. So it was, that the morning I decided I had to take a break from wildlife photography and return to landscapes, a fox, on the local green not far from my home, came to a halt in his tracks as he emerged through the hedge. He was in no rush. His intention was to wait for me to move on so that he could continue on his errand and sure enough, after eyeing each other for a good two minutes, I moved on and he continued on his way unperturbed and all I managed was a distant shot of him lost in the landscape.
This week, a good friend joined me on my early morning walk. Being in company I was not expecting to see any wildlife so once again the landscape lens was the order of the day. As we explored a local copse my friend spotted two tiny fawns among the bracken. Despite their delayed reaction, one of them had already taken off into the thicket before I thought to raise my camera. I have to console myself that actually it is important to document wildlife in their environment rather than always capturing them in closeup. With this in mind, perhaps it was not a missed opportunity after all.
It is not always a matter of having the correct lens mounted on my camera. There are also occasions when a golden opportunity can be missed just on account of changing light. Usually when I see a beautiful landscape I will take the first shot without delay and then examine the focus point, lighting, foreground interest and framing. I make adjustments, level my tripod and take the shot again. The risk is that in that space of time the clouds may have rolled in or the sunlight becomes too harsh, or the landscape has lost shadows for definition. At least I have that initial shot which I can crop to a more pleasing composition and perhaps straighten the horizon in the digital dark room rather than missing it all together.
I use a similar technique when I am photographing wildlife. When I first spot that deer, a hare or a butterfly or the bee gathering nectar, I will take an initial shot. I will then move a little closer to the subject. If I have not disturbed it I will take another shot before advancing even closer. Sometimes the action of taking the photo can result in obtaining nothing more than a record shot but I would always rather hedge my bets and come away with something rather than nothing at all. However sometimes it results in as many as one hundred shots that can be binned because of the winning shot that I eventually achieve by gradually moving closer to the subject, which was the case when photographing brown hares.
For every missed opportunity as long as a lesson is learnt and I improve technique those missed shots are not such a disaster after all.
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