Wild Life

Setting up to take professional photographs out in the wild is a lot of work. First you have to find the (potential) shot, then deal with weather and insects. You have to be able to physically handle the equipment, walking as far as you need to capture the best composition. That's not even counting the challenge of finding the exact right settings for each image. Using the "automatic" mode on a professional camera not only doesn't work, but it actually prevents you from taking a great shot. There are a million things to remember: keeping horizon lines straight, metering for your center of interest, checking the settings on the camera EVERY time you pick it up to take a shot. And of course it's always about the light.

In the national parks the animals seem fearless of people. For this shot of a bull moose I even had time to set up the tripod.

The past week was an incredible learning experience for both me and my friend Nancy. We were both shooting Nikons which made it better, because we could change settings and compare shots. The week was also exhausting, since we'd get up with the sun, and go to bed way after dark. We ate out of the ice chest rather than take the time to find a restaurant. Talk about two obsessives!

Now I am home with thousands of new photos I am faced with another dilemma -- the 300 gb storage drive is full. I have a mirror drive for backup, but now I'll have to find another solution, but until then I'll be burning DVDS. That's in between painting of course.