My Granddaughter can Capture a Fantastic Image

One of the big differences between a good amateur or professional photographer and a person taking snapshots is in the work and pre-planning that goes into capturing an image. My 6 year old granddaughter, if she is lucky, can capture a fantastic image if it happens in front of her. All she has to do is point the camera and press the shutter. But to consistently create good images takes a lot of work, judgment and pre-planning.
A few weeks ago I decided to head down to Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. I had seen a number of beautiful images of raptors taken from there by members of one of the photography clubs I belong to and wanted to see what I could do. I gathered information from my friends and the internet as to location, favorite spots in the refuge and the types of animals I would find. From past experience and a little homework I processed what I knew of the habits of these animals so I had an idea of where and when I should be set up to capture the images that I had in my mind. I left the house early in the morning and made the 2½ hour trip to Ridgefield getting there just after sunrise. As it turned out that part of the trip was a bust—it was raining and gray and no opportunities for photography. Not to let the day go to waste I decided to head down to Oregon (it wasn’t that much further) and see what images I could find along the Gorge of the Columbia River; knowing that with this weather there may be an opportunity to capture a moody image of one of the many waterfalls in the Gorge. This is where past knowledge helps—you change your tactics to meet the situation Mother Nature presents to you. As it turned out my hunch was correct and I was able to capture a number of images of waterfalls in which the weather made for great effects in the image. As I continued east the weather got clearer and my thoughts went to the next day’s sunrise—the weather forecast on the radio was sounding promising.
I ended up in Maryhill, Washington where I had heard of a Stonehenge Memorial. The light wasn’t right but I wasn’t there to take photographs anyway, I was there for research; to find wherer I wanted to set-up for my sunrise shots of the next day.

Before sunrise the next day I was at Maryhill again and ready for the arrival of the sun. As the sun came over the horizon I was able to capture a number of good images of Stonehenge and a couple of great images of the Columbia River and Mount Hood. My background work, preplanning and judgment were starting to pay off.

Late that afternoon I ended up back in Ridgefield, found the spots I had located the day before and was able to capture some images of raptors, herons and a coyote in the light of the setting sun.

I cannot do anything about the weather and the natural lighting that Mother Nature provides; but with a little knowledge and work on my part I can be in the location that may provide the best image for me to capture under the given conditions. Consistently creating quality images involves a lot of work but when your work pays off it is well worth the effort.

Washington Wild Life

I am very lucky living where I do in the Puget Sound region of Washington State--within a couple of hours of my house I can be in a large city, at the Pacific Ocean, photographing Prickly Pear Cactus (yes there are wild cactus growing in Western Washington!), at the mountains or photographing wildlife in any number of locations. One of my favorite locations for photographing birds is the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge located in south Puget Sound. As a kid of 14 I rember hunting ducks with my father at what was to become the refuge, Brown's Farm. We would get up early in the morning, drive down to the farm and wade through the soggy fields to the blinds for a day of shooting ducks and geese. The refuge was established in 1974 and as in the 60's hunting with my father I still get up early in the morning and drive to the farm to hunt duck, geese and many other avian prey, only know I do my hunting with a camera and I bring back more than memories, I get to create images for myself and others to enjoy (not to mention leaving the animals to enjoy their lives). I hope you enjoy these images of my last trip to the delta.

The Tacoma Narrows Bridge

As you can tell from my first image of the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge I wasn't really in favor of building a new bridge right next to the existing one but the construction of the bridge has presented some great opportunities in photography.
In June of 2007 I was given the chance to take a tour of both the construction of the new bridge and go under and to the top of the west tower of the old bridge. What a thrill to be standing 600+ feet above the water looking down at the cars passing beneath me; the views were breath-taking. But I do have to admit there were some nervous moments. To get from the Tacoma side of the bridge to the west tower we took a tram that is suspended under the bridge deck. When we first got on the tram the engine wouldn't start--with a couple of comments from our guide and a swift kick it finally started and off we went. On reaching the west tower, he went to turn off the engine and found that it wouldn't shut down--so he left it running.

Now the fun part. We climbed up through the bridge deck and entered the tower which contained a hoist (about the size of a MRI tube) that would take us to the top of the tower. On entering the hoist the first thing I saw was a plaque noting that the travel of the hoist was 623 feet! My first thought was that I hope the hoist works better than the tram--and it did, we all got safely to the top. The views were great, not the best for photography but I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Take a look at the Narrows Bridge album for more images of the old and new Tacoma Narrows bridge.

The Harder I work the Lucker I get

Often in capturing images luck is partially involved. Being at the right place at the right time, having your camera set-up and ready to go and having yourself ready to work is all part of capturing that moment in time. One of my favorite quotes of Benjamin Franklin is "The Harder I work the Luckier I Get". That is definitely the case in photography.

My wife Sherryl and I had tried on a number of occasions to go whale watching on our trips to Hawaii and each time our trips were canceled due to poor weather and high winds. Finally we managed to pick a calm day and were able get out on the ocean. As it turned out it was so quiet that even the whales were enjoying the calm and all seemed to be napping. We saw a number of whales on the surface with just their backs showing out of the water, an occasional fluke slapping and water spouts as they exhaled, readying for their next dive into the deep expanse of the Pacific Ocean. After a number of beautiful but uneventful hours of cruising up and down the coast of Maui it was time to return to the harbor. Most of the tourists, lulled by that calmness of the day and the fact that we were returning to the harbor had put their cameras in their bags and were quietly sitting back and enjoying the warm Hawaiian afternoon. Less that a mile from the harbor this Humpback whale decided to put an exclamation to the end of our adventure. Not more than fifty yards form the boat and without warning he, or she, decided to reach for the sky! Luckily I still had my camera in hand, I was paying attention and ready to work (The Harder I Work), I pressed the shutter of my camera and captured these moments in time (The Luckier I Get).

Oceans to Rivers