. . . With A Little Luck

If you ever met a real nature photographer, they’re kind of amazing.

They know migration routes, what everything eats and the time of day they eat, how the wind impacts all this, and which weeks they’re most likely to find what they’re looking for.

And they also know how to use a camera.

I, on the other hand, have my own approach to nature photography.

I got into this because I was fascinated by my camera’s ability to find eyes and focus on them.

So I relax by grabbing my camera, going to the woods, and taking pictures of anything that moves and has eyes.

A couple of weeks ago I was sitting near my favorite pond just waiting for something to happen when some turkey vultures showed up.

Since they move and have eyes, I got off my butt and started taking photographs. And got a LOT of turkey vulture photographs.

If you’re a real birder, my methodology will make you sick, but I noticed two of the vultures didn’t look the same as the others and got a few photos of them. (Keep in mind these birds were high and pretty far away)

One of the photos is the one below.

At the time, I had no idea I was photographing an eagle.

Because I’m not a nature photographer.

I’m a guy who’s fascinated by a camera’s ability to focus on eyes.

And I shouldn’t get confused by this.

There’s a big difference between being skilled at something and being lucky.

Because I do this for myself for fun, it doesn’t matter. I can share a lucky photo if I think someone might enjoy it. But I don’t have the control or virtuosity to have anyone depend on me for this.

I think about this a lot in the context of business and negotiating complex relationships.

Yeah — this was one those posts that’s really a metaphor for something else.

I’m not going to say the quiet part out loud:)