Well, I said that I was going to share a story of an experience I had yesterday. So here it goes.
I walked down a dried up creek bed, and hit the main stream. This is a process I do quite often, and something I learned as a survival tip. “Follow small streams down and they will lead to bigger streams, which lead to civilization.” Anyways, back on subject. I was “working the area”. I was focusing on my “intimate shots” when I glanced up stream and noticed a deer making its way up the bank of the creek. I would say the deer was probably 125-150 yards upstream. It was beautiful though! The light hitting its coat, the colorful backdrop, and the flowing stream all together. I decided that there was no time for a photo, plus I was too far away. All I did was watch this deer, unknowning to me, cross the stream and disappear amongst the trees. I sat there with a smile on my face, I knew the moment was captured none the less. My mental capture was better than any photo I could have gotten of the deer.
I popped back into photography mode and walked upstream, since I had high rubber boots on, I walked straight up the little rapids I was photographing. I like to be right in the middle of my subject. After all, anyone can walk to the edge of the water and take a photo. I photographed the water rushng by rocks that had clumps of leaves on them. Yea, thats nice. Uhh, thats fine. Nothing great though!
All of a sudden I look upstream and see movement. My hunting instincts kick in and tell me to get down and sit still. My photography instincts say, “Get a little closer Matthew”. So…I of course crouch down and jog upstream as far as I feel comfortable. I justify to myself that I was “sneaky” while jogging up the stream. Second thing. I had to switch lenses!!! Duh, I can’t photograph a deer from a hundred yards with a wide angle. Being in the middle of the stream I dipped my knees into the icy water, pulling my camera bag off my back and fumbling for my telephoto. I find a rock to perch my bag on. I keep my eye on the deer as I change lenses. Using my manual focus Olympus 70-210mm I set the f/stop and the shutter speed. I adjust the white balance and the ISO. I begin to expose images, switching between horizontal and vertical shots. I make sure I slow down and concentrate for every shot. I would rather take one great shot than ten shots and then realize I needed to change something. I watch the deer traverse the creek. I capture two images. One that travels through the elements of my lens, past the mirror, and into the sensor. The second, from my retina, to my optic nerve, to my thalamus, and then to my visual cortex. This image will saty there for years to come, being bake to be brought up fro mmy database within seconds. Within moments the images are captured. The deer moves on, defeated from the steep embankment. She searches for an easier way. Likewise, I move on. Not necessarily looking for the easiest path. All the while I smile, knowing I have done my best to capture what I saw. I am well aware that I will fail, but that is what drives me. I do not believe my images will ever equate to being in the scene itself. I only hope I can come awefully close. I am an observer of beauty, I am a philosopher of nature, and I am a photographer attempting to capture both.
MT
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