Thank you Bobbie Blazy for your compliment. Good to see one of PF's foremost sex poodles back on the list.
Speaking of list sex poodles, Does anyone know if former listie $elena Goth survived the hurricanes?
Kathy, (PF's reigning lust master er... I mean list master) had some trouble deciphering my notes which accompanied my shot.
Here they are at length.
I was visiting some friends on Hornby Island who mentioned to me that if one was patient enough to watch any talon sized bit of dead protein that might wash up on the shore or otherwise be spotted lying about by the birds would almost certainly be rewarded by the sight of one of these magnificent birds retrieving it. I found a bit of protein and moved it to this log in order to make it more obvious.
Soon, an eagle landed in a tree far above and behind me and started making a series of sounds which seemed very un-eaglelike to me. I was tempted to spend my time watching it but was advised that if I didn't keep my eye on the prize one of them would silently surprise me and be gone without notice.
I waited for about 45 minutes. Soon I heard another eagle coming from the north. And another. They landed in another tree and began making more ridiculous sounds. Eventually one flew out and made an approach to the meat (which appeared to me to be some sort of Chihuahua or something.) About 35 yards from the log it dropped its legs which swung back and forth as though on hinges until it hit the meat. As soon as it hit the meat the legs came up and it stretched forward to make its first claw at the air to leave. I will never forget the sound of the wind through its feathers. And to give you some idea of scale, if I were to sit on that log and stretch my arms out in front of me they would be about the same length as the eagles wings.
At some point (it turned out to be that exact moment) I tripped the shutter, the mirror flipped up in the Nikon and the exposure was made. I tried to wind the film as fast as I could but felt the tug of the end of the film. Last frame. The old Nikon that I carry around with me gave up keeping count of frames long ago. I never know how many frames I have left in it. Oddly enough, I was very encouraged by the fact that it was the last frame because over the years I have been astounded again and again by how many times it has been the last frame that turns out to be the best shot of all. Time and time again.
So, this is what it is like to shoot wildlife? You sit. You wait. You become increasingly aware of nature as it becomes increasingly unaware of you. The smell of the sea and the forest come in through your nose and out through your pores. Hiding you. Your heart beats with the rhythm of the clouds. Soon you become less and less out of place. Nature envelopes you in a specified hierarchy. First an ant crawls across your leg. Then the squirrels ignore you. Then the birds seem oblivious to your presence. If you can become invisible enough all of the animals will become comfortable enough to come near you.
And then, of course, you blow their friggin brains out with a shotgun and either eat them or use them for bait. (In my case, having just had a lovely lunch on the patio, I decided to simply take their picture.)
Which brings me to my notes on the shot. Negative film. Remote location. one single frame exposed of an event that I pre visualized (or should we say fantasized?) in my head and in the end only got one shot at. I took my shot but had to wait a week to see the results of. To see what had actually happened while the cameras mirror hid the scene from me . Refusing to share the moment till later.
It was like have sex today but not climaxing for a week.
So what does a photographer learn with that kind of time frame between shooting and seeing the results? I think you learn a lot. I think you go through all of the process in your mind over and over again. Yes! I think I got the right exposure. Yes! I think that I might have stopped the motion. No! I can't think of anything I would have done differently. When you DO actually get to see the image you might be quite disappointed. But, you can't just shoot it again and again right there on the spot. Usually until you get something good enough to "fix in photoshop".No, you learned your lessons the hard way. And if you eventually got good enough, you got REALLY GOOD! Good enough to actually get the shot right first time every time.
It seems to me that a lot of digital photographers these days suffer from premature extrapolation.
Maybe because it is such an immature technology.
But doesn't it remind you of the difference between making love and porking?
So. What would you be? A lover? Or a porker?
R
p.s. Kathy? you need to change my e-mail address to rge@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx in the gallery... thanks.
