I have something to get off my chest…..
Photography is hard or more specifically, wildlife photography is hard and I absolutely love it. There is so much to learn. You need to know your camera(s) functions and capabilities. You need to learn the technical side: shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance, focus areas, depth of field and more. Then there is the unlimited creative side of composition, light, lines and color. After that, there is the wildlife. None of this matters if you can’t find the wildlife. Admittedly, wildlife is everywhere. Looking out my window, I see a few squirrels and birds. All worth photographing. I’m referring to the big wildlife. The ones you see in magazines and online. Things like moose, bears, elk or wolves. Those bucket list animals. You can’t photograph what you can’t find. You need to learn as much as possible about the animals you desire to photograph. You need to know their habitats, food sources, mating and behaviors and all this is different depending on the season. You need to be a better naturalist. Now learn all this for multiple species of animals. I’m not even including the countless birds on this planet. It’s a lot of time, reading and research. It’s the “work” of photography.
I was painfully reminded of all this on my recent trip to Grand Tetons. We struggled to find wildlife and when we did, the conditions/scene were not ideal to make “wall worthy” photos. When you do find wildlife, you had seconds to dial in all the technical and creative things before you press the shutter. Like I said, hard. I have way more misses than keepers. The goal is to improve by practice so that the keeper rate increases. That takes time and patience. Two things I have in abundance now. I have my notebooks and research. I have my time in the field observing wildlife. I have my time to practice. Some days I come home with multiple images, some days I come home with none. Both days are worthy of my time. Both days provide learning experiences. I absolutely love it.
Hard.
I keep pushing and working because hard things are worth it.
On a different note, I am ahead of schedule and the calendars are available for purchase now. You can find the link to purchase in the store. They make great Christmas presents.
For more content from me check out my Substack at macturkphotos.substack.com, Instagram at instagram.com/macturkphotos or Facebook at facebook.com/wendy.macturk
Keep exploring,
Wendy