Increase your luck by being there
How many times have you heard it? “Oh they were just lucky.” Yes they’re probably right. But, many times I think you make your own luck, and you can increase your luck by being there. That never seems to be more true than when pursing wildlife photography. You never know what you’ll come across when you go out. There are many ways to increase your odds of coming home with a successful shot or two and you tend to learn those with experience. As examples, having your camera settings preset for a correct exposure under the current lighting. The shutter speed set high enough to freeze motion. Of course these are all interdependent on conditions and subject matter, but these are all things you learn with time. But many times, it’s just a matter of being there.
The photograph here is of juvenile Wood Ducks on a local canal. I’ve posted this on numerous sites on the web and the thing commented on the most was the composition. The way the ducks were framed by the tree branches and the arrangement of the ducks. I’ve teased in replying that it took lots of talking to get these guys to line up in this fashion. When in reality it happened only because I was there at that point in time.
Camera and settings used for this image were: Canon 7D MKII with a Canon 400mm f5.6L lens. 1/1600sec iso800 at f5.6
Hope you enjoyed reading this and I hope to see you out on the trail. Please feel free to leave your comments below, we love hearing from you!!