Patience is key… Especially in photography.

Definitely one of the first things I had to learn and understand. I watched as my mom could stand behind a bush stalking a bird with her camera for sometimes over 30 minutes. That is a considerably large amount of time for one to stand perfectly still, watching the same thing, while managing to hold a large lens in place in hopes of catching that perfect shot. Although she may not have succeeded the first or even second time, she was patient and willing to try until she got exactly what she wanted.

After watching her watch the bird so many times, I just had to give it a try. I definitely was not able to focus in on that one thing for as long as she would. I would rush closer to the bird hoping to get a pretty close up at minimum. That always resulted in an abrupt take-off. Leaving me feeling bad for forcing the heron to leave his chosen fishing spot. And no pictures. 🙁

Finally, I learned to wait… Wait for the bird to make the decisions. Let it decide what was going to happen. That is how I got this shot. It isn’t an action catch, I know, but definitely one of my favorites. I waited for this particular bird to snag a fish for about fifteen minutes as it slowly walked the shoreline. He/she never succeeded. Just as I was ready to move on the heron was too. I hadn’t gotten a single shot so I quickly decided to snap at least one picture of the creature.

I was patient with the bird and although I didn’t get the image I went out hoping to get, I got one that I was just as proud of… How did I get it? I waited… I let nature take its course instead of rushing things… I watched until the bird was ready to leave and only then was I able to appreciate the beauty of his spectacular exit.

I now understand why mom has so much patience for these things. The beauty of unharmed life as it was meant to be… In the form of a wading bird patiently waiting for his daily catch!

-Thanks mom for this unintended lesson on patience:)

PEACE OUT