When discussing nature photography with others, I’m often asked what I do to keep from “getting bored”, when the action is slow. The first thing I say is that just being in a secluded area, with peace and quiet, and the natural sounds of nature, it is not often that I get bored. But I also say that I have a little “game” that I play when action is slow. I will often find something that is rapidly moving about and work on attaining, and maintaining, sharp focus on it … after all, this skill is quite necessary when photographing active wildlife.
When I play this game in summer, I often use small birds; the smaller they are, the greater the challenge (hummingbirds or warblers are great to practice on!) or even dragonflies. Since I’m in the kayak most of the summer months, let me show you some of the recent images I have made while passing the time away:
So, as you can see, I really don’t have time to get bored! And working with the dragonflies is a great way to help improve my ability to attain quick focus on a subject, and to be able to pan with the subject, keeping him in focus … at least for most of the time! :o)
But what about winter? Well, unfortunately this game is difficult to play in winter due to the inability to find something moving around to shoot! But with the cold temperatures of winter, I’m usually not out that long anyway. And when I’m out, I’m usually moving about quite a lot.