Most wildlife photographers will probably tell you that to be a good photographer you should research your subject animal, learn its habits, its food sources, where it likes to hunt, how it lives. Then, once you have asembled, cleaned and tested all of your photo gear, dressed yourself accordingly, checked the weather, packed your food and water and extra camera batteries and flash cards, head out to track and locate your photo prey.
OR . . .
. . . you just get damn lucky!! LOL
Imagine that you are driving the TCH along the coast, looking for those incredible coastal scenery shots. You have your camera with a nice wide angle lens on the seat next to you . . . when trotting down the road appears this gorgeous Red Fox!
What do you do (as you drive by the fox as it trots it’s way down the shouldr of the road?)
You need to also realize that the TCH has some of the world’s worst shoulders to try and park on. They are loose gravel, about no more than half a car wide, and if you pull too far to the right, you slide down the embankment. What did I do? DAMN RIGHT!! I pulled over about 100 feet ahead of the fox!!
Luckily, my second camera body had my telephoto lens already mated, and I had cleaned and tested it before hitting the road. Watching the trotting fox, I sat on the edge of the road as it approached.
As the fox trotted past me for another fifty feet, it then moved to the edge of the TCH, looked both ways (like any smart fox would!) and quickly trotted across the highway, up the grassy slope, disappearing into the brush and rocks.
After my heart stopped surging, I finally looked at the series of pictures from start to finish. Yes, there was some skill involved . . . but it was truly the Universe and simple Luck! I can only hope and pray that I continue to have lucky days like today!!
What the Walrus said . . . 