Wildlife Photography Woes

Learning to Take it Mile by Mile

I don’t know about you, but I certainly have my “depths of despair” moments (cue Anne of Green Gables here for the dramatics) in wildlife photography.

It seems that every first day of a trip I am certain I will NEVER find another creature again, and I certainly WON’T EVER MAKE ANOTHER GOOD PHOTO EVER AGAIN. Maybe it’s my red hair, maybe it’s a bent towards self-loathing, I’m not sure. But the lies are certainly there. . . AND worth battling.

I have to ask myself, what is true about this situation? What in the past informs this feeling? How can I move through this darkness and come out on the other side? How can I accept that I do this and move on?

Truth and beauty are what I’m seeking, so am I learning to push through the lies, take a breath, and just CREATE.

Then I’m reminded of Anne Lamott and her her book, Bird by Bird. If I just take it minute by minute, scan the field mile by mile, observe the details in the trees, sage brush, birch trees, and rivers – I’ll find that image to sketch, to photograph, and to bring to life. It’s not dramatics; it’s not despair. It’s just day by day, piece by piece, and that’s all I can wait and be expectant for.