Sometimes you get lucky!
Maybe, that’s not the case, when you practice, practice, and hone your skills for years. The most overlooked capability is evaluating a nature situation, and thinking about what would make a great image. What angle, what viewpoint will capture interesting behavior from the animal or bird, and ultimately tell an exciting visual story.
I must admit that I am getting better at this; over the years I really have improve in this aspect of my nature photography.
Putting yourself at the right place at the right time, then, executing with the right technical skills already mastered, so you can let your eye and mind create art. Creating art with a Zen like focus: that’s in harmony with your inner divine self, as well as with the outer photographic world—like considering the quality and direction of the light, and the spiritual connection with the living being you are photographing.
Yes, I used a six by seven format and cropped the image to this size. In this case, with the diagonal line of the beak, all the focus goes to this little minnow that you know is in the last moments of life. A beautiful, tragic, and powerful story; yet presented so visual simple that it grips and tugs on strings of your heart and emotions.
What do you think about the creative process; is it luck or experience that gets the great image. What about this image, was I lucky or not. Maybe a bit of both? Yes or no?
Bruce
Here is another image from that morning, involving more anticipation and preparation than luck.
