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September 16, 2006

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So I took quite a few pictures of Fenton and you may have to put up with a few more. Yeah, I know, "yuck, who wants to see pictures of babies?" 

But an interesting thing to take into consideration when taking pictures of new babies. Be careful with how much flash you expose them to. Their eyes are still very sensitive and slow, and have not yet acquired the ability to dilate.

If you notice in this picture, Fenton has a very small and dark birth mark on the top of his head. I told his mother, since he is still very pale, that it must be all of the pigmentation of his whole body all located into one little spot.

Digital Photography Tip:     "Hey, look at me, I'm invisible!"

So how's that for a contradiction? 

Well as I've mentioned before, a stealthy approach is the best way to capture an animal on camera. See an animal, take it's picture, right away. Don't wait to creep up on it, it might get away before you get any pictures at all. So take a shot, and move in for the kill. Take another shot, and move in closer. Take another shot, and so on, and so on, until the bear finally gets tired of your presence and eats you. Hopefully he won't eat the camera and somebody will find it later with that award-winning shot inside. Then you know you've won, I guess.

I don't know how many times I've been hiking or walking and never notice the wildlife until I get right up on it and it flutters, flies, or runs away. So I'm left frustrated, standing there with a camera half way up to my face, feeling stupid-(er). So a very slow approach is your best option. So if you like hiking, don't ever go hiking with a photographer. If you're in it for the exercise, you'd best go with somebody else. Because we might be prone to stop and take a picture of everything we find interesting. And trust me, I find just about everything interesting. I've had numerous friends want to go photography hiking with me, and after the first few photos I think they finally realize how much annoying patience it takes. Although they claim that they really don't have a problem with it, you can still feel their emotions and sometimes see their expressions out of the corner of your eye. They're bored and they want to get moving. Yeah, like everybody else around me, most of the time, they'd probably be rolling their eyes.

So make sure you go alone or with another devoted photographer. But be careful, unfortunately that other photographer probably has a different eye, and they're busy wanting to take pictures of stupid plants and flowers when you want to take pictures of stupid birds and insects, and you're both growing more and more annoyed with each because neither one of you is getting what you want, and holding each other back. No, I guess the best option is to just go by yourself. You're not going to feel obligated to move faster, and you'll be able to go at your own pace, and one person is not going to be talking and making near as much noise, so you're more likely to see more wildlife, and have more flexible time to work with.

 Take your hiking and moving along very slowly and look at everything around you. Remember, just about everything out there is hiding or camouflaged in some way. You won't notice it unless you are quiet and slow, or it takes off. Unfortunately if you are on a popular hiking trail other people might come right up on you while you're trying to get that shot of big foot, and scare him away. Or you might be behind another group of people that have already blasted and chattered their way down the trail, scaring off any signs of wildlife. Sorry, I know the park ranger says to stay on the trail. But sometimes it's best to go out of bounds and explore a bit more. 

Another thing I have learned while taking pictures is "Let it bug you, let it bite you." If you're using that stealthy approach on some wildlife, there will likely be mosquitoes or flying insects that are annoying and threatening. But remember, in the overall scheme of things, they are reasonably harmless. Sometimes its better just to put up with it, and let them "bug" you, and maybe even bite you. Waving your hands around to shoo away insects draws a lot of attention and the sudden movements will alert and drive away anything in the general vicinity. And sorry, animals can smell "Easy-Off" and other repellents. So, also while hiking, try to avoid using any other items that could emit odors, like deodorants, perfumes or colognes.
 But please keep some ready in the car for when you get finished. Trust me, the rest of the world will appreciate it.

And one other thing,  if you ever do run into big foot, punch him in the nose for me. He still owes me fifty bucks.

Good luck and have fun.

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