It seems, seemed a short distance across three
fences to where the wild, gorgeous yellow number (nothing exotic
- a simple daisy but a beauty!), nods in the gentle breeze.. but...
Have you ever tried to climb over a fence
with tripod in hand and weighty camera bag over
shoulder? "Just pass them through the fence and follow", you
say! In theory perfect but as is often the case when I'm out
ready to shoot I have tripod ready, camera clipped in, slung
over right shoulder legs extended, spread ready to go (the fact
that I look like a giraffe with ungainly neck protrusions goes
unnoticed) and my camera bag is old, slightly smelly and large!.
So, how do I climb through the first fence, let alone the second
or third in pursuit of the perfect daisy without a lot of
folding of legs pushing and shoving, and unclipping of my
precious digital genius first? Simple answer - I don't, I try to
get through regardless. Result? The air rapidly turns blue
around my head and expletives neither original nor inventive
start erupting unbidden from my person. And then the final
indignity as at least one part of my favourite jumper gets
snagged by an ever vigilant barb! My alternative solutions:
throw the gear over and hope for the best, find a gate (how many
miles to the nearest?), or simply leave it all in the
SUV...barring the digital genius and one's favourite 1:1 lens of
course!
My final decision?
Leave tripod and bag in the SUV, take the necessary,
and hope that the ravages of the previous night
haven't wrought havoc with traditionally rock steady
hands. So then leaping like a gazelle over fences
one, two and three, I stride toward the perfect
clump of yellow. It's late in the season, so all the
white daisies are pretty much done - rich, golden
yellow it is.
Selecting the perfect specimen is next.
I need to
decide what I'm trying to say in the pic. Perfection
with clarity - nature's form, sublime in its
attention to detail or organic soft colour merging
into more colour with shadowy bits - a bit of both
perhaps. The magic of digital, the freedom of
digital - the ability to try everything because one
can! I love it. It's a revelation, a deepening of
the creative urge to explore new realms without cost
...or end sometimes.
Sure,
one can always argue that it leads to lack of
direction, lack of planning but one can also argue
in return that it extends one's vision, increases
one's output and ability to see the world from
different perspectives. I relish the challenge!
Back
to the world of yellow!
Perfection...mmmm. Unable to
settle on which of the perfect choices is THE
perfect choice I decide to shoot anyway, putting pen
to paper or rather index finger to shutter button in
order to get the creative juices flowing. As always
seems to happen, I relax into it and my mind opens
up to the possibilities: depth of field, front edge
of a petal in focus back edge out and vice versa but
mostly my mind is consumed by warm yellow. Kneeling
on the ground head down intensely focused - the butt
in the air angle would not be an attractive sight
for any passing observer but I don't need to worry
about such considerations as this mild obsession
most often leads to splendid isolation.
A bit of advice
- bracket everything (1 either side in ½ stops or
thirds if you have the choice), shoot at the highest
resolution you can achieve with whichever model of
digital genius you possess and take at least half a
dozen shots per chosen angle. Give yourself the best
chance of capturing the one you really wanted - the
perfect image, beautiful enough to grace your wall,
a wall anywhere. One feels such an idiot when one
has to declare it didn't quite happen because of
trigger finger meanness! Digital genius is defined
by trigger finger generosity or put another way -
repetition is the basis of professionalism. Whatever
it takes I say. Get the shot! The satisfaction is
immense.
More advice
- check the first few images carefully on the
preview screen just to make sure everything is
working as it should. Don't end up taking twenty
splendid black and white shots of a gorgeous yellow
daisy - do the greyscale thing in Photoshop! Slow
down, check the first few brackets. Check that the
ISO is set to 100 not to 1600 from last night's fun
and that all the exposure compensation overrides are
back to normal (or leave the settings at 1600 over
by two if weird and whacky is what you're after).
Little things but in my twenty years as a
photographer these little things become mortifyingly
large things if ignored!
So
perfection captured, 0 and 1's secured in the land
of Flash wizardry it's back across the three fences
leaping not quite so enthusiastically now, the
gazelle's knees are a little creaky from kneeling on
the damp ground - back to the ever patient, ever
reliable SUV. Gear stowed, key in the ignition,
we're off ...A glow of anticipation washes over me!
But
never forget the first things to do on your return?
Download and backup!!! Forget at your peril.
DOWNLOAD AND BACKUP just in case you didn't get it
the first time.
