The Ride and the View

Writing creative narrative for my nature photography can often represent a greater challenge than actually capturing the images. Sometimes it's easy to tell a story with them, other times it isn't as clear what I should write. I guess this particular photo essay is about morning sights, but that's not very original. As a kind of pilot, I suppose I might imagine you as a passenger on an airplane, looking out the window as I fly us above the clouds. To you, these photographs might appear like views of the countryside below:

• The moon is in the bluest part of the morning sky.
• Ruby-throated Hummingbird preens through dense tangle.
• Black-throated Green Warbler searches a pinecone for insects.
• Monarch Butterfly warms itself in the morning sun.

But what's actually going on in the cockpit? Tripod adjustments, white-balance check, light angle, compose, focus-lock, release, re-focus, adjust, move, check, shutter speed, exposure, exposure, exposure, post-processing, uploading, etc. Steps have been repeated thousands of times; the ride for me is a little different from yours.

It was a thought.

Anyway, enjoy the view!









All images © 2008 Mike McDowell