Showing posts with label patience. Show all posts
Showing posts with label patience. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Appreciating the scenic route

Backlit Moss on Trees, Skykomish, Washington

Even when we are on the scenic route, I suspect that most of the time we still remain fixated on our destination. The view outside the window is prettier, but it’s still just time filler. If it were food, it’s definitely not the main course. And I don’t often think we even treat it as an appetizer.

Better appreciating the journey is something that I have been working on for years. And I remain a work in progress.

Sunday, May 30, 2021

The value of waiting

Red Fox Kit in Silhouette, San Juan Island National Historical Park, Washington

Whenever I give a nature talk, one question usually comes up. And it’s almost always phrased as a statement. “You must spend a lot of time standing around waiting for something to happen.”

I do spend a lot of time waiting — but probably not anywhere near the amount people asking the question suspect.

Friday, March 31, 2017

Waiting for the owlet

Great Horned Owl and Owlet on Nest, Skagit Valley, Washington

As I write these words, more than a quarter-million people are watching a live Internet video stream of a captive giraffe that’s about to give birth. Or so they think. April’s keepers have been saying she’s due for a couple of months now.

I’m not much of a giraffe-cam groupie. I’ve seen a few minutes of the video every now and then as I scrolled down my social media feeds. But as a nature photographer, I realized I have a lot in common with those people who’ve been hanging on for her every tail flinch.

Thursday, January 31, 2013

You get what you get

The image at the top of this post was supposed to be of a large flock of snow geese and Mount Baker. Instead, it's of a large flock of western sandpipers and Mount Rainier. And that's perfectly fine with me.

Monday, December 31, 2012

Get close by keeping your distance

For the second year in a row, there are fairly large numbers of snowy owls that are wintering nearby. Near Seattle, snow geese are a regular winter feature, but snowy owls are a rare treat. Reckless photographers, though, are in danger of driving our infrequent visitors well back north — or even worse.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Getting to know all about you

For as much time as I've spent watching this bald eagle nest, I should be on a first name basis with the owners. The eagles don't talk much, so I'll just assume their names are Eddie and Ellen.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Everybody's doing it (and you should too)


I'm waiting in knee-deep snow for a natural light show that may or may not happen. So are hundreds of other photographers. Any parking space within a half mile of good vantage point was claimed three or four hours before show time.

We're all waiting for the setting sun to light up Horsetail Falls, a thin thread of a waterfall that occasionally glides down El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. For a few weeks in February, if the conditions are just right, the setting sun will make the waterfall appear as if it were on fire.

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Been there, done that, did it again

When I show other photographers this image of the Icelandic geyser Strokkur erupting, their first question is usually, “Did you get that on your first try?”

Friday, July 31, 2009

To wait or not to wait

It is a question every photographer faces: Do I wait for the clouds to part?

It’s never an easy question to answer.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Right Place, Long Time


Photography is often about being in the right place at the right time. And sometimes you have to wait a long time in that right place.

Monday, September 1, 2008

The story behind "Fiery Sunrise, Mount Rainier, Tipsoo Lake"

Fiery Sunrise Over Mount Rainier, Tipsoo Lake, Mount Rainier National Park

I captured this image — one of my most popular — on my first attempt, but I certainly wouldn't call it a lucky shot.

It required getting up hours before sunrise, finding my way to the lake in the dark, and waiting for more than a half-hour on the frozen ground for the sun to finally clear the horizon. But the resulting image was definitely worth it.