Luck Favors the Prepared ~ From @bosque_bill

I've seen some pretty amazing photographs and thought "wow, that was a lucky shot"! And I've even told people that some of my shots were lucky. But after doing a little thinking about it, it wasn't luck at all. It was being prepared for the moment. Here's an example where a lucky shot is a relative term.


I remember it was a cold morning in February, a Sunday morning. I decided to go to the gas station to fill up on gas and coffee. About a half mile from my house I spotted this handsome Bald Eagle perched high in a tree just off the highway. I pulled over to the shoulder, grabbed my camera and started shooting away! I got a few nice shots of the 50 or so I took. These shots have turned out to be some of my best sellers.

So what does that experience tell you? Not that I'm a fantastic photographer or knowledgeable in tracking and spotting Eagles. No, it tells you that I was prepared for the moment! I wasn't going birding that morning. Nope, just a routine chore that turned into a great photo op. The Bald Eagle taught me that always being prepared for the 'Lucky Shot' is very rewarding!

So here's the tips,
1) Take your camera EVERYWHERE! People think I'm crazy and weird but, I take two cameras with me with fully charged batteries and freshly formatted CF cards. One with my 500mm tele-zoom lens, the other with a wide-angle lens. All bases covered!

2) After a days shooting, copy your shots to your computer. I don't go through them right away. I know MY limitations, I get very impatient/bored going though shots at the end of a day of shooting. I try to wait until the next morning before picking any keepers.

3) Format your media after you've copied it to your computer.

4) Recharge your batteries after each shooting session. There is nothing worse than a power shutdown while shooting.

5) Camera settings: This is really up to you and what type of photographs you are taking. For me, I set mine in Shutter Priority with 1250/sec shutter ISO 400. I'll then change as required by the lighting conditions.

6) Take an extra CF card with you! I ALWAYS have an extra 1gb card in my left pants pocket. Just in case I have a SUPER LUCKY day! The best thing is that I haven't put one through the washer yet! OH NO! I might have jinxed myself!

That's it! The Eagle example taught me that yes, I guess I was lucky that there was a Bald Eagle in an unexpected place but it also taught me that I was prepared to capture the moment! I haven't seen anymore Eagles in my neighborhood since then but I'm extremely happy that I was ready for it that morning!

If you would like to see higher resolution photos of my 'Sunday Morning Treat' here's the link!

http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/933881_w52e2#127481177_EV4Aw-A-LB