Getting the Shot and Meeting the Locals

“OH LAURA, you are so lucky” is something I hear a lot from people.  I do live a blessed life and I appreciate each moment, but I propose this question to you…is it luck or is it planning and preparation that make for a good shot?  In my gut I believe it is a little bit of both, but if you aren’t prepared and have your camera at the ready…all the luck in the world isn’t going to get you that shot.

I am sure for most people not infected with the “photography disease”, my camera, many times multiple  cameras,  constantly slung at the ready around my neck may seem a tad overboard.   In my defense,  after  many years of seeing shots and never having the camera prepared , “Locked and loaded” as I like to joke and missing great images.   I trained myself to prepare my camera each morning as I would any other piece of my clothing.  PLUS, I got sick of hearing my husband whisper sarcastically, “A REAL photographer would have had their camera with them” when I would scream in frustration about missing a shot.

Life is all about  the learning…and I am sure learning a lot.  I thought perhaps in this blog I would share with you my thoughts on “Getting the Shot”…or in the least talk about my methods to finding shots daily.  My life these days affords me the ability to get out and shoot daily and I have made a conscious effort to schedule photography as a major part of my day.  Starting a new skill or a new business is like that, it must become your priority…and for me sharing my view on the world with others is my number one passion.

Each morning while answering my emails I am keenly aware of what is happening outside my window.   Wondering what adventures the day may provide, OR if the dreaded result of the viewing is a day of domesticity (BLECK).  Normally I receive an email within a few hours of waking from either my husband or a friend telling me of a great sunrise or unexpected frost or snow.  With this information in hand I then plot my days walk.  This is a good suggestion, get your friends and family excited about being your personal weather reporter, especially if you are nut an early riser.  Sometimes it may take several walks to encapsulate the day, I may begin in the forest and end in the vineyards…like I did yesterday.

On a foggy day, I might search out  old buildings or ruins…with hoar frost or frozen fog, I will walk the tree farms with their symmetry and open spaces which optimize the capture of the frost on their skeletal branches.   This kind of local knowledge of where you are shooting is very important.  If you are traveling and shooting in a foreign location, start speaking to the people on the street.  I am always amazed at how many people stop and share with me great secrets of a place as well as the impending weather.  And all this knowledge is free….it may cost you a little time or a cup of coffee, but I can trust you, your imagery and your soul will be enriched by the experience.

As an example, I often see a particular farmer and his Jack Russell in the fields while I am walking.  One day I lost the sun shield for my lens in a muddy field  and had spent an hour or more looking.  Along came this farmer and his dog…so I smiled, the dogs sniffed, (I am always companioned by my dog Clover) and I mentioned to this farmer about a round black plastic piece that I lost from my camera.  He nodded, pointed at the vast fields and their thick chocolate mud and did a very easily translated shoulder shrug….I believe it was something like “fat chance”.  Many months later, I again came upon the duo walking…The farmer waved me over and said, “Your the girl with the camera…I found your part. Took me 14 days, but I found it”.  I was flabbergasted…of course it was that exact day I broke down and had ordered a new ring, but a replacement is always good.  I can tell you this, that elderly gentleman had a surprise basket of typical American chocolate chip cookies to enjoy on Christmas morning, supplied by me and my sidekick.

But back to the subject, about being prepared.  Some great advice I received when I moved to Belgium (a beautiful country but a wet one), was to keep an umbrella by the door and never be intimidated by the weather.  I have followed that advice to the letter by dressing  appropriately, certainly not fashionably,  and it really makes all the difference.  Just like your camera gear, your outer wear should also be up to snuff.  As with lens’ it is worth picking up some quality clothes to keep you dry in the field.  I received a pair of gore-tex trekking pants from REI for Christmas and fell in love with them first time out so I invested in  3 pairs which I switch out daily.   I wear them so much my dog recognizes the sound the pants make when I walk as the “WALK” signal.  I believe in my heart no outdoor photographer should be with out a waterproof layer.

With that said, remember to get out and walk your area.  I always tell people to pretend they are going to bring someone from another country along on their wander so search out those texture filled places, back alley, crumbling buildings or clean modern cityscapes.  Become an expert on your area.  I have an added bonus that I normally only live a few years in any place so I KNOW I don’t have the luxury to put off my wandering.  Perhaps that is a good motivator, pretend you only have a short time in that particular location…what is it story, how can you tell the viewer something about the place through imagery.

Well, the light is changing here and I don’t want to miss it.  I will leave you with these thoughts, I hope they inspired you as talking with you  has inspired me.  Most of all, remember to make time to get out and shoot.  It is a great way to burn calories on the cheap and lift your spirits by opening your eyes to the beauty that surrounds all of us.