July 28th, 2023

Clearly Joy and I  (Joy on the right, me on the left) managed to get out on the hiking trails again this week. Hurrah!  So obviously this will be another Photo Safari Report. Eventually.   Had an interesting conversation with Joy that started when I missed a shot.  Nature is some times so dang fast!  And I wanted to start out writing today about that conversation.

I have always believed that I was just a slow thinker.  When something happens that I do not expect, I do not react quickly.  It's as if my brain needs a few extra seconds to sort things out first and in photography, especially nature photography, sometimes, you gotta act fast.  And I just don't.  I assumed it was just me, since some people react/respond very quickly and I do not.  I laughed as I explained this to Joy and said, "Yeah I know, I'm weird  but at least it means I'm always calm in a crisis".  But Joy said that she believes that most  people's brains work similarly.  She referred to it as, "The Questionnaire".

Her theory is that most people's brain process goes a little something like this:  Walking down a path in the forest, tralalala.  You see something up ahead that looks unexpected or not quite right.  What is it?

Is that a duck in a tree?  and as you slowly approach

Well, I'll be darned!  It is a duck in a tree?  Why is there a duck in a tree?  And more importantly, is this photo worthy?  How is the light?  The angle? What setting should I use?  Is he moving?  Will I scare him off if I get closer?

Final Shot.  I was lucky in this particular case because the duckie in question did hold still. But more often than not, by the time I've gone through the entire questionnaire, the subject is gone.  Dang.

Is that how it works for you too?

For me it's even murkier than that.  Often the questionnaire gets even more muddled  because my brain is kind of like Grand Central Station at Rush Hour.  A zillion things going on in a zillion different directions all at the same time.  It's crowded, it's noisy and sometimes it's tough sorting out the important stuff.  Which means while I am considering taking a photo, part of my brain is admiring the lovely fragrance in the air and trying to identify the various scents.  As I consider the consequences of all the light and shadow, my stupid brain seizes on the word shadow and suddenly the Theme song to the old radio show,  'The Shadow Knows' is playing, another part of my mind is cataloguing black & white photography as well as pen and ink drawings.  Another part is rifling through the brain cabinet of old mystery movies, books and TV shows.  As I'm debating what settings to use I'm also thinking about every article I've ever read on Photography technique which reminds me of painting techniques which leads me to the word Technical which of course segues into machinery of all sorts and somehow lands on the topic of Steam Punk and  Doctor Who (both at the same time)..................... And like that.  Which is why, occasionally I miss a really good shot.

Which in part explains why, if you looked at the pictures Joy took and the pictures I took of the same hike on the same day, a hike we took together AND we always take the time out to point things out to one another, you might think we were on completely different hikes, separately.  

Don't know why I felt the need to explain that to you, but there you have it!  Something you probably didn't know about me before.

Now, back to the hike.  Should I start with the birds that I actually did manage to capture?

I have a few botanicals if you are the mood for those: (they don't move as much)

A couple of shots that involve water of one sort or another:

A few surprises, rather than rando's today:

All in all, it was a terrific hike and a great time.  Hope you enjoyed. 

​Wishes for a wonderful weekend to us all!