Photography 101
My husband recently gave me a Canon Rebel T6 camera as a late birthday gift. I’d been asking for one since I learned birds come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. I was thrilled. Now, instead of slinking around my yard to snap grainy photos of birds using my phone, I would try my hand at some half-way decent photos.
The last camera I bought was a Kodak Easy Share C180. Judging by the photos I found on the SD card, I bought it in 2008 to take photos of a family trip I took back to Wisconsin. It was the last time all of my sisters and my mom were together. Before that, my high school sweetie had given me a Kodak Tele-instamatic (circa 1981) with a pack of flip flash bulbs that blinded my unsuspecting subjects. My point here is that I am not a photographer. So imagine my surprise when this beautiful Canon camera showed up with all its buttons and lenses. I was more than a little intimidated. But the migratory birds were flocking to our feeders and would disappear soon. There wasn’t time to go through the manual or look online for tips. Instead I attached the zoom lens and parked my butt in a lawn chair I strategically hid under a plum tree to camouflage myself.
Generally this isn’t how I approach projects or hobbies. I am more of a by-the-book kind of gal. I like to know what I’m getting myself into. I prefer having a plan and instructions to follow when I am trying something new. If it wasn’t for the urgency the migratory birds provided, the camera would still be in its box. After taking at least 1,00 photos, I still feel I have no idea what it is I’m doing, but that’s not true. I’ve learned a bit about composition in that I need to focus the center red dot in the camera at the eye of my subject. Shadows cause havoc when photographing birds, so it’s important to make sure the subject is not surrounded by foliage no matter how pretty it might be. Taking photos in the early morning and as the sun is setting creates such beautiful lighting, some of my photographs are lovely. I’ve learned unlike people or objects, birds do not sit still for long. Sometimes it’s best to take an awful photo to identify a bird rather than no photo at all. I’ve also decided I’m more interested in taking photos of wildlife than of people. There’s too much self-consciousness going on there for everyone involved.
My mother has accused me of suffering from Patty Perfect syndrome. Messes and making mistakes have always bothered me, but as I get older, I have a keen sense that I’m running out of time. Leaving the camera in the box until I knew exactly what do with it would have accomplished nothing. All the time I’ve spent in the Huachuca and Chiricahua Mountains, at the San Pedro River, and in my backyard just to photograph birds would have been gobbled up by the mundane chores in my everyday life. Sure maybe I would have tackled spring house cleaning and changed out my wardrobe for the summer, but for what?
I like this new me. A middle-aged woman armed with a camera around her neck hoping and praying to get a glimpse of a rare bird that might only be here for a day or two. Let the dust settle on my coffee table and the cobwebs stretch across the beams in my living room. I don’t care. Life really is too short. I only wish my older self could meet up for coffee with my younger self. I have so much I would like to share with her.
