Today has been insane but I finally found some time to make a cup of coffee, sit down and do today’s post.
You see, even though I spend the most of my time on the African bush it is still nice to get away every now and then. Tomorrow my wife and I head to Johannesburg and then on Thursday we fly to Bangkok for a very belated honeymoon and, as a bonus, it’s my birthday on Friday. Going to be great to have a fancy Thai birthday dinner in Thailand even though I will be getting another year wiser as fly somewhere over Africa. Looking forward to the trip and to test driving a new lens. Or two.
As I am preparing to travel and the different photographic things I want to try in Thailand I cannot help but think about a response I received to my previous post. The short version is that I am so lucky to see the things I do and ultimately that is why I get the shots that I do because a lot of the times there is nothing to photograph. Point taken. However…
What is the point of photography? Is it not to go out there, wherever that is for you, photograph the world around you, whatever it might be, and share it with people? Nowhere in any photographic book, course or website does it say you should only show people your very best images and hide everything else. If you do this you will never grow as a photographer.
The truth is, and this goes for everybody, we all sometimes shoot bad images. Yes, all of us. In wildlife photography it is virtually impossible to get a perfect image every single time you click the shutter. Actually, it is impossible! If you think otherwise, you are not only making your photographic life very stressful but you are also missing out on the fantastic journey that is wildlife photography.
All those ‘bad’ or ‘missed’ shots will teach you how to get better. It will eventually make it easier for you to be out in the field and start recognizing the bad shot from the good. The good from the great. And ultimately your good image success rate will get better but… you will still have a few duds in the mix and you know what? It’s ok!
Too many people also get caught up on that ‘one perfect shot’ that will finally show everybody that they are a good / great photographer. Don’t rush the process by dismissing every shot that you deem to be imperfect. The learning process is half the fun. Take things slow, learn as you go and take your time in developing into a wildlife photographer with a solid portfolio which includes good and great images. It’s all fine and well having that one mind-blowing shot but once people get used to it, then what? What are you going to show them then?
It’s not about one single thing that you do. It’s about producing good images again and again and being proud of your work as you share it with as many people as possible. Even it you think it might not be your single best image. We are out own worst critics and you cannot let that stand in the way of you creating or sharing your wildlife images with people.
Do I think the two images in this post are mind-blowing? Absolutely not. My best images ever? No way, but I do think they are pretty good. Good enough to share with people. If I had to look at either of these images from a critical point of view, as we all do with our own work, I could find a hundred things that is wrong with them but that would be missing the point. By having taken the time to shoot these images, do some post processing on them and sharing them on the blog I have learnt enough that should I, in future, be faced with similar situations I would be able to create a better image. And that’s what it’s all about!
Don’t be too critical of yourself. Go out there, shoot as many images as you can, be comfortable with the fact that you will have some bad images and keep on striving to take more good images but most important of all – share your work! Create a blog, post them on Facebook or email them to me and I will post them on the blog but whatever you do – share your work! Even if you don’t think is amazing – share your work! That it why we do what we do and that is how you are going to become a better wildlife photographer.
I will be traveling to Johannesburg tomorrow but I’ll be posting later in the afternoon.
Until then, yeah you guessed it, go out, take pictures and share your work! 
Gerry
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Gerry,
Good article. A lot of folks think photography is hard. Not really, learning the basic rule of thirds, taking a few minutes to learn your camera settings, that’s about it….but, taking good photos requires getting out there. Being out there for the morning light of the setting sun, taking shots, playing with exposures, getting feedback from your photos. Some will work and some will not. Some days you get a lot of keepers, some days you don’t. Even the best pro’s have mediocre days, accept that and keep shooting. If you know composition, your camera and put your self in the field at morning’s first light or sunset, you will eventually get some great shots.
Thanks! Well said and agree completely!!