Steve's Second Law Of Photography

This image has been added to all of the PRINTS galleries.

This post is about Steve’s Rule #2: Being in the right place at the right time. This picture of a Pine Warbler is a perfect example of Rule #2 in practice. One morning, driving on Assateauge Island to the beach to watch the sunrise, I decided to stop and try to capture Egrets and Herons. I did get a very good image of a Green Heron that morning. But while I was standing there I caught something out of the corner of my eye. This Pine Warbler was passing by, traveling the trees along the bank of the creek. So I aimed the lens at it and snapped it’s picture too. I had never seen this bird before and was absolutely blown away by it’s coloring. I had no intention of capturing this bird’s image when I left that morning and yet it’s one of my favorite images captured on that trip to Chincoteague. I just happened to be in “right place at the right time”. Unless I am trying to stage an image, I try not to be too focused on any one subject. Especially out in the wild where nature, lighting, and the subject all have minds of their own.

I have come up with two rules for photography that I live by. I previously touched on Rule #1: It’s all about the light (and controlling it).