tpeakphotos
F8 and Be There
Ok, non-photographers won’t likely understand the title. “F/8 and be there” is an old adage which essentially means that being in a position to get a shot is important above all else. We can split hairs over the best gear, settings, technique, et al, but if we’re anywhere but where the shot is the discussion becomes pointless. In this particular instance, I was trying to take photos of an old piece of driftwood which was sitting in the middle of McCoy Flat Reservoir in Lassen County, California, USA. This large flat flood control reservoir is completely dry most summers and the driftwood was sitting out there beneath wonderful stormy clouds that I was hoping were going to let sun rays though. That didn’t happen. However, as I stood there hoping it would this young coyote came prancing right toward me. I found myself standing opposite big dead tree from the animal as well as straight downwind from it in a very stiff breeze. I honestly think I could have sat down behind that log, waited a minute or two, and had a very undesirable lap dog! However, I was armed with a wide angle lens and opted to use the big piece of wood as cover to move the 15 feet to my camera bag where I quickly switched to my long glass. The last few feet of crawling to the bag were out of line with my makeshift wooden “blind” and that movement finally got the animal’s attention leading it to change course but not before I got a nice shot, even if it wasn’t the shot I set out to get that afternoon.
F/8 and be there indeed. (and, full disclosure; this was captured at f/7.1)
F8 and Be There
Ok, non-photographers won’t likely understand the title. “F/8 and be there” is an old adage which essentially means that being in a position to get a shot is important above all else. We can split hairs over the best gear, settings, technique, et al, but if we’re anywhere but where the shot is the discussion becomes pointless. In this particular instance, I was trying to take photos of an old piece of driftwood which was sitting in the middle of McCoy Flat Reservoir in Lassen County, California, USA. This large flat flood control reservoir is completely dry most summers and the driftwood was sitting out there beneath wonderful stormy clouds that I was hoping were going to let sun rays though. That didn’t happen. However, as I stood there hoping it would this young coyote came prancing right toward me. I found myself standing opposite big dead tree from the animal as well as straight downwind from it in a very stiff breeze. I honestly think I could have sat down behind that log, waited a minute or two, and had a very undesirable lap dog! However, I was armed with a wide angle lens and opted to use the big piece of wood as cover to move the 15 feet to my camera bag where I quickly switched to my long glass. The last few feet of crawling to the bag were out of line with my makeshift wooden “blind” and that movement finally got the animal’s attention leading it to change course but not before I got a nice shot, even if it wasn’t the shot I set out to get that afternoon.
F/8 and be there indeed. (and, full disclosure; this was captured at f/7.1)