The above image was voted photo of
the year during the Canoe and Kayak awards ceremony at the Outdoor
Retailer show. Thank you to everyone who voted, I wish I could have
been there but it wasn't to be. Often people subscribe luck to
photographers, and there is luck involved. Yet good photographers
can produce quality images on demand. Are they really that lucky? I am
not the worlds best photographer, nor the most knowledgeable. But I've
been moderately successful and I can think of three key components in
my work that are available to everyone.
Planning. Being well
planned is bringing the camera every time, having the battery fully
charged with extra memory and battery in the bag, just in case. It's
not about having the best gear, but knowing your gear. Understanding
what trade offs are made with each lens and aperture. Planning for
light is key, you may bring your camera on the same run ten times and
one day the light is right, and if you've planned ahead you can seize
that opportunity.
Patience.
This is more for the people you paddle with then for you. Patience they
have for you always wanting to take pictures, and waiting for you to
get prepared. In this case people had to wait. This takes time and is
tedious for everyone in the group.
Perseverance. It's easy
to say, "I have a good shot of this rapid already". We all do it
sometimes, but as a photographer you have no ability to control a
paddlers line or form. Sometimes it just takes repetition; paddler
form, boat color, the days weather, it all plays a role. I'd been to
this spot before and shot it with a considerably more expensive camera.
Between the two visits I have forty pictures of this one drop, but none
of them sing like this one.
Today any decent camera can produce publishable results. In 2011 I was
there with a Nikon D700 ($2,800) and Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 ($500)
Last year I shot the above with a Sony NEX-5R ($650) and Sigma
19mm f/2.8 ($200). Would the shot have been technically better with the
highest end equipment? Sure, but the moral of the story is that
planning, patience and perseverance are are more important than any
amount of equipment.
