The 6 P's

Holly Smith Shanks, waxes the competition with her waxed leaves photo here. The color, contrast, and DoF really make this image pop and the composition is spot on. Great job Holly! You can find more of Holly's images right here Holly Shanks Photography

So as you all may have noticed, I took a bit of a break from the blog so that I could evaluate where I was going with it in the first place. My primary goal has always been to try to be informative and introduce photographers so that others may get to know them and their work.
As many of you know, I have a few photographers that really inspire me such as Chase Jarvis, Doug Gardner, and many of you. Much of my photography is inspired by what I see from others, twisted into my own little creation that makes me feel good.

Rough List

I am adamant about the techniques of photography as well as the moment. Maybe sometimes to the point of being misunderstood myself. I was taught a phrase quite a while back that has always stuck with me and I refer to it as the 6 P's. Although a bit crude, I apologize in advance if it offends anyone, the semblance is there to keep us on track and set goals for our work, our day, our life. That phrase goes like this, "Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance." When I am photographing nature I am much more loose in my planning and tend to roll with what I see along the way. Oddly I have found this to be extremely common with outdoor shooters. We wing it... and hope for the best. Now what if we were to take the guess work out of it? How about we plan to shoot, and then just be open to the unknown? How do you prepare? Well do you know the area? The subject mater? Roughly what the light will be doing when we are there? Have you talked to knowledgeable people in the area and or field that you are looking to cover? Local experts? The point I am trying to make is that we have an infinite number of ways to be properly prepared for a shoot. Simply sitting down with a note pad and writing out what you need with you or what the goal is, can change the entire shoot. A wildlife photographer studies the animals to know what the animal might do in certain situations. For instance, did you know that many perched birds will generally defecate before taking flight? Many ducks will lock their wings and glide seconds before going into a very fast rowing motion to land in a specific spot/ Knowing the habits of animals or any subject for that mater can make or break you. How often do you think to yourself, dang I missed that shot!
This is all a part of learning to get "the shot". I have said this before and will say it over and over. There is no right way to photograph a subject but there are lots of wrong ways. Take the time to do it right and the image itself will be the reward.

I would also like to congratulate Nikki Kirk for her first published image in a magazine; Rural Montana