Anticipation........

A famous football coach once said "..Luck is where preparation meets opportunity." This is one of my favorite quotes of all time. Maybe not the favorite but certainly top 3. And the images accompanying this post are examples of just that..preparation meeting opportunity. But there's a third element that I tossed in with the other two. Anticipation..one of the key elements of being a successful sports or nature photographer.

So you've learned everything there is to know about your camera gear and how to operate it in every conceivable situation. You know the critical elements of exposure, composition, and the physics of photography. You know that telephoto lenses compress perspective and wide angle lenses stretch perspective. You know the techniques for stopping motion or for increasing or decreasing depth of field. In short, you're prepared.

You've come to a dream location. Alaska, the Rocky Mountains, any pro sporting event you can think of. You have researched where to go to photograph the scenes or critters you're interested in. The time of year is right, you're in the right place, and you've been blessed with ideal weather by the photo Gods. This is opportunity.

So what now? Do you just run out and point your camera at your subject and hope it works? Well, maybe. Some photographers think if you shoot enough you'll get a few useable images and they're probably right to a certain degree. But let's take a little less haphazard approach.

The images that accompany this post are all results of 3 elements: Preperation, Opportunity, and Anticipation. I didn't just get lucky to get the images. I worked hard doing my research so I'd know where I had the best chance to get the shot. I knew my camera and lenses inside and out so I could change settings in my sleep and I knew what lens would work in what situation and what lenses wouldn't work at all. And I was able, through my research, to be in the right place at the right time to get the image. Here's how.

Let's take the middle image first. Simple shot...a black bear crossing a creek. Easy, right? Not so fast! I had a chance to visit Yellowstone in 1991 for a few days. I'd driven all night Friday night after work to be at the Oxbow Bend on the Snake river for sunrise before heading north into Yellowstone. I found a campsite at Indian Creek campground and headed out to scout the territory. Before I left I had a conversation with the campground host. Upon learning that I really wanted to photograph bears and moose he gave me the usual fisherman's answer. "You should have been here earlier this morning. We had a black bear come right through camp." Over the next 3 days I was to hear this several times but somehow the bear and I had conflicting schedules. Finally, on my last day in the park before heading home, I was sitting in front of my tent eating lunch when some people came running past headed for the meadow just over the hill. When I asked what the hurry was they said "It's a bear...headed for camp!" Sandwiches and chips were forgotten. I grabbed my camera, bolted it up to the 400mm lens and tripod, and headed to the top of the hill. It was a sight to behold, typical of Yellowstone. 1 bear, 50 tourists with instamatic cameras trying to get close to the bear. The tourists would move inside the bear's circle of comfort and the bear would move away. They'd come closer and the bear would move. I had spent the previous afternoon fishing Indian Creek and knew it a little bit so I put on my thinking cap. The bear was headed in the direction of a shallow ford where he could cross without swimming. Figuring that is where he would be, I beat feet back down the hill and headed for the ford. I got my tripod set up and set the exposure data on the camera and sure enough, 10 minutes later the bear appeared exactly where I thought it would. Preparation, Opportunity, and Anticipation. I got the shot.

The whale tail came about in a similar manner but for a much different reason. While visiting the Pacific Northwest in 2006 I had a day to kill while Judy went shopping with an old friend of hers so I booked passage on a whale watching cruise out of Anacortes. We cruised for a couple hours before finally finding some whales off the waterfront at Everett, Washington. The mode of operation is to spot a whale, try to guess where it's headed, and put the boat in the path of the whale. The first couple of times it was a fiasco! The captain pointed the boat at the whale, everyone raced to the front of the boat, and it was impossible to see the thing, much less photograph it. After watching the pattern of one of the whales I noticed that it was surfacing closer to the back of the boat than the front so I thought it might be a grand idea to move away from the crowds and hope the back of the boat would be the place to be. Sure enough, the next time the whale surfaced it was 10 feet from the stern of the boat and I was the only one to see it. It was a simple matter to get the shot. Preparation, Opportunity, and Anticipation. I got the shot.

The elk was maybe the best illlustration of anticipation. I was in Rocky Mountain National Park and found this guy running himself ragged trying to keep his harem of cows together. They were moving back and forth across the Moraine Park road near the main road intersection. I photographed him for about 30 minutes moving back and forth across the road before deciding to move on. As I was walking the 50 or so yards to my car I saw the lead cow of the harem start heading up the hill right towards my vehicle! Knowing the pattern of this group I knew that I'd watched them cross 3 times exactly where the lead cow crossed so instead of putting my camera away I thought I might just wait a few minutes to see what happened. I felt confident that I knew where they were going to cross so it was a matter of just picking the background and distance I wanted. I set up and waited. Sure enough after about 10 minutes the lead cow crossed right where I thought she would. One by one the other cows and calves followed her in single file. Finally, the bull came across the road and passed right in front of my camera, exactly where I predicted he would. Preparation, Opportunity, and Anticipation. Again, I got the shot.

Was I lucky to get these images? You bet I was. But I worked my butt off to be able to execute the shot when preparation and opportunity put me in position to anticipate the outcome and get the image I wanted. Try it...it works!