Slow Down -

How often do you find yourself running around taking pictures of this or that trying to get everything you can all at once? Yeah, I know…me too. One thing I’ve learned over the years is to simply slow down when I am out. Often I will have an idea of the kind of shots I'm looking for, but sometimes it just doesn’t work…what I wanted to capture just doesn’t materialize. Sometimes when I head out I really don’t have an agenda, I just hope for nature to provide that opportunity. What I have discovered is that by slowing down and allowing time and place to work, more often than not, photo opportunities begin to materialize. 


There have been times when I’ve simply set the camera aside and found a shade tree to sit under and did just that…sit. Sometimes for hours I just enjoying being out. While I’m sitting there, I begin to notice things that become good photo ops…in many cases I notice things that have potential and deserve another look on another day, another time under different lighting conditions. Slowing down helps to jump start that visualization process and wonderful images often materialize as a result. So when you’re out and about and the moment just isn’t working for you…take time to slow down…sit a spell and wait. Nature will often begin to present itself to you in ways you might have missed otherwise.


Keith Bridgman