Hide & Seek

Sincere Thanks for your thoughtful and interesting feedback, very much appreciated!

It was as you observed, an instinctive shot and I guess there was an element of luck of being there at the right time and looking in the right direction to catch it in time.

There are I believe a couple of fundamentals in photography. The first thing, a skill if you like, that photographers refer to as "having an eye for a photograph"  I think it means having the vision to capture a scene, or seeing through the eye of the camera as apposed to what we normally see.   Some people are born with it, and some people are abe to learn and develop it.  (I hope I'm still developing it)

The second is "Light" I could write chapters on this subject, but suffice to say, there is no single magic formula, but a good guide for landscapes is the gentle light of dawn and dusk, or perhaps a foggy day like the one above.

All of the equipment and software in the world will not make a good photo if the above criteria isn't right. Although technique will certainly help.

I have learned a lot from this site and there are always people willing to help and give advice.

You say you don't critique a lot of shots, because you know little about technique, but that will come with time.

In the meantime your intincts and eloquent delivery of your thoughts and opinions more than make up for it.  I honestly think you should air your views freely and often, it makes for original and interesting reading.

Thanks again & Best Regards

Alf

This is a great capture Alf! I read your story behind the photo and I just had to chuckle; isn't that just like animals? I really love it and I am happy you were there to get this shot! Thank you so much for sharing; it's a classic in so many ways! :)

Animals and small children, they get you every time huh! : - )

I'm glad you see the humerous aspect of it, I often wonder if that couple ever looked on PN and recognised themselves : - )

Sincere Thanks for sharing your thoughts, much appreciated!

Best Regards

Alf

Thanks for the breath of fresh air ~ Tony B

I love the banter this image has generated, something we don’t often see on P.N.

I read the comments by Joseph E and I chuckled, “Stay in the pocket”, I could not described it any better. My laughter came from the numerous times I did “stay in the pocket” and came home with nothing, all that for shite? If I felt strongly about the shot, I would return, even a third time.

Years ago, I remember talking to a friend in my office, he noticed one of the image displayed and asked a few questions about it. The question prompted me to pull out the contact sheets of that project, as I spread out the 3 pages on my desk, he looked in awe, “all these shots for one image” There were 104 thumbnails, I replied, “Yea, this was a good day”.

Many Thanks! 

You are quite right, the "banter" does seem to have dissipated somewhat from PN,  a real shame. Maybe we are all too busy taking ourselves far too seriously  : - ) 

My great admiration is for nature photographers that "stay in the pocket" for what seems like lifetimes! 

But like yourself I have returned home from marathon excursions with memory cards full of less than memorable images, but for me the blank days just makes the special days all that bit more special.

Thank you again for your thoughts and kind words Tony.

Alf