MBatchellor

Photo Bombed

'Bout time somebody took a shot of a photographer in bluebonnets!

'Bout time somebody took a shot of a photographer in bluebonnets!
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Canon EOS REBEL T3

settings

Aperture f/6.3 ISO 800 Shutter 1/400

upload_date

Feb, 2014

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872

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+93

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Nice and sharp. Like the flowers. Voted!

Thanks so much! Never been a finalist so I'm downright giddy!

The great photographer are in amongst their subjects.

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Same photographer See all Behind The Lens

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Taken with my iPhone so not one of my better shots but I do love that she enjoys my reading material.

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It wouldn't be spring in Texas without the fields of bluebonnets and cars pulled over on the sides of roads for photo ops of kids and dogs and grandpa

Not one of my better bird pictures because while the birdie was brave enough to land on the icy branches, I stayed indoors and shot pics through the w

This guy took on three Boxers. And, lost.

Much loved, well fed, kids throwing his ball, donkeys to play with, chickens to guard, and many acres to romp around on, this guy hangs out by the roa

I don't normally take butterfly shots but this one passed through my view-finder and it was pretty up against the sea of green.

Kildeers are not my favorite bird but this one did give me a lovely little song and dance in the driveway after a morning rain.

Pretty sure this owl is smarter than I am. I also think it can read my mind.

Not everything said between friends is aloud.

Oh sure, he acts like he doesn't want his photo taken but he made sure I got his good side and held that pose.

When I first saw this waterfall at sunset, it was pretty. But in the morning with the sun hitting the red rocks, highlighting the algae, and glistenin

Behind The Lens

Location

Taking photos in bluebonnets is a Texas tradition. This photo was taken in a lot next to a small business center in a city down the highway from me. I didn't want to put my niece and nephew in bluebonnets along a busy highway so this place was perfect. It was a low traffic road with safe parking, a large lot with both shade trees and open sun and, most importantly, no embankments that an eight year old could accidentally roll down or service roads that a car could careen across, Within ten minutes of our arrival, however, at what we thought was our secret wonderland, several other photographers and families showed up and keeping them out of the background in my shots became an issue.

Time

Planning and timing is everything, they say, in photography. But the reality is that it's all about light and shadow and manipulating those is often difficult in natural settings. So I brought my family to the location about two hours before sunset which, in the month of April, put us there around 6:00 p.m. I thought we might be there a little too early but hey, at least we wouldn't be surrounded by all the other bluebonnet photographers, right? Wrong.

Lighting

Evening in Texas is the best time to shoot. Right before the sun goes down is when the sun is the least harsh. But for bluebonnets, you don't want that magic orange glow so we met about two hours before sunset on a partly cloudy day, knowing we would have plenty of shade in this area to help with the harsh light. I got lucky with the light that day. We shot in the shade and when the clouds rolled in we shot in the sun.

Equipment

This shot was taken with my Canon Rebel T3. No hood. No artificial light. Just my camera and a 75-300 zoom. I've upgraded my camera since then but I still keep my T3 handy because the quality of the shot is not always dependent upon the quality of the camera. No doubt, great equipment helps, but some of my favorite shots are with inexpensive cameras.

Inspiration

The man in the photo is actually a photographer I graduated high school with. Honestly, I hadn't planned to photograph him. Since I am always curious and often envious of other photographers' equipment, I was looking through my lens to see what he was shooting with. When I saw how beautiful the shot was in my frame, I took it. One shot. That's it. That's all I got. And, it's one of my favorites.

Editing

Post on this photo may be limited to cropping on Viewbug. I'm really not sure because it was five years ago. I didn't have Lightroom at that time and had always photographed my kids and way back in high school with film. That is, until processing film became an issue. Digital was a new world to me and and my old-school film photography mind thought that you shoot what you shoot, you get what you get and any kind of post processing is not really photography. It's more light art. I've changed my thinking since then.

In my camera bag

Sometimes I run out of the house with nothing but my camera if I'm headed to shoot something specific but for the most part, I am an over-packer. Since I mostly shoot outdoors, I take everything: my bag, my tripod, my monopod, two extra cameras, my picnic bag which is always packed, my duck boots, a jacket, a blanket, umbrella, you name it. My bag has a backup point and shoot cameras, extra lenses, hoods, a harness, waterproof bags in case of emergency, spare cards, battery chargers, and everything but the kitchen sink (only because it doesn't fit).

Feedback

Be flexible and seize photo opportunities. Don't find a comfort zone and sit there. And don't underestimate your camera just because it's not a high end one. Experiment with shutter speeds, ISO, and aperture. Play with depth of field. Trial and error can be fun. I know a couple of photographers who shoot in mostly studio settings who are completely inflexible when it comes to impromptu opportunities. That's because in a studio setting, planning is critical. Their livelihood depends on getting that shot right. And I get that. But it has made them slaves to artificial light or tripods or whatever other tool they use and they are consequently unwilling to fly by the seat of their pants once in awhile. As photographers, we need to seize opportunities, not be afraid of them. Back in film days when we only had 24 exposures and spent a fortune to process our photos, sure, we needed to be cautious with our shots. But today, we can shoot hundreds of throw-away shots to get that one great one. And that's how we learn and improve our craft. I'm still an amateur. Some of my shots are so bad that I am embarrassed to admit I took them. That's what the delete button is for. But I can look back at my "great" shots from five or six years ago and I can see that they're not so great. But they do allow me to see how far I've come so they have value. My advice? Be flexible.Seize photo opportunities.

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MBatchellor

MBatchellor

Photo Bombed

'Bout time somebody took a shot of a photographer in bluebonnets!

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow MBatchellor

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