Was that just a lucky shot....I think not!
Rory Baker
Rory is a photographer and educator spanning many decades. Known for his keen eye for detail and a passion for capturing the essence of his subjects
Do you believe in luck...I don't!
You always hear people attributing someone else's good fortune or achievements to the proverbial 'LUCK'. When Greg du Toit won the international award for wildlife photographer of the year in 2013 it was certainly not a "luck shot". He spent 16 months working on shooting from the water hole before he captured his winning photo. The Springboks never won he world cup because they showed up at Yokohama Stadium on 2 November 2019. They won the world cup because they showed up at training every day for the previous 365 days! People generally tend to see the end result without giving a thought as to what it takes to achieve the result. There are many aspects to consider that can be summed up as 'being prepared for the opportunity when it presents itself'. For photographers being prepared requires hours and hours of practice, understanding your equipment you use, understanding exposure, your subject and being able to assess the situation at a moments notice.
The photo below of the malachite kingfisher was not staged nor was the light added in post processing (only removed a few bright spots of bird poop on the leaves in the background). I was with students from my class at the pond when my eye caught the malachite land on the pole in the dark shadows under the overhanging wild fig tree. Amazingly there was a small beam of sunshine coming through the tree onto the bird and pole only. Immediately I told the students to take the opportunity and shoot!
Malachite Kingfisher: ISO500 / f5.6 / 400mm / 1/800sec (monopod)
Then without doubting my intuition the hours and hours of practice and knowledge of my camera, lens and settings kicked in and within seconds I had adjusted my settings and my camera was trained on this beautiful sighting. We were quite far so initially just wanted to get the 'safe shot' before attempting to move closer because I know how skittish these birds are.
This was a fantastic real live lesson for my students. In the time it took to reset my camera settings from birds in flight to a single bird in the dark shadows plus fire off about 40 images the bird was gone! My students had only a few shots but with no exposure! No discredit to them they are the students (beginners) and where with me to learn....and that was a great lesson!