"A lot of people think that when you have grand scenery...that photography must be easy."
~ Galen Rowell
It was a pretty quiet lunch hour in the office today, so I threw my gear and myself together and set out in the kayak, hoping for a few photo opportunities. I paddled hard against a mighty incoming tide, brisk wind and the clock telling me I had to be back in the office soon for an appointment with a client. The day was hot and humid - and deliciously lovely on the water.
Wiggins Pass had none of the usual hurried powerboat traffic. Instead, it was a lazy Thursday afternoon with a just a few people on the beach: two barely post-teen cast netters, who exclaimed heartily after I identified a nudibranch for them, "Dude! That's wicked crazy weird. Schweet! I want to be a marine biologist too! Hey, uh...did you say NUDE?" ; and a powerboating family flying kites which got loose on them and crashed into some fly fishermen casting along the shore on their flats boat. One kite hit the fisherman running the trolling motor on the bow in the face, nearly causing him to lose control of it and run over the owner of the kite, who was swimming frantically to rescue it. Ahhh, weekdays at the Pass. So unique.
I swam for a bit, then grabbed the D100 and 80-400 VR and did my best GI Jane imitation in six or seven inches of water, doing a strange aquatic belly crawl, stalking least terns along a last little stretch of sand left exposed by the high tide. Thankfully, humans were scarce as I'm sure I looked totally "crazy wicked weird". The terns were skittish today, even for Wiggins Pass birds, and I was intrigued by this new angle of perspective that allowed me to move in so much closer.
I've decided it's not that easy to photography *in* the water, versus floating on top of it. Waves rock your body and threaten your gear. The sand shifts, forcing you to change positions. And minnows nibble your toes unmercifully. Make no mistake, though. It was fun. Schweet fun.
Mostly, I just like these birds. They are reknowned for their aerodynamic skill, dive-bombing any predators who threaten their nests, dropping perfectly positioned and very caustic excrement into the predator's eyes. You just gotta love nature.
Even the little guys get to win sometimes.
Nikon D2x, Nikkor 80-400mm VR @ 400mm,
1/000th sec, f/7.1
