Fast photography

While slow photography is all the rage now, I have been thinking about fast photography and what that means to me. Basically that you have to have enough skill to react quickly to changing conditions, time constraints and fast action. So many times I see photos with weird technicals that aren’t optimal for the subject and the photographer notes that she was taking pictures of something else when this other thing came along and she didn’t have time to change settings etc.

All well and good, but wouldn’t you like to be able to react quickly? Wouldn’t you like to have some habits and muscle memory that will get you better photos? How about just leaning on technology to help? All those things are part of fast photography and can be learned.

Here are a few examples. First, an eagle flying in with a stick for the nest –

Partly this was luck – eagles do whatever they want whenever they want, so you have to be present to win. I was present and had the camera set up to handle this kind of scene should it occur. Moving forward I probably will change to Manual mode, but at least I went into my Wildlife Custom Mode which gives me the correct technical baseline to start from. That’s probably one of the best things you can adopt to react quickly to a surprise visitor – have Custom Modes created and assigned so you can instantly change to more optimal settings.

A twist of the dial and I went from a shutter-priority based handheld mode to an aperture-priority based one and I explored the edge of the lake while the ice was still present. It didn’t last and in a few minutes was completely gone. So I had to work quickly to come up with some interesting slices –

As the water rose and fell in the wind, the ice shifted, moved and parts collided with each other forming endless patterns, shapes and configurations. This leaf is partly on the surface and partly under, but a polarizing filter lets us see through while keeping the crystals sharp and distinct. That white line that looks like lightning, flashed on and off as the water moved so I shot in burst mode hoping to get an exciting frame. A little Lightroom magic and I think it’s at once recognizable, but otherworldly, too.

Here’s another look at the fast-melting ice with the polarizer turned all the way off to maximize reflections –

Understanding how polarizers work and having plenty of practice helped me quickly dial in settings without having to resort to trial and error. I also worked the scene slightly by moving around a little to place the reflected tree branch in a way that would help tie things together.

And here are a few more eagle shots, just so you don’t feel deprived!

I plan to keep visiting the nest through the breeding season to see if they manage to raise a kid or two. Now if it would only stop snowing, raining and quit the gale force winds!