On disappointment

Have you ever had a day that you came home without a single photograph to put into your portfolio? Have you ever come home without a single photograph? If you are anything like me, the answer is yes… a lot.

I am here to tell you today that this is NORMAL. Often times we get all ramped up, go to the perfect location at the perfect time of day and nothing happens. It happens to all of us, even the pros. In fact, I think it happens more to pros because they are out there everyday (at least I tell myself that to feel better).

So what do we do when this happens? I mean, if you spend enough time doing photography this will happen to you eventually. Well, I personally like to reflect on why I went out in the first place. Did I spend all this time and energy so that I could add another image to my collection or did I do it for the love of being outdoors and listening to what nature is trying to tell me.

You see, as they say, it is all about the experience, not the destination. I can’t think of an area where that is truer than in photographing animals in their natural environment. Whether I come home with an image is beside the point. I do this because I love being outside, reminding myself of where we all came from. This is my time to reconnect with nature and feel it healing me with every minute that I am in it.

I think that we too often get wrapped up in the ends and sometimes ignore the means. Why did you become a wildlife photographer in the first place? If it was to get cracking shots all the time then why didn’t you go into portrait work? You did because you love nature just like I do. I think it is important to remember that sometimes, especially on those days that we come home with nothing.