on Sunrise and Landscapes

"Any idiot can complicate things, but you need a genius to simplify them..." -- Albert Einstein

I had a chance, over the weekend to visit the Panabo Mariculture park. It has been two years since I first went there. Back then, I knew very little about landscape photography. Well, not much has change apparently because I still don't know squat about shooting landscapes. And I have had very little practice over the time skip.

And since I had little practice and do not even own a wide angle lens (I had to borrow a kit lens for this shoot), I spent a lot of time figuring out how to properly frame my shot and get just the right amount of light into my shots. This is one thing I do not like about landscapes since I have only a short period of time in which I can shoot a scene during sunrise or sunset. And I forgot that I could extend my tripod to eye level so I was shooting really low and got a lot of mud in the foreground since the tide was coming in slowly. I got a few (subjectively) "good" frames from the sunrise shoot.

Shooting landscapes for me are a taxing endeavor. I have to wake up really early (or not sleep at all) and shoot only for a limited amount of time. And timing is everything since overcasts and rain can ruin a trip. Well, I am admittedly still learning; it’s a process. And after the shoot, I told my fellow shooters that I'd be tagging along more often to the landscape shoots so I can learn. I do hope that I will learn more the next time I shoot.

PS: Many thanks to the Ange Bersabal and the Photobombers for organizing this landscape shoot.

on Luck and In Flight Macro

Luck plays a huge part in my photography.

I roam a really small area and get only a number of densely populated shrubs and bush. But during a recent macro shoot I had, I was lucky that as I was leaving the area I chanced upon a bee hovering on a flower. I took in flight shots but wasn't sure if I got a decent shot since I had a manual focus lens. I didn't get to review it since I only had a few seconds before the bee landed on a leaf.

In the short minute that the bee was in front of my lens I got one portrait and an in-flight shot. It was my first time to shoot something in flight with a manual focus macro lens and get it somewhat in focus.

Being lucky and having the skill is a must in macro photography. You can't just go killing bugs and sticking them to a plant with glue for a controlled macro scene. Moving around, watching for movement, anticipating the next actions and getting spot on focus are some of the things I have been trying to perfect when I shoot. And I want to shoot my subjects in their natural habitat too. But when I reflect on it, even if I was the best macro shooter (and I am not even that good), if I didn't have luck, I still wont be able to shoot insects even when I am in the area where the usually hang out.

Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good.