Often, the difference between a so-so image and a good one is patience. You start by recognizing the possibilities and visualizing what needs to happen to turn merely good into great. It then becomes a matter of either making that happen or waiting for it to happen. A bit of luck is implicit in the latter option, but in many cases, “making it happen” is not practical unless you are on a paid shoot and employ one or more assistants. So, cultivating a habit of patience is the only option left.
I shot this image more than a few years ago and on film with a manual focus non-motorized camera. The lack of auto-focus wasn’t a hindrance at all since the fisherman in his boat was moving around slowly, if at all. All I had to do was take up a position on the shore, allowing the late afternoon sun to side-lite the subject, revealing its three-dimensional form. Rather than firing off a few frames and moving on, I shot more than two dozen frames over about 20 – 30 minutes as the fisherman placed carefully aimed casts along the far shore. Only a few frames captured the peak of action, with the sunlight revealing the line of the cast.
With fast drive speeds and quick auto-focus today, your percentage of keepers from 20 minutes with a similar subject would likely be much higher than mine. Regardless, the same principle applies — accepting the first few frames as the best you will get will likely result in missing the best a subject offers. Any subject worth your attention warrants at least a few minutes of contemplative observation before and as you shoot it. Your patience will be rewarded.
