Getting great images is usually less the result of the equipment you have and more about being in the right place at the right time. In the past, I've written about how you should never write your plans in stone. Keep your eyes open and chase better opportunities, if they present themselves.
However, especially if you're traveling, doing a little planning in advance will almost always result in better photos. I recently took a trip to New Mexico. Here are some of the things I discovered:
The Grand Canyon is the second most popular national park. More than 4 million people visit each year. So it's a little surprising there's any place where you can have part of the rim to yourself.
It's called Toroweap. Or Tuweep. The national park guide doesn't appear to take sides.
The best laid plans in nature photography don't always work out. OK, they rarely work out.
In a particularly brushy area in Seattle’s Discovery Park, I heard the unmistakable song of a winter wren. The birds were made to be heard, not seen, but I grabbed my camera and started looking for it anyway.
Moments later, a woman came up and asked what I found.
“Oh, I thought you found something interesting,” she said and then walked away.
When I show other photographers this image of the Icelandic geyser Strokkur erupting, their first question is usually, “Did you get that on your first try?”
A great image, whether used in a magazine or a textbook or on an art collector’s wall, says something. It creates a feeling. It tells a story.
