The balance between wildlife photography and nature lover gets blurry sometimes. I am not sure there needs to be a fine line of distinction between the two but certainly it is worth thinking about. DeWitt Jones, a National Geographic photographer I admire, said "every once in a while leave you camera behind and just enjoy nature naturally." The thought of not carrying 10 pounds worth of camera equipment around on a hike is definitely appealing. Of course, every time (well it seems like every time) I leave my camera behind I miss "the shot of a lifetime."
I like keeping good photos of wildlife seen in various places around the world (thank goodness for digital photo storage and organizing software), but eventually I replace good photos with better photos, keeping them in an "album" of all my best photos. At some point I end up with a photo like this White Tail Buck that I suspect will be very difficult to improve upon, and unlikely replaced in my "Best Photo Album":
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| White Tail Buck |
Now, when I see White Tail Deer I don't think about photographing them unless there is something unusual about the setting, the lighting, or what they are doing. I can simply enjoy watching them as a nature lover.
While roaming around the Coconino Forest ten days ago I came across many Abert's Squirrels darting around through the woods. I could easily have gotten frustrated not being able to get a good photo. Fortunately, five years ago while roaming around in this same area I got one of those "I suspect will be very difficult to improve upon photos:"
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| Abert's Squirrel |
The beauty is that I can now watch them frolicking around without going for my camera. Just enjoy nature naturally. It is a beautiful thing after all.
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