About taking the shot that’s there…

I had been driving out of the refuge to get some lunch when I spotted two bald eagles perched in a tree on the far side of a pond. I did the photographer’s screech and swerve, grabbed my camera, and jumped out of the car. I took several shots of the eagles, but they were just too far away and too obstructed for a great shot. They were recognizable in a “hey, I saw a cool thing” kind of way, but I have far better shots of bald eagles than I was able to get in this situation, and I knew I just wasn’t going to come away with a keeper.

I headed back to the car, and on the way saw a tiny little gray bird that I didn’t recognize perched on a dried flower stalk. I took a safe shot from a distance just for the sake of being able to identify the bird. (It’s a Say’s phoebe in case you’re wondering. We don’t have them in Maryland.) I continued to walk toward the car, and the phoebe didn’t move, so I took a couple more shots, noticed its peachy belly, and thought to myself that it really was a pretty little bird, even if it wasn’t flashy. I was kind of intrigued by that point, so I deliberately slowed my pace, averted my gaze to avoid making the bird feel threatened, and gradually made my way close enough to isolate the bird from it’s background. Then I waited for the bird to turn its head so I could get catch light in its eyes…and walked away with a keeper after all. 🙂