African elephant, Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe

“I loved the lighting on this shot, which was taken from the grounds of my camp in Hwange National Park just before sunset. The elephants milled around for some time, mixing with other species that happened by every now and then, such as the impala in the foreground.”

photographs of plovers.

This shot was taken as the fading rays of the setting sun broke through an overcast sky in Sandy Point State Reservation last July. It won't be too long from now that the shorebird numbers will start increasing with the spring migration, and I hope to get out there to photograph them. Plum Island (which contains both the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge and the Sandy Point State Reservation) gets red knots passing through each year -- and it's my goal to photograph one in their gorgeous spring colors.

Lose yourself in the moment.

One of the things I love most about street photography is this feeling that I lose all consciousness of myself when out shooting on the streets. I no longer think of myself consciously as an entity– rather, I feel like my body melts into the streets and I become physically and spiritually embedded into the environment that I explore.
I lose consciousness of walking, of breathing, and even of holding my camera. I let my eyes wander– being fascinated by the people living their everyday lives on the streets, and their interactions. Whenever I see something I want to capture– I don’t hesitate. I fluidly approach my subject, and the camera almost takes the photo by itself. Of course I generally follow-up with a smile and a brief hello, and either continue to talk with them, or continue on my way.

One of the philosophies of Zen is that you should lose self-consciousness of yourself, and especially of your own ego. You don’t think of yourself as being great and the center of the world. Rather, you see yourself as something quite insignificant and just like a grain of sand in a desert.
When I am out shooting on the streets, the feeling of getting lost in the “flow” makes me feel much more comfortable shooting in the streets (and is often when I take my best photos). The second I become self-conscious, I find myself drawing too much attention to myself and my subjects can sense my hesitation and feel less comfortable.

Sunrise Sandwich..

Last summer, I spent a week photographing a colony of sandwich terns which nest on an island near to my home. The only way of getting to the island is by boat and the earliest departure is at 7:00am. I really wanted to shoot the birds bathed in golden morning light so I slept overnight in the hide to be ready at 4:00am, in time for sunrise. Just as the sun started to peak over the horizon, the adults were already streaming in and out of the colony, shuttling freshly caught fish to their hungry chicks.

The birds flew out of the colony to my right and upon returning, the adults with nests to my far left flew, right in front of the rising sun. They’re fairly fast flyers and tracking them full frame with the 800mm lens I was using was very difficult. I found I had a much higher hit rate if I focused on the birds flying past a little further away and as a result, I managed to catch this adult just before it past in front of the blinding sun-ball.