Sometimes, you see things before you shoot. Sometimes, its afterwords. I discovered a mother coyote with five pups just at the edge of a grassy area three years after I shot the image. Then, there are times when you discover it on the second or third edits but didn't see it when you shot the image. Such was the case yesterday and it was a double whammy! Both were birds.
The first shot in the field was to check out a light standard over a ball field. If you don't know by now, you will here because falcons and birds of prey like hawks and ospreys and/or owls and eagles like to watch over their territories from the highest vantage point. Light standards are a good place to look for raptors and I have found pairs of red tail hawks, red shoulder hawks, and kestrel hawks all sitting on light standards. So naturally, that's the first place that I check.
The second shot is usually looking for unusual signs or signs that stand out among the normalcy of everyday life. This second shot was after spotting that unusual display. The low angle level of signs are either super good or just plain dull. No in between. The high angle shots are standouts or super duper jackpots. So you need to look for both. If you see something don't just jump at the shot. Pull back in a parking lot or away for the close up and observe for a bit. You begin to see a pattern of how things fit in with others (businesses in a strip mall) or they stand out and just beg to be shot. Those images are the keepers usually.
In this particular instance, I know that military recruiting offices are rather mundane. And while I'm sitting in a parking lot checking my Gas Buddy app for the lowest prices in the area, I spot a section of the strip mall that sits behind the normal flow of traffic. It's an unusual layout and I go by it time and time again just not paying much attention. In fact, I was there because the app in the past has proven that STORM was the best price in the area for gas. When I got there, all the pumps were being ripped out and the station on the app was showing closed. Across the intersection was a Tom Thumb Grocery and gas station.
Finding the unusual branding of this recruiting office stood out and all but waving to come shoot this as being different. As I started to shoot, a stern looking big built guy in military green and white fatigues came out and just stood looking at me. I put down the window and said to him, Everything looks good but where is the Coast Guard. He did not find that funny at all and got into his Mercedes without saying a word. I wondered what his demeanor was with the young recruit prospects and how many actually signed up at his office. He was that typical "drill sarge" [en persona].
As it turns out, long story shorter, It was different and when I got home and was editing it, surprise number two was just awesome to me. I hope you like it as well.
The first shot in the field was to check out a light standard over a ball field. If you don't know by now, you will here because falcons and birds of prey like hawks and ospreys and/or owls and eagles like to watch over their territories from the highest vantage point. Light standards are a good place to look for raptors and I have found pairs of red tail hawks, red shoulder hawks, and kestrel hawks all sitting on light standards. So naturally, that's the first place that I check.
The second shot is usually looking for unusual signs or signs that stand out among the normalcy of everyday life. This second shot was after spotting that unusual display. The low angle level of signs are either super good or just plain dull. No in between. The high angle shots are standouts or super duper jackpots. So you need to look for both. If you see something don't just jump at the shot. Pull back in a parking lot or away for the close up and observe for a bit. You begin to see a pattern of how things fit in with others (businesses in a strip mall) or they stand out and just beg to be shot. Those images are the keepers usually.
In this particular instance, I know that military recruiting offices are rather mundane. And while I'm sitting in a parking lot checking my Gas Buddy app for the lowest prices in the area, I spot a section of the strip mall that sits behind the normal flow of traffic. It's an unusual layout and I go by it time and time again just not paying much attention. In fact, I was there because the app in the past has proven that STORM was the best price in the area for gas. When I got there, all the pumps were being ripped out and the station on the app was showing closed. Across the intersection was a Tom Thumb Grocery and gas station.
Finding the unusual branding of this recruiting office stood out and all but waving to come shoot this as being different. As I started to shoot, a stern looking big built guy in military green and white fatigues came out and just stood looking at me. I put down the window and said to him, Everything looks good but where is the Coast Guard. He did not find that funny at all and got into his Mercedes without saying a word. I wondered what his demeanor was with the young recruit prospects and how many actually signed up at his office. He was that typical "drill sarge" [en persona].
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| A Kestrel Hawk with Fledgling. It looks like mom brought lunch in for the fledgling. |
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| Do you see it? Look in the bottom portion of the "C" | . | A mourning dove sits on a nest.Peace! |
As it turns out, long story shorter, It was different and when I got home and was editing it, surprise number two was just awesome to me. I hope you like it as well.
