Breezy challenge…

Wind… Seems it’s ever present on the beach. Which is great if you are sunning yourself near the shore, where any air movement is a godsend in 95 degree temperatures. But for photography, it can be a curse. Case in point: These beautiful wildflowers, growing on the dunes outside our condo in Seagrove Beach. Darling little beach daisies that sprout up out of the sand and seagrass to provide that perfect “pop” of bright color against a backdrop of whites, greens, and beige. Mother nature has an artistic eye, to be sure. But try capturing these little guys with the neverending sea breeze, and you have yourself a true challenge–one not even a tripod can fix. So you frame, sit, and wait… hoping to click the shutter in between erratic air currents. Yes, it took a while. Yes, I was drenched in sweat, finger on shutter, waiting it out. But I finally got the image I was after. Triumph!

The more experienced I get at this game, the more I realize that possibly the most valuable quality of a good photographer is simply patience. This may look like just another photograph of a flower, pretty perhaps, but not exceptional. For me, however, it represents another personal challenge, and the joy of finding my subject, envisioning the final product, and finally capturing it, is why I love the process. It never gets old…there is always another challenge ahead.

f/5, 1/640th sec, ISO 100, 185 mm