It’s New Year’s Eve. It’s the end of the year, the last day of 2017. It’s been a great year for me and I’ve had some incredible and unforgettable photography experiences this year. I continue to learn and grow and look forward to many more wonderful experiences in 2018 with my photography friends.
I took this photograph of a Great Blue Heron, or GBH as these huge birds are commonly referred to by many of my photography friends, at Clear Lake a couple of days ago. It is considered a “butt shot,” an undesirable view of a bird. I’ve long known that photographs of birds flying away from the camera (“butt shots”) are not great photographs. They are considered rude by some and frankly they do not draw the viewer into the shot because the bird is flying away.
As my photography changes, so do my standards for photography. I once thought any photograph that was in focus was good. Not true. I am becoming more critical of my subjects and more aware of what makes or breaks a photograph. I’m posting this photograph because it’s the end of the year, the end of the bird, and I hope, the end of my taking any more “butt shots.”
