When you’re dealing with Mother Nature, you can’t always get what you want. Yesterday was a perfect example.
Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) in low visibility
It was my first day on the water in about a month and a half, so I was full of anticipation and brimming with energy. As fortune would have it, Mother Nature decided to throw a major kink into my day…in the form of horrific visibility.
The visibility was so bad that I literally missed seeing whales that swam right by me. Several times. Sheesh.
Well, instead of becoming frustrated and sullen, I recalled a quaint snippet of folk wisdom: “When you’re given lemons, make lemonade.”
I had planned for crystal-clear, tropical-blue water, so I had to completely re-think my strategy, which involved switching lenses and adjusting my approach plan in the water.
The result is a series of images like the one above…moody, atmospheric, full of grain and backscattery goop (isn’t it great how I just make up words as I go along?).
I had to sleep on the photos for a night before evaluating them, as I was still bummed out about the visibility, but the more I look at the pictures, the more I like them.
I picked the one above as my favourite…my first officially approved photo of the year.
Anyway, if you’re on a photo excursion and find yourself facing adverse conditions, consider it a challenge and see if you can brew up a nice batch of cool, refreshing lemonade.
Note: Photograph taken under permit.
