Be Prepared

Over the years, I’ve learned to check my camera settings (ISO, aperture, exposure, white balance) before heading out, and to re-set them for what I expect the light to be for the first shot of the day.  That way I’m ready, rather than missing a “moment” while frantically spinning the dials because the settings were where I left them at the end of the previous shoot.  Usually it doesn’t really matter, but when I’m out at Cutler Park in very low light half an hour before dawn I don’t want to be fumbling with the settings while something interesting is happening out on the river.

So last Sunday morning, before I left the house at 5:45a to go to Cutler Park, I did my usual pre-shoot check, and made a guess about the settings.  The sky was almost completely clear (portending another one of those boring sunrises with no clouds), so I dialed in ISO 1250, f/5.6, 1/60^th of a second, Auto White Balance.

Sure enough, this was one of those times when it was good to be prepared.  As I approached the river, I could hear low-level duck quacking nearby off to my right around the other side of some bushes.  I didn’t even have time to put on my waders before I saw a lone duck out on the water and four ducks heading out from the bushes toward the other duck.

 

The four paddled out for a few seconds, but when they became aware of my presence, they immediately turned around and headed back for the safety of the bushes at the edge of the water.  And that’s how I got this shot:

The whole thing happened in 9 seconds . . . from the first shot to the third shot.  No time to mess with settings.  Be prepared.

Six minutes later, four ducks got brave enough to paddle out across the river, but this time further away from where I was standing.  Still, they were close enough to provide a couple of nice images . . .

. . . before they slipped into the shadows across the river.

And, by the way, 26 minutes later there were just enough clouds and fog to make for an interesting sunrise: