1-20 Pictures vs. Photography

I take lots of pictures, Larry would probably say too many pictures. We started taking digital pictures in 1998 and have approx. 30,000 pictures, took over 4000 last year alone. I like to take pictures to capture memories of people we know or have met, places we have traveled and sights we have seen. Of course the only way to revisit those memories is to take a look at old pictures and at times we actually do that.

Once in a great while there may be a particular picture that I really like but in no way would I call my picture taking photography. Have you ever compared a photo taken by a professional photographer to something you might have taken a picture of, huge difference. I took the following picture of a bull elk last fall in Yellowstone National Park, got really lucky getting a picture of this magnificent bull, he was in the open and the sun was setting so the light was pretty good. I was thrilled to take this. Don't forget to click on the pictures for a bigger view.

Now here is a similar photo from a professional photographer, see the difference.

Over the past six years we have spent a considerable amount of time in Yellowstone and have discovered quite a few professional photographers simply hang out there trying to get the perfect shot, these people will spend hours and hours waiting for the photo they want. Early one morning we came upon a small group of them trying to get the perfect photo of a fox, we probably spent 20-30 minutes and got a couple of nice pictures, one of the photographers Larry talked to had been there for hours the previous day and had been there for numerous hours the day we were there hoping for a better photo, when we drove by the following day he was there again. Not only do these photographers have extreme patience they have also perfected their craft with years of experience and really expensive camera gear.

My Picture of a Fox

Professional Photographer

Today Larry and I went on an hour walk to Temple Lake Park and we took Flo for a half hour walk around Lions Park in Temple. It was another gorgeous day. LIFE IS GOOD!

Belton Lake during our walk to Temple Lake Park.

"Fun Time" sculpture at Temple Lions Park