The simple answer would be that a great photograph is a combination of subject matter, lighting, composition, technical expertise and gear (don’t forget luck!) that captures something unique, beautiful, informative or thought provoking.
But what happens if a photograph doesn’t meet all of the technical criteria? Is it not worthy?
Each year it is a major struggle to decide on what to include in this issue. One image in particular, the wild turkey photo below, has caused me more internal debate than any in years. In my almost 40-year-long career, I’ve never seen a turkey photo like this: a hen shielding its eight poults while they roost. If all the technical criteria had been met, it could have been a cover or a two-page spread. The photo has so many things that I look for that I couldn’t not share it, and it will forever be one of my favorite bird photographs; I only wish it was sharper.
An email from a photographer that I’ve corresponded with some over the years also had a major impact on me as I put the issue together. I’m sharing some of it below:
“Seeing all your great photos as the issues and hunt and fish annuals come in are about as close as I can get to the wildlife. My sister did take me to the Arsenal twice in the last three years, but was only able to get bison shots. She wanted to take me to the mountains, but my demise seems to be in leaps and bounds. Down to 110 lbs. (very weak). Frat brothers and friends probably assume the cancer got me. That’s the one thing that has behaved.
“The other reason I wanted to write was to tell you that I’m not going to submit any photos for the Photography Issue. I’m too tired to dig through hard drives. Besides which, I’ve probably already sent in the best ones in the past couple years.
“I sure do miss the annual hunt and crawling all over Mt. Blue Sky, RMNP, Monarch Lake, etc., etc. At least I have a lot of that in my memory (despite what my wife says about my memory).”
So, maybe capturing the perfect photograph isn’t what’s important — maybe it’s creating memories we should focus on.
Wayne D. Lewis
Editor and Art Director
2 Responses
Name the birds on the cover if not in the issue.
I enjoyed your comments on great photography. From the perspective of a person whose main photographic experience is documentation, it seems evident that some photographs are more valued because of the insights on animal behavior, and that’s important. In the early days of nature art and nature photography, the lines between documentation and art seemed blurred, think of Audubon’s work. I always strove to have good composure and lighting in my work, even when the primary goal was explanation and I think the selected photographs achieve this as well.