There are certain immutable truths in life. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Cold air sinks and warm air rises. And photographs of wildlife always elicit high reader response. A photo I shot earlier this week of an eagle release prompted many positive responses.
A female bald eagle was released back into the wild Monday, Jan. 26, 2009 by Marsha Flamm, left, and Christine Ramsey. The eagle was found Friday, Jan. 23 completely comatose and anesthesized, said Ramsey, one of the veterinarians who treated the raptor. The bird had been poisoned after feeding on a horse which had been euthanized some time ago and not disposed of properly. The eagle, believed to be more than 5 years old, was released at the Oak Creek Wildlife Area. (GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic)
I’ve spent days working to produce a single, compelling image that’s rich in content and emotion and not gotten one response. But I spend 90 minutes on this eagle release (45 minutes of which were spent driving too and from the release point, 44 minutes chatting with people before and after the release and one minute for actual picture-taking) and I hear from a dozen people the morning the photo is published. Don’t get me wrong – I love it when readers respond positively to my photos. It’s just that I wish those serious journalistic photos yielded the same response. But hey – I’ll take compliments anytime I can get ‘em even if it’s for one minute’s work.
Here’s another photo which provoked a lot of positive response.
Bighorn sheep graze on a hillside Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2008 near the Big Pines Recreation Area in the Yakima River Canyon.
This photo took maybe five minutes to shoot – I was standing next to my car parked on the highway as the sheep strolled through the grass, unconcerned about my presence. I guess this all proves a point made by photojournalist and educator Bryan Moss at a photo editing workshop. He said “Don’t confuse efforts with results. The investment of time doesn’t matter but results do.”
–Gordon King
