Earlier this week I spent a few hours hanging out with a group of three local amateur photographers for a feature on one of the three.

It was a great day. Not so much for the photos I produced but for the time I got to spend with some very enthusiastic photographers who genuinely love making photos just for the fun of it. They’re not getting paid, they have to buy their own gear and they don’t get to drive around in a company car. They’re out taking photos simply for the fun of it.

That day I learned a few things, including the tendency of birds to poop just before they’re going to fly. So, if you see a bird pooping, get your camera ready for a photo of the bird in flight. But the most important thing I learned  – or rather, was reminded of – was that photography is supposed to be fun. If it’s not, maybe you should do something else.

Dave Biddle was all smiles after making a good photograph of a red-tailed hawk near Ellensburg, Wash. He didn’t even have to get out of the car to make the photo (GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic)

(See more photos — of and by Dave Biddle — here).

–Gordon