Big Picture: Make Do

When I'm out shooting, 9 out of 10 times I feel like I miss a critical factor to make the winning image. I might wish for another lens, more beautiful light or a third hand. In any case, I always seem to want something that I just can't get for this particular shoot. Shooting climbers in Kochel, I think how cool it would be to have El Capitan as a backdrop, granite instead of limestone and warm early morning light instead of the pitch black darkness that's normal on our winter bouldering sessions. Guess what? It's not going to happen.



So there's two things you can do. You can travel to Yosemite and keep complaining about bad conditions and your mediocre equipment there, (because you will be complaining there, too) or you can make do and play the cards you've been dealt. Because if there's one thing that any photographer more experienced than I am can tell you, there's a winning shot everywhere! Sure, there are situations that are tough to fuck up (think Yosemite, pitch #32, warm evening light), but in general, finding the winner shot is about looking for it where you are and not about wishing for better circumstances.



This weekend, my girlfriend and I happened to watch the Munich city marathon and I took a few shots of the runners as they sped by. As always, I noticed myself looking at all the pros with their press credentials, Canon 1d Mark IIIs or Nikon D3s, 70-200mm 2.8s and all the other stuff that makes a little photographer like myself salivate. After taking the first couple of images, I quickly noted that I had neither the position nor the fast lenses to get the winning shots like those guys could. So what to do? Easy. Make do. What I mean with make do is not taking images that don't work in your current situation. If you're not standing in the right place (where only the guys with press credentials can stand) it won't do you any good to keep on shooting from the wrong position.




What you can do, however, is do something different. Experiment. Think about the pros again. They have to sell their images to their magazines. If they make good shots they will get paid, if they don't they won't. They won't be taking any risks. So this is your chance to make shots that are worth your while. Don't get into a pissing contest with these guys on their terms. Do your own thing and try to do something the others don't. Be creative, that's what it's all about.