This will probably be a short blog post but one I wanted to share it anyways as this past weekend I was reminded about the importance of patience and sticking with an idea or plan even when things might seem like they wont work out.

This weekend was nothing but clear skies in the forecast which generally I dislike but when you have areas like Virginia Lake where the first rays of light are unobstructed you look forward to those mornings. My buddy Russ Lynch and I headed out to the lake on both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday we were treated to some decent light and I was able to capture some images of a male Gadwall that I really liked. Below is an example of one of them

The following morning we arrived for a repeat session and as we waited lake side for the light to begin to bathe the surroundings, things started to shape up for a huge fail. The only subject of interest when we arrived at the lake was a lone Greater Yellowlegs and as we got into shooting position it slowly disappeared into the tall grasses. Even the Black Ducks and Mallards suddenly drifted away as the light inched its way down onto the lake.

My heart sank as the light mist lingered on the still calm waters and the warm tones it the tall grasses. I remember saying to Russ “Looks like this is going to be a bust man”…I had even thought for a moment that maybe we should change locations…not soon after the words were out of my mouth that a number of subjects started to appear as if out of thin air.

Before long it was a frantic rush trying to capture each moment as the light got better and better

First a female American Wigeon approached and was kissed by the golden light

she quickly found a shallow area and began preening

The Greater Yellowlegs then returned to its favorite feeding grounds and gave me a nice pose

Then I noticed a smaller duck moving in from the right and judging by its size I figured it was a Green-winged Teal..sure enough this female came in slowly for a closer look. She was certainly wary but I did manage to get a few good looks

Moments before the light became too harsh the calls of the male Gadwall could be heard as it approached. It drifted straight in front of me and posed for the longest time (it was probably only 5 seconds).

It was mornings like this that reminded me to always have patience and stick with the plan. Things may not always work out but when they do it can be magical.