Nature is nature, a place where life and death battle each other every day. Capture it. Chronicle life. At times these scenes evoke questions such as what do you do when you catch more than you can chew? How is this bird going to swallow the catch? Let's look at an image.

So how do we capture scenes like these? Today I am not going to talk about settings and autofocus and frame rates, and such. Rather I would like to share about being ready. This bird surfaced for just a few seconds and disappeared under the water, fish and all, as fast as it appeared. This is not the time to start asking which settings to use or worse yet, how to set the camera in the first place.

          It amazes me how many people will spend a lot of money to come on a workshop with us without knowing their equipment. We really need to be better prepared. Before going on an important shoot make sure you know how to set the camera (not which settings but how to actually set it). Read the manual through again. Make sure you know which buttons do what and where they are. Make sure you know the menu system. As an instructor, I can give you the settings but it is really hard for me to help you set your camera because every camera system is different. Even if I happen to know your particular brand's settings well, by the time you have handed me your camera and received it back the bird is long gone.

          The best advice I can give you is to practice. Go shoot regularly. Play with your camera. Preparation is the key to being ready to capture scenes when they present themselves.