Being a nature photographer is like having a drug addiction

Text and photos by Heather Cline 

Bighorn Sheep, Anza Borrego State Park

Sometimes when I'm driving for 12 hours straight or I'm standing around waiting for good light, I think about things. The curious similarities between nature photography and addiction popped into my head on one such recent trip so I thought I'd share some of these random thoughts here, with photo accompaniment of course. ;)

Let me start this post by saying:

• All of my knowledge around drug addiction comes from what I have seen on television or in movies.
• This is intended to poke fun at myself (an maybe some fellow photographers) for the crazy things nature photography leads us to do.
• Is in no way meant to diminish the seriousness of true drug addiction. 

If you still feel that my words will offend you, please feel free to exit now. No hard feelings. 

Anxiously waiting for the "dealer" to show up

Have you ever stood in silence for hours in hopes that your subject (aka dealer) will show up and give you the goods? I have. Sometimes it pays off and sometimes it doesn't but I keep coming back time and time again. 

I waited 7 hours for this Grizzly Bear sow and her 3 cubs to come through a meadow that they had been spotted in for several days. I didn't even get what I would consider excellent photos but it was so exciting when they came out from behind some trees and started grazing on wildflowers. And - I can honestly say I've waited longer with less exciting results!

Grizzly bear and cubs, Yellowstone National Park

Bending (or breaking) the law to get the shot

I can't say that I've broken a whole lot of rules or laws to get a specific image but I've certainly made some stupid choices, like scaling down a cliff face to get to a beach or wading across a river to get to a lava bench to capture waves getting sucked into a giant lava rock "toilet". I was in Kauai several years ago and heard about this area called Pools of Mokolea. I knew I had to go photograph it at sunrise. I came very close to losing my gear when I foolishly waded across a river to reach the location. The worst part was, all I could think of while I was at this beautiful location was the fact that I had to wade back through that river to get to the car. Thankfully my gear survived but that was not one of my brightest moments. 

Pools of Mokolea, Kauai

Capturing a good photo is the ultimate high

Have you ever spent an entire day (or weekend) in pursuit of dynamic images only to come up short? You start to question if you should be spending your time this way, but then somehow you get one fantastic shot before its over? It's amazing how one good capture not only makes you forget how much time you spent getting nothing, but also gives you just enough of a high to keep you coming back for more. 

I recently spent a day out at two wildlife refuges a couple hours from my home. It was what I would call a slowwww day. But then, I saw this Kingfisher on a log. These are notoriously skiddish birds and I knew he was going to fly away as soon as I raised my camera, and he did, so I decided to sit quietly for a while to see if he might come back. After 90 minutes, he returned with this fish. I didn't get much else the entire day - but I got this - and I had a smile on my face the whole drive home. 

Belted Kingfisher with a catfish fry

Throwing money at the disease

I've heard that people often get introduced to drugs for free, by a friend or relative. I'm not sure it really works that way in photography. . . but I do recall that my first real camera, the one that took that one good picture that made me want to invest in more gear, was gifted to me. Hmmmm. 

This is an image from my early days in photography. It was one of those photos that made me want to do more - and doing more often means spending more. Like many nature photographers, I have spent a small fortune in gear, trips, education, software, and more. Anything to feed the disease. 

Trailside stream, Olympic National Park

Going through withdrawals 

Have you ever had a situation in your life that took you away from your photography for a while? Then you see your friends posting images on Facebook of all the places they have been and the things they saw. I can tell you firsthand that when I've been pulled away for too long, I start to twitch a little. 

2019 was an especially tough year for me and I barely took any photos. It was ironic that 2020 was a horrible year for many because of COVID, but for me it was actually better than 2019 because I was able to go outside and start taking photos again, like this image I captured at Mono Lake. 

Mono Lake with an approaching summer thunderstorm

If you have read this and are not a photographer, I hope you found this more humorous than objectionable. However, if you are a fellow photographer, you might be thinking to yourself, "oh no, I might have a problem!" But remember, there are way worse problems to have than a little photography addiction. Here's hoping we all get our "fix" in 2024!