For Mister B.

I feel like I have always kinda been a photographer, even when I didn’t have a single bit of conscious understanding of the craft. When I started learning about cameras and imagery, I was in high school, and I met a great man. His name was Ed Bogenschild (Mr. B). He showed me about light and how it affected everything. Being a spontaneous personality and someone totally devoid of the “patience” gene, Mr. B and I had issues. He always stressed the part of photography that took time to get to a perfect (award-winning) image, ready to be showcased. He loved my energy to get a good shot, but told me on many occasions I was never going to be successful in the business of photography. He was very correct in almost every aspect of observation about me. I never did become the award-winning technical shooter, but he underestimated the lessons he taught about looking at life and capturing moments.

I honestly enjoy that I've learned to be patient. I have always been someone who needed instant gratification. When I got out of high school and got away from all those cool free labs, paper, and chemicals, I realized that, since I was a dirt-poor 17-year-old, I couldn't afford to do that any longer. So I stopped shooting for 30 years. I didn't shoot one click for 30 years.

And my son started playing high school baseball at LA Baptist back in the day, so I bought a cheap digital camera and a cheap lens, and then I would go to his games that year and shoot some, and I started getting jacked up. And the next year, I bought a better lens. And I started seeing that my mentality started changing from going 100 miles an hour, 24/7, to wanting to get the best image that I could hang on my wall.

This image of the hummingbird is a reminder that, while the emergence of those patience skills may have been slow in coming, I have finally learned to appreciate a pace of life that can wait for things to show up and that I can be ready to appreciate. Thank you, Mr. B. This shot is for you.