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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dave Kennedy" data-source="post: 1389228" data-attributes="member: 57986">Not all photographs need to be perfectThis post originally appeared some time ago in Your Local Patch / Southern African Forum, but it bears repetition here. "In January 2006, in the heart of the rainy season, we were deep in the Okavango Delta in Botswana, searching for some of its more special inhabitants. It was night, it was raining, and our Land Cruiser bounced and pitched over the uneven terrain as we headed back towards camp. Ahead of us, the vehicle's less-than-wonderful headlights, which had until now reflected the green of summer grass, vanished as if into a black hole. Without warning we ploughed into a shallow lagoon which, fortunately, was bottomed with firm sand and not mud. As we plunged and bucked through the water I spotted, off to the right, a large, gingery shape sitting in a tree. I swung my camera and clicked, in a spirit of hope and optimism but little else, for it was too dark even to use the viewfinder. I had just taken the world's worst photograph of a Pel's Fishing Owl, one of the Delta’s most sought-after specials. But to this day, I treasure that picture as a great memory of fun and excitement in the Delta."That little story illustrates an important principle. It was not the quality of the photo that was important, but the record of one of the world's great specials, and a fabulous memory as well. If you are disappointed when your bird picture is not feather-perfect, then you are a photographer, rather then a birder. I use a relatively cheap Fuji Finepix S5000 camera with built-in 10x telephoto. It's 5 years old, really battered, and I love it to bits. Sometimes I get good pictures - often I don't, but at least I have a record. And most importantly, many times I have photographed a bird when uncertain about its identity. With a digital picture you can go home, get out the bird books, try to ID your bird, post the picture for help on Birdforum, and so on. So I think a modest and unambitious approach to photography will help your birding - but I do not believe, unless you wish to be known as a photographer, that fancy and expensive equipment is necessary.I hope my awful photograph of a Pel's Fishing Owl reinforces my message!Best wishes,Dave</blockquote>

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