There are some subjects that I will try to photograph every single time that I see them. Bald Eagles are high on that list, as are Monarch Butterflies (Danaus plexippus), like this beauty that I spotted last Monday at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge. Both of these subjects have “stopping power” for me.
Seven years ago I read a blog posting entitled “Stopping power” by fellow wildlife photographer Lyle Krahn that introduced me to this concept. In Lyle’s own words, “I think every beautiful scene has stopping power. That’s my term for the ability of a scene to make a person stop hiking or driving in order to pull out a camera and make images. Did you ever wonder what makes you stop? Do you ever hear the music?” That idea really took root in me and I still think about it quite often and vividly recall that initial posting.
What is your threshold for putting your camera to you eye and taking photos? Would you stop to photograph a squirrel or a Canada Goose or a mallard duck? Does a subject have to be new or exotic for you to stop? Are you so focused on a single subject that the rest of the world is invisible to you or simply doesn’t matter? Lyle described an encounter with a bear watcher in Grand Tetons National who said that he would not stop to photograph a moose. Yikes! It is hard to imagine not stopping to photograph a moose.
Most of you know that my personal threshold is really low—I will stop to take photos of almost anything that catches my eye. Every now and then I will end a posting with the words “beauty is everywhere” and I truly believe that. Of course, there is an opportunity cost for spending time on one subject and you might miss out on another potential subject. I am ok with that and rarely fall prey to the sense of anxiety that is popularly called FOMO (fear of missing out).
Even if you are not someone who takes pleasure in taking photos, I encourage you to stop more often during the day, to pause to feel the wind or listen to a bird or smell the flowers. I believe that in doing so you can lower the threshold for “stopping power” and experience our wonderful world more deeply.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Very nice topic. The FOMO was an issue I had when we moved to the Lowcountry. Now we just go with the opportunities. Of course getting a Monarch like that could still cause a FOMO spike 😂😂… the ‘don’t mess this up’ syndrome.
When I am searching for some of the rarer dragonflies, I sometimes know that i will have limited opportunities to get a shot. I am certain that my blood pressure and heart rate rise when one of those opportunities arises and I know that I consciously try to control my breathing. Indeed there is a kind of fear of messing up–maybe we need to coin a new acronym FOMU. 🙂
That’s it ! The ‘biggly’ word of 2020.
Great photo, Mike. I am like this with the black squirrels around here.
Mike, profound wisdom in your words and a stunning photo. Thank you for both!
Thanks, Suzette. I never quite know what I am going to say when I sit down to write a blog post. Some days, like today, I feel contemplative and the think my text reflects that mood, as is often the case with my posts.
My hope is that “stopping power” never stops.
I totally agree. I know that I hope to continue to have the wide-eyed curiosity of a child as I get older.
Your words all the more precious in their spontaneity! Thank you again Mike. Have a great day. 🦋
Thanks, Suzette. I just got done with my Sunday church service, which was done with Zoom, so I feel even more energized than usual.
Amen!!!
FOMO, FOMU…I’ve had them both. Over time I’ve shifted to being sure to enjoy the full experience because sometimes what I’ve missed out on is the bigger nature picture. That said, never pass up a Spoonbill or an Eagle!
If I only had spoonbills here, I am pretty confident that they would be on my “never pass up” list with bald eagles, monarch butterflies, and a few other species. I share you concern, Ellen, on sometimes missing out on the bigger picture in my desire to fill the frame with my subject to the maximum extent possible.
No matter how many times I’ve made images of a certain location or living subject, it almost always has the quality to stop me again. One never knows when the light will be the best ever (sometimes just different is reason enough) or the behavior something not seen before. Love of nature is what gets most of us out there and that love manifests itself in both curiosity and the drive to keep making images.
The monarch is a great example. You just can’t make enough images of them. 🙂
I realize that I was preaching to the choir, knowing that many nature photographers are prompted to go out again and again to get new images of familiar subjects. Some non-photographers, though, don’t quite understand that kind of drive and may have a checklist kind of mentality instead.
I am not sure if it qualifies as a checklist, but I do try to find new subjects, especially flowers and insects. Probably just like you, I’d guess. That’s not my driving force though and does not deter repetition.
I think I may not have expressed myself well. When I think of a checklist mentality, what I have in mind is someone who checks a subject off of the list once they have seen it or photographed it and never bothers with it again, essentially a “one and done” approach. I know some birders who are like that and are interested primarily, it seems, in adding another bird to their life lists. I do have some new subjects of a mental list that I actively search for, like the TIger Spiketail dragonfly that I finally photographed this summer after several summers of trying to do so.
No, you expressed yourself just fine. I waffled a bit. 🙂
Mike, this post has stopping power as has Lyle’s original post. Very engaging… I must admit to having very low resistance to stopping for a photo; just ask a wade! Whether for a landscape or underwater scene, it goes hand in hand with capturing the sense of wonder I feel. You might laugh with this one but a few days ago at the Reef I was enthralled by a a group of anemone fish (nemos), waiting for them to stare right at me… they kept coming in and out of their anemone and I kept looking and smiling in my mask and clicking away… I totally forgot about breathing until I had to kick up to the surface fast! These little nemos had stopping power!
Thanks, Chris. I am glad to hear that I am not the only one who sometimes gets distracted and overstimulated in the natural world. What a fun time you had with the anemone fish–they seem to have such wonderful personalities, or so it seems thanks to Finding Nemo. Lyle was one of my original inspirations when I started getting serious about my blog, both for his wildlife photography and his writing style. He has sort of turned away from photography these days and draws cartoons as a creative outlet.
Just love the sipping monarch! Thanks for the reminder. Slow down. Breathe. Look.
I’m right with you again, Mike. I wish I could share the passion for stopping with some other folks some of the time.
I brake for beauty! But most often, I’m thankfully not driving, just walking. 😉
You’ve got nice pastel colors in this view.
Thanks, Steve. I will often make adjustments to the contrast, highlights and shadows, and cropping of my images, but I tend to leave my colors alone whenever I can. I remember trying to frame the image so that the sky was the background and I was thrilled to capture the pinkness of what I believe was swamp milkweed.
Yes, there’s beauty all around us if only we take the time to appreciate it. The essence of mindfulness!
I would definitely agree that mindfulness is key. I have had friends who marvel that I find things to photograph when they claim there is nothing to shoot. They ask me how I am able to see all of these tiny subjects. I sometimes off the Zen-like response, “How is it that you do not?” Mindfulness helps you see more, but I think you have to go one step further to appreciate what you see as “beauty.” For millenia philosophers have argued over the nature of beauty, but for me it’s about having a constant child-like, almost naive sense of awe and wonder that lets you see beauty in a spider and a snake, rather than a sense of creepiness.
My working hypothesis is that there’s always something to photograph out there, even if it’s not initially obvious. Getting close to things usually reveals a detail worth photographing.
When I first was starting to get more serious about my photography, a friend lent me her 180mm macro lens and it was love at first sight–a whole new world was opened up to me by that lens. I ordered one for my Canon–she is a Nikon shooter–and ever since, my trusty Tamron 180mm macro lens has been my go-to lens for most of the warm months.
Agreed totally. Developing the point, I get irritated by birders who are obsessed by rare birds, and yet fail to give common species a second glance. Yes, it’s a privilege to find a bird that’s difficult see, but that bird is inherently no more beautiful or worthy of appreciation than one seen every day of our lives. All life is beautiful…we just have to train ourselves to see the beauty in the ordinary.
We are definitely on the same wavelength. My appreciation for the ordinary is one of the things that keeps me from feeling a need to travel to far-off locations for new subjects to photograph. As the seasons change, my local landscape changes and insects, birds, and animals appear and disappear. That is enough for me. I really like the final sentence in your comment. One component of that training, I believe, is learning to slow down, which is really tough to do for many people.
Whole world’s gone crazy, dashing madly here and there, as if the faster you go the happier you’ll be. Rubbish! Chill out, I say.
Beautiful capture! Nice and sharp.
Thanks. The lighting was pretty good and I was able to get close enough to fill most of the frame using my 180mm macro lens, which generally helps me to capture a good deal of detail with a decent amount of sharpness.
Yeah… It’s true about stopping power… Nature is intriguing… and awesome🌼🌱
Nature definitely is awesome and becomes even more so the as I am exposed to it more.
Enjoy… You are lucky too as I see🌱🌼💛
Wow! This is awesome 👏
Thanks.
Wow lots of stopping power here!
I am so grateful to live in world of beauty and creativity!
Thanks, Lyle. Isn’t it amazing that I remember you posting and your term “stopping power” this many years after you did the posting that i referenced?
You must have a remarkable memory to reach that far back. I’m trying to remember what I did yesterday 😀
The memory is quite selective. During this pandemic, I keep having problems remembering what day it is.
I’m stunned with all your pictures Mike, you are an awesome photographer!!! 👏🏼
Thanks so much, Lia.