How much detail is necessary in a photo for it to have value? Does everything have to be bright and obvious, or is there room for mystery? For imagination? If you get a rare image of a wild Snow Leopard high in the Himalayas, you probably want to see the animal bright and clear. What about some clouds, a lake, and a patch of color at sunrise? You know what the subject matter is in the three images below. Is it self-indulgent for the photographer (me), to create the image I see in my mind’s eye, and share it with you hoping you will see what I see? Do good pictures that contain wildlife, have to be about the animal?  Can effective landscape photos, hold within their boundaries, interesting wild animals and still be about the land?  Can you abstract a portion of the land, and add some wildlife, and still give credence to both the land and the animals. I drove to the top of a hill in Crex Meadows Wildlife Area, because I spotted these Sandhill Cranes. I was immediately drawn to the colors, textures and patterns of the dried grasses and as well as those flowering plants. Then my attention shifted to the area where they shared a common border. I began making pictures but I soon realized that the one thing that was missing in the photo was the cranes. They cooperated without any prompting from me and I had my image. Are interesting images of our most common birds worth making?  When professionals are the ones making the pictures, should they concentrate their efforts only on rare or spectacular birds? Is a static picture of an uncommon bird better than a more interesting photo of an ordinary one? What about an overly mysterious and shadowy image of a great bird? Do you ask, too bad that there’s not more detail? Do the little things in nature mean as much as the big, or are they just something for photographers to do when they are waiting for something better to happen? Might there be a story there? Maybe art? These questions and much more are the sort pf things I ask myself. For me, the deeper you look into the abyss that is people’s (and our own) minds and perceptions, the more you learn about those people, the subjects you photograph, and yourself. I am however not suggesting, that I ever feel the need to ask (or answer) these questions when I am in the field and creating images. There is a time to react viscerally, and remain awash in our creative juices, just like there is a time photographically, to think about technique and Xs and Os. Questions Without Answers. If every question concerning photography or art had an answer, the joy of searching would be gone. ———————————————————————————————————– An answer to life eternal. John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. God Bless,                                                                                                                                      Wayne