I pour over my images for hours endlessly saying this photo or that one isn’t good enough to share, what will people think if I put out this mediocre work. However, not all photography has to be on Ansel Adams quality. It is a terrible thing to judge yourself constantly against the best.
A major purpose of my own photography is to tell a story. I would like to have the sharpest photos with great composition, but that isn’t always possible. The photo of the prairie chickens above is just ok, it is rather flat and soft, so it would never grace a popular magazine unless these were the last two alive. However, I have used this photo in several PowerPoint presentations about watching the birds on there booming grounds, and to put a face on the loss of grassland and marshland habitats. For these useses the photo is excellent, although I hope someday to take a photo of these great birds that will be worthy of publishing in a glossy magazine. I just hope the birds will hold on for longer.
More on Prairie Chickens
Prairie Chickens (Tympanuchus cupido) were once found throughout Wisconsin, sometimes in huge numbers. They suffered from market hunting like many game animals. The chickens survived the overhunting, but the axe fell on their populations from habitat loss. Changes of farming methods, and crops doomed them. Now few remain. These two Greater Prairie Chickens were photographed at Buena Vista Marsh, in Portage County, Wisconsin. The male is “booming” to attract the female, who looks somewhat indifferent. Prairie Chickens gather together in the spring on booming grounds, called leks. The males set up, and defend territories within the lek, while the females wander through to select the best mate.