Birds, Poker, and a Few More Lessons
…the insanity continues!
PHOTO JOURNAL 2026
James Bradley
2/5/20263 min read
February
Birds, Poker, and a Few More Lessons
Week 6
Here we are in the second week of February and the 6th week of our photo challenge…the insanity continues!
I had a mix of indoor practice, more wildlife, sunsets, and a few more reminders that I still had a lot to learn. I am starting to realize that this photo challenge is not going to let me hide from much. If I am going to take a picture every day, that means I have to take pictures whether I have a good idea or not. I have to take the time to learn how to use the camera, compose the shots and not just run around all willy-nilly trying to create amazing art with zero clue about what I am attempting. I am quickly finding out that the proverbial artists block is a real thing. This is kind of scary, beginning the sixth week and I am struggling for content? Wait…I refuse to let this thing beat me. I need to slow down and think.
This week was another mixed bag, which seems to be the theme of the early part of this challenge. Some days I shot wildlife (not literally). Some days it was a sunset. Some days it was poker night. Some days it was one of the cats looking at me like I was the problem. I had a cat portrait, Rooney, my daughter's calico, ducks, a good sunset, a poker table shot, a tank, ice under a bridge, and a squirrel that was apparently trying to make my autofocus question its life choices. Do you see a common theme here? Me neither, weird. Do I need to find a theme or keep up with the chaos?
It’s obvious that I am still mostly experimenting. I was trying to figure out what caught my eye and whether I could turn that into something worth looking at. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it almost worked. Sometimes it missed pretty hard, but I was still taking the shot, and that was the point. Take pictures every day! Take pictures every day! …did I mention, Take pictures every day?
My favorite photo this week is probably the ducks flying over the water. It is not perfect, but I like the motion in it. It feels like I caught a small piece of action instead of just taking a picture of something sitting still. I am starting to learn that timing matters, especially with wildlife, and that birds do not care at all whether you are ready or not.
My least favorite is probably the tank photo, taken at the Rigby Fairgrounds. I like the subject, and I still think there is a good photo there somewhere, but this one feels a little flat to me. I was attempting to get a good shot with the flags in the background. While it was mostly successful, the lighting was not doing me any favors, and I do not think I really knew how to compose it in a way that made it stand out without making the flags be totally forgotten. This is one of those shots where the idea was better than the final result.
The cat photo is another one I like, mostly because the eyes really grab your attention. During one of our photo club’s nights, I learned about vignettes on photos, thus the dark halo around Rooney. I think it looks cool, but I am still kind of undecided. Indoor lighting is still beating me up pretty good at this point, but I can see why animal portraits are fun.
The sunset was probably the easiest one to like because sunsets do a lot of the heavy lifting for you. I am learning that just because the sky is pretty does not automatically mean the photo is good, but I still enjoy chasing that color when it shows up.
So, Week 6 is done. I am still screwing around, trying to learn how the camera works, and still trying to figure out why some photos work and others fall on their face. I am also starting to notice more small details, more movement, more light, and more chances to practice. That feels like progress to me. As I said in the very first post, I see the world differently now. I think I am going to like this!
I would love to get some feedback from you all about the photography learning process. Please feel free to shoot me an email through my contact page.
Thanks for reading!
