Blog Your Blessings: 'If You Like it, Shoot it'

"If I like it, I shoot it," said our new friend as we stood with him by the lake and discussed the osprey, heron, egrets, otter, muskrats, beavers, geese, turkey vultures, and bullfrogs that thrive in and around it.

If he had said that without the camera with the huge lens hanging from his neck, my daughter and I would have high-tailed it out of there before he had a chance to like us. As it was, his camera was obvious, and ours were in our hands; we were there to shoot what we liked, too. But not before listening to his stories of venturing out on our lake and nearby ponds and setting up the camera on the tripod to wait for the birds to come.

Harvey spends a lot of time doing that. "I tell my friends, you know, if the day's getting stressful, go outside, sit down for a minute, close your eyes, listen, and breathe. Then open your eyes and look around you. You'll be amazed by what you see."

Harvey had all the time in the world for us, and he told us about the various spots where he finds the wildlife that are his favorite subject of photographs. He made suggestions on how to shoot clouds, water, and animals just in the course of telling us about his own experiences. Before we parted company, he invited us to join the photography club he leads.

As we spoke, Adella took a selection of landscapes and was ready to hunt for things to shoot, too. She wanted to head down the road to the beaver dam, and as we were climbing into the car, Harvey said, "Hey, you want to see a frog?" His eyes were wide and he was pointing to the water. Out Adella popped with her camera ready to go. Harvey told her to go easy and sneak up on him and then shoot. She did that and she got the bug-eyed fellow.

And then, this kid who had been reluctant to get off the couch and put on her shoes for this adventure got into the car and suggested to me that we get up bright and early on Saturday and look for more critters. Thank you, Harvey.

"It's a good thing I gave you a hard time about coming out, Mom," she said as we waited for the geese to glide closer to us. "Why, dear?"

"If I cooperated, we would have been out earlier, and we might not have met that man."

Touche.

Next morning, I took the usual walk down to the pond. This time I noticed a muskrat making a meal of the water lilies, a gigantic beaver coasting along between two disconcerted Canada geese.

"Open your eyes and look around you," Harvey said. And if you like it, shoot it.