Standing along the reserve boardwalk, these Chilean flamingos were side by side wading for food. As they sifted through the water I was watching as other photographers frantically snapped their photographs. The flamingos started to move away, still paired off, and I could see the other folks with their cameras beginning to move off to the next thing that caught their interest.

One of the photographers said, “Looks like there is nothing else to take pictures of here”

I thought to myself, hold on a moment, you do realize this is wildlife photography right? Often times in wildlife photography, patience is a virtue and there is a big difference between a snapshot and photograph. The flamingos were going about their business and as they were doing so I noticed that a specific pair was moving towards a very tranquil background away from the others.

One flamingo had its head up, looking around, while the other was underwater feeding. This was not the shot I was envisioning. It is OK not to raise your camera to your eye. It’s OK to look at what’s in front of you and think, “That’s just not a photograph”. My point here, is think the shot through before going click.

The seasoned response to “nothing to see here” isn’t “let’s go!”— it’s “let’s wait.” In a mere second, things can change to something that is truly a memorable photograph.

As the two flamingos stopped for a second, in front of the flowered backdrop, they both put there heads down together, as if knowing this was what I wanted, and that was the moment the photograph was born.

In a world where photographers can very quickly stand on level ground with each other in their ability to use a camera, what if it’s not upgrading to that better camera or that bigger lens, but the simple ability—or willingness to wait it out that is the difference between making something astonishing, and making nothing at all?

When you resist the urge to quickly move on, you give yourself just a moment or two more, not only for something to happen but for you to see what’s already happening. Or to see the possibility that it might. To notice the light in one direction that you didn’t see while looking in another.  Always remember that it might not be a photograph, yet!