Lake Perch

 

    What does it mean to be observant?
It is a vital skill for a photographer, but there are too many things to notice all of them.   I think being observant means awareness to your surroundings.  Noticing the colors, the shapes, the light, the moods of people, the sequence of events, and the things that are out of the ordinary.
   I was sent to photograph ice fishing.  I have been curious about ice fishing for a long time, but deep down I believed that if I wanted to try ice fishing all I needed to do was sit on a slab of ice and do nothing.  Now that I am more knowledgeable I realize I was only mostly correct in my assumption.  Now and again people, mostly men, sitting on the ice catch fish.  The fish in this picture may not look like a trophy but it is the prize the fisherman was seeking.  I was aware enough of  my surroundings to look beyond the obvious photographs of being staring at holes in the ice and to notice that this fisherman would occasionally hold a fish out the window to show off his catch, and then I waited until he did it again.

--Darren Breen