wildlife at sweetwater creek
Inaugural (personal) photo assignment to Sweetwater Creek, ostensibly to capture some wildlife. Spoiler alert - contains no wildlife.
A ChatGPT generated weekly email comes to my inbox with a location and assignment for me to go take some pictures. It has my home location and camera gear as context, as well as previous assignments. This is intended as a kick in the arse to find some mindfulness time in forests and elsewhere around Georgia.
where
"Try Sweetwater Creek State Park in Lithia Springs. It gives you several useful habitats in one outing: George Sparks Reservoir, creek edges, fields and hardwood forest. Georgia State Parks specifically lists birding as an activity there, and its Hidden Gems guide highlights an area associated with Great Blue Herons, Bald Eagles and Ospreys."
the assignment
- Shoot in the first 90 minutes after sunrise or final 90 minutes before sunset if practical.
- Once you find a subject, stay with it for 10–15 minutes.
- Make three kinds of frame: clean portrait, behavior/action, and environmental context.
- Aim for 6–10 keepers, not hundreds of near-duplicates.
- Keep a respectful distance. No baiting, calling, chasing or crowding wildlife.
the hike
the photos
the self critique
Is the eye sharp in the strongest frames?
TBA
Did I capture behavior, not just identification shots?
TBA
Is the background helping rather than competing?
TBA
Do I have at least one wider environmental image?
TBA
Can I remove two similar images and make the set stronger?
TBA