![\"dave](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/dave-sparks-9400-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThis post is going to need an extended introduction. Please bear with me as I bring you up to date on a story that I first reported on over two years ago.<\/p>\n
Roughly eight years ago I was a\u00a0highly frustrated wannabe bird photographer. I had invested in very expensive gear and\u00a0joined Nature Photographer’s Network (NPN), a nature photography critique forum, in an effort to become a really good bird photographer. One of the first things I learned on NPN was that I needed to switch over from shooting jpeg to shooting RAW, which I did. But RAW files are inherently soft out of camera (jpegs are generally sharpened in camera but virtually all RAW files need sharpening) so I needed to learn how to skillfully process images and that included sharpening. So I\u00a0purchased Photoshop and immediately hit a thick\u00a0brick wall.<\/p>\n
Photoshop is\u00a0complicated and intimidating and I had no idea what I was doing. Eventually I thought I had figured out a basic work flow that was acceptable and began submitting images to NPN for critique that had been shot in RAW. I knew that some of those images had a lot of potential but they weren’t being received by NPN members as well as I hoped and I didn’t really know why. This went on for quite a while and I was very discouraged because I was trying so hard and getting nowhere. I remember seriously considering selling my gear and finding a new hobby.<\/p>\n
Then out of the blue I received an email from NPN member Dave Sparks who suggested that my images weren’t living up to potential because they hadn’t been sharpened properly. Dave took a real chance when he sent that email – many photographers are notoriously thin-skinned when it comes to criticism of their images, even on a critique forum like NPN. Dave and I didn’t know each other and he had no idea how I’d react but he sent it anyway. During our extended email conversation Dave provided me with a sharpening “recipe” that improved my images dramatically. I’ve been using that recipe, with variations, ever since.<\/p>\n
Since 2008 Dave and I have developed a long distance friendship but he lived in Florida so our paths never crossed (regular readers will likely recognize his name because he comments here fairly often). But recently Dave\u00a0planned a winter photography trip to Yellowstone and he arranged to spend a day in Salt Lake City so that Mia and I could finally meet him. Our plan was to spend the day together and give him a tour of\u00a0Antelope Island and Farmington Bay WMA as we visited. And three days ago\u00a0that’s exactly what we did, even though the weather was uncooperative to the extreme. We endured a blizzard for\u00a0most of the day and\u00a0much of the time we had near whiteout conditions.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This is Dave at Farmington three days ago. He had walked over to the edge of the road to photograph something and he didn’t know that I had my camera trained on him when he turned around. I hollered out to him to wave and he obliged. We had heavy snow and fog for most of the day so obviously shooting conditions were terrible but dang we had a good time together.<\/p>\n
I often think about what I\u00a0might have missed if Dave hadn’t sent that email. There was no way I’d continue to have that much money tied up in gear for a hobby that I was no good at so I’d likely have sold it all and developed other interests. I’d have missed all the joy of photography and the time spent in nature and with birds.\u00a0There would have been no blogging “career” and\u00a0I’d never have met\u00a0the many photography friends that mean so much to me\u00a0now.<\/p>\n
So thank you, Dave. Your kind gesture continues to enrich my life.<\/p>\n
And I hope you’re having a blast in Yellowstone!<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Notes:<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Roughly eight years ago I was a highly frustrated wannabe bird photographer.<\/p>\n\n
![\"american](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/american-kestrel-0793-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n