ALBERT P ZABIN

I just took pictures of whatever interested me. I have been a serendipitous photographer ever since. The photograph I submitted to this exhibition is an example of the adage that the most important factor in the making of a good photograph is F8 and being there. I happened to be at the shore of a tidal bay on a bright cloudy day at low tide, with my recently purchased camera and a seven-year-old 500 mm lens. I was practicing using the camera by taking pictures of a few birds feeding on the mud flats. I happened to catch this snowy egret as it was coming in for landing in a high speed burst of camera frames. I had nothing to do other than to sit and watch the tide coming and enjoy an afternoon in Maine.

Often people ask me why I don’t just go outside and look at the beauty of the world? My reply is always that that's what I do and photography not only lets me capture what I see is beautiful, but it helps me see better as I concentrate on the world around me. There is beauty, not only in the great landscapes of the world, but in a mother (animal or human) cuddling her baby, two young men sitting on the street playing, crystals of ice forming on a window, or in the exquisite structure of a mushroom. The camera slows me down so I can see well.

Gentle Landing

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