• Have you ever seen the perfect photo-op, and not been prepared with a camera? I think everyone has felt this way at some point in their lives. Have a camera with you always, even if it’s not the best one you own. Grab the opportunity, and take a moment to get your photo. Make sure to stop safely if you are driving. For my photo “Watch for Wildlife,” I had to drive about a hundred yards until I could pull over safely. While I was walking back to the bird on top of the sign, I was getting the camera ready, thrilled to have this moment, and I got a once in a lifetime shot.

• Have enough memory in the camera, and have extra with you — after all it’s very inexpensive. It is always wise to pack extra batteries.

• Look for shapes in clouds, and objects that speak to you. See “Take a Bow” for a flower with a personality. Do not delay in taking the photo of rapidly changing objects. If you see it, capture it. Could it get better? Of course! But you could also lose it forever by waiting for just the right moment.

• Take many photos of a scene or person while shifting the scene slightly. Turn your camera from landscape, to portrait for the same scene. Move yourself so you see a different background. With digital technology it won’t cost you for using extra memory; the photos you don’t want you can simply delete from your camera or computer. Some shots will be out of focus, or someone’s eyes will be closed. No big deal - if you have a few dozen shots to work with. You’ll be very pleased if you have several great shots, and anything beyond that is a bonus.

• You may have the perfect shot that you want to make into a very large print only to find that you lose resolution when you go up in size. This could be due to your camera being set to low or medium resolution. Find your camera settings and your “quality” settings menu, and then set your camera for the highest possible resolution available. You may go from 400 images available to only 150, but it’s going to enable you to make prints as large as they can be. As inexpensive as memory has become, extra memory is a must.

Ken Pierce