With Photography there is a lot of “hurry up and wait.”   Grab the camera, set up the tripod, adjust the camera settings…… and wait.  Wait for the sun to pop up in the horizon for the perfect sunrise……wait for the perfect ocean wave to crest…..wait for the lightening to strike.

And so, this is exactly what I did the other night…….I hurried up and waited.   My husband and I were beginning our weekend when he noticed this hawk sitting on the ledge of the building across from us.  I quickly grabbed my camera and “the big lens.” I quickly took a few shots to get my camera settings.  And then, I quickly………WAITED.

If you have never seen a hawk in flight they have the most beautiful wingspan and graceful movements.   I desperately wanted to capture this beauty taking flight from his perch.  So, for 35 minutes I waited sometimes taking a break, thinking I would never capture him taking flight.

And while I waited this is what I caught:

Just taking a break

Stretching his feathers?!?!

Nope! I guess when you gotta go, you gotta go!

Finally, the wait was over!  And, while I didn’t catch the actual “take-off” I was able to get a few shots of him in flight:

The title “Hurry up and Wait” may seem a little rigid for a post about the beauty of a hawk in flight.  But, it’s really more about the process and patience that comes along with doing something you love.  Like the fly fisherman who assembles his fishing gear and fishes (meditates) all day to catch the prized fish (or not), photography can also be about the experience and the memory created about the shot.