Scott let ’ s start with the big news for you and that is you ’ ve been made an Olympus Visionary , what is an Olympus Visionary – is it similar to Canon Explorer of Light or Nikon Ambassador ?
Olympus Visionary is similar ( but not necessarily identical ) to other camera brand ambassador programs . The Olympus Visionary Program ’ s mission is to define the state of digital imaging for the professional and advanced consumer audiences , and to grow support of digital photography , video and multimedia creation .
When someone talks about Scott Bourne , the first thing you notice is you ’ re an amazing bird photographer . How did you get started as a photographer , and what led you into birds ?
My time in photography actually started in motor sports . I grew up in Indianapolis and was given a chance to photograph the Indy 500 . I did motor sports until I realized it didn ’ t pay well and switched to weddings and portraits . When my knees gave out I switched to nature and wildlife and eventually settled on birds because frankly I wanted a challenge - I decided there could be nothing more difficult than photographing small creatures who want to avoid you and who can fly . I ’ ve also been fascinated with anything that can fly ( especially birds ) since I was a little kid . The only possession I have from my childhood is a wooden bird call my grandfather left me .
You write in your Artistic Statement about the vision that drives you to create or perhaps capture an image , tell us about that process .
My approach to photography is to see the photo in my mind ’ s eye before I snap the shutter . Occasionally this leads to long quests such as was the case with my photo “ Cranes in the Fire Mist .” I spent 13 years looking for that image and finally found it . My entire process is backwards for some people . For instance , when I am photographing birds I first search for a background and then I patiently wait for a bird to come to me . I now consider myself an ornithologist first and a photographer second , so I know to always start in an environment that is bird friendly but it takes an amazing amount of patience to wait on the birds – unfortunately , patience is something most people simply can ’ t find . All of my photos come this way unless I just get lucky and when it comes to things like photographing eagles , luck rarely enters into it .
Which photos have you taken as a result of that vision ?
Almost all of them . Each shoot takes a lot of research , planning , preparation , travel , and of course MORE patience . Then I find the best situation I can and wait . I see the canvas as my background , imagine the bird there , and wait . I know it ’ s counter-intuitive to most people , but it ’ s the best way for me personally to get predictably good results .
I don ’ t know of many photographers with a vision statement , why did you feel the need to include that ?
Most photographers write an ABOUT ME page and I ’ ve personally decided that it isn ’ t ABOUT ME - it ’ s about the birds . It takes real passion to want to do this work . You really have to love birds . You can ’ t fake that . Since I am telling THEIR stories ( the birds ’ that is ) I decided to write an Artists ’ s Statement that expressed that idea and what it ’ s like to go down the path . I thought this might be more helpful than rattling on about myself .
What are the most challenging birds to photograph and tell us why .
For me , hummingbirds are the hardest because they are small , fast , flighty and they are very territorial . There is also a lot of gear required to photograph them . You need to set up perches , flashes ( usually four to eight ) and a background . Then you need to wait for them to come to a feeder and once they do they begin to defend it against other hummingbirds which leaves you with lots and lots of images of the same bird . That requires you to move a mile or so and start all over . It ’ s time consuming , takes a lot of money and again a lot of patience .
Looking through your portfolio , your eagle shots are quite different to hummingbirds , for those of us who don ’ t know much about bird photography can you explain how you approach two very different types of birds ?
Eagles are actually much easier to photograph as long as you know where to go and when to go there . For one thing they are larger and of course they don ’ t fly backwards . ( In case you didn ’ t know , humminbirds are the only birds in the world that can fly backwards – which makes them that much harder .) In fact , most of my successful bird photography ( including eagle photography ) can be narrowed down to five things - know where to go - when to go - patience and finding the right light and background .
Back to being made an Olympus Visionary , do you have Olympus specific projects or workshops you ’ ll be pursuing ?
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