For me, catch-as-catch-can photography has always meant living in the moment and reacting to photographic opportunities as they reveal themselves. There can be special feelings of creativity… spontaneity… and sometimes excitement that happen when we work in challenging conditions, or have to respond quickly to unplanned situations.

I suppose ‘catch-as-catch-can’ photography may be viewed by some folks as a ‘seat of the pants’ approach. Given the lack of detailed preparation and planning that is involved with ‘catch-as-catch-can’ photography… this is likely a fair assessment.

NOTE: Click on images to enlarge. To view this article in a range of other languages click on the Canadian flag in the upper right corner.

On Canada Day I visited Hendrie Valley with no particular objective in mind, other than to see what opportunities Mother Nature would send my way. The morning started out dull, grey and overcast… with very little bird activity.

It turned out to be a very slow morning in terms of opportunities. I had once chance to photograph a green heron in flight that was 59.2 metres (~195 feet) away. I fired off a quick burst of images… and used a very aggressive crop to create the image above.

I also had a single opportunity to photograph an egret in flight. This bird was 63.5 metres away (~208 feet).

Even small birds were is short supply. The red-winged blackbird taking flight in the image above, happened to be at a perfect distance (i.e. ~16 metres, 52.5 feet) so I could photograph this action as a full frame capture without any cropping.

Terns which are usually reliable subjects this time of year, only appeared intermittently at best.

Things were so quiet on the bird front at Hendrie Valley that I started searching for basking turtles and other subject matter. Catch-as-catch-can photography is all about adapting to the local conditions.

My best catch-as-catch-can image at Hendrie Valley was the mute swan above. The bird was swimming through a somewhat darker background. I quickly adjusted my exposure compensation to -0.7 EV and composed my image to include the reflection of the swan on the surface of the water. The RAW file didn’t take too much work in post to increase the contrast and darken the background. The result was a pleasing ‘emerging from darkness‘ interpretation of the scene.

After about an hour and a half I decided to go to the Royal Botanical Gardens to see what opportunities may be present. The morning was still overcast so there weren’t very many dragonflies in flight at that point. So, I did some handheld in-camera focus stacking practice images of frogs and dragonflies at the natural pond instead.

Having some success with handheld in-camera focus stacking technology, I decided to create a few practice images using Handheld Hi Res (HHHR). Two sample images, along with 100% crops, follow.

Catch-as-catch-can photography can feel unfocused and undisciplined much of the time… and it’s those attributes that make this approach so powerful.

Having to adapt instantaneously when out in the field is one of the best ways to improve our working knowledge of our gear… and hone our photographic skills. Many of the unplanned photographic opportunities that we find are fleeting, and challenge us to apply our knowledge, experience, and skills quickly.

Catch-as-catch-can photography can also help us to become acclimatized to working under pressure. It can encourage us to see the world around us through different visual perspectives.

Above all else catch-as-catch-can photography can be an adventure of discovery of the world around us… and of ourselves.

Technical Note

Photographs were captured handheld using camera equipment  noted in the EXIF data. All images were created from RAW files or out-of-camera jpegs using my standard process in post. This is the 1,472 article published on this website since its original inception in 2015.

How you can keep this website advertising free

My intent is to keep this photography blog advertising free. If you enjoyed this article and/or my website and would like to support my work, you can purchase an eBook, or make a donation through PayPal (see Donate box below). Both are most appreciated. Sometimes all we need as photographers is a bit of inspiration. We hope you can find some of that inside Finding Visual Expression II.

Buy

Finding Visual Expression II is available for download for an investment of $11.99 CDN. The best viewing experience of this eBook will be at 100% using Adobe Acrobat Reader.

You may be interested in all of the 30 concepts covered in both of these related eBooks. If so, you may want to also consider Finding Visual Expression.

Buy

Finding Visual Expression is available for download for an investment of $11.99 Cdn. The best viewing experience of this eBook will be at 100% using Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Our other eBooks include Images of Ireland, New Zealand Tip-to-Tip, Nikon 1: The Little Camera That Could, Desert & Mountain Memories, Images of Greece, Nova Scotia Photography Tour, and a business leadership parable… Balancing Eggs.

If you click on the Donate button below you will find that there are three donation options: $7.50, $10.00 and $20.00. All are in Canadian funds. Plus, you can choose a different amount if you want. You can also increase your donation amount to help offset our costs associated with accepting your donation through PayPal. An ongoing, monthly contribution to support our work can also be done through the PayPal Donate button below.

You can make your donation through your PayPal account, or by using a number of credit card options.

Word of mouth is the best form of endorsement. If you like our website please let your friends and associates know about our work. Linking to this site or to specific articles is allowed with proper acknowledgement. Reproducing articles, or any of the images contained in them, on another website or in any social media posting is a Copyright infringement.

Article and images are Copyright 2025 Thomas Stirr. All rights reserved. No use, duplication or adaptation of any kind is allowed without written consent. If you see this article reproduced anywhere else it is an unauthorized and illegal use. Posting comments on offending websites and calling out individuals who steal intellectual property is always appreciated!