In photography being prepared can get you many shots you would otherwise miss. It stands to reason you need to have a camera with you, but what more do you need?
When I am driving, canoeing, or hiking I have a camera next to me or around my neck set for the next shot. How do I know what the next shot will be? I don’t, but if I have plenty of time to adjust my settings, frame, focus, and maybe use a tripod, then it doesn’t matter how I had my camera set before I decided to take the next picture. When the settings for the next shot matter is when I must shoot the next shot fast, with no time to adjust anything except perhaps to zoom and aim. Like when a moose ambles across the road. So I assume the next shot will be taken quickly, handheld, in the current light, of something moving.
So what settings do I use? Aperture priority with the lens wide open, a high enough ISO for a reasonable shutter speed given the existing light, AF-C, VR/IS on, and multi-shot shutter mode are the main settings.
This is how I had my camera set a few days ago as it sat on the floor of our canoe between Jann and me. We were passing through “the narrows” between shore and an island when a boat sped past. I didn’t react as fast as I would have liked, but I did react fast enough to get the series of shots in the show below. They were shot at f/5.6, ISO 400, EC=+1/3, 1/1000 to 1/5000 second (set automatically by the camera), and with a 28-300mm lens set at around 100mm. The sequence here lasted less than 6 seconds.
