Diary of an Image

This image has an interesting history.
2002 - first year of sitting in a blind to get sharp-tails on the lek, no usable images
2003-2005 - at least two days per year, 3 hours per day. no usable images.
2006 - best year for activity on lek. this image along with several fight shots recorded
2006 - image scanned and donated for use in wildlife education
2012 - request for use, fee negotiated
2013 - publication

Several lessons were learned from this image.

• I'm glad I kept my day job, the use fee will buy a tank of gas and lunch at McDonald's
• Donation made it possible for a PR agency to view the image
• A simple image may not be simple to obtain
• To clone the blade of grass or not: I left the grass as is opting for a photojournalist approach.
• The best part of this image is the memory of the morning it was taken.