I posted a few months ago about how photography has taught me to see in ways I never did before. Lately I’ve been pondering all the other things I’ve learned as a result of photography. I’m not talking about f-stops, exposure, ISO and such, although I have learned and continue to learn more and more about all those things. What amazes me sometimes are the things I learn almost by accident because of my photography. For example, I learned how to tell the difference between a golden eagle and an immature bald eagle because they look similar and I wanted to know which bird I had photographed.

In this image, you can clearly see the golden feathers on the back of the head and neck which are characteristic of golden eagles, no matter their age. In the image below, no such golden feathers are present, meaning it is a bald eagle which hasn’t matured enough to be “bald” yet.

I’ve learned the weather conditions which cause lenticular clouds to form because I want to be prepared to go out with my camera when these beautiful and photogenic clouds materialize around the local cloud generator–Mount Shasta.

I’ve learned the phases of the moon and the patterns of rise and set times for both the moon and the sun because then I can plan a photo shoot to either capture the moon

or capture the stars in the dark night sky when there is no moon.

I’ve learned the terminology for different types of waterfalls. Not only so that I can describe them accurately, but also so that I know what to expect when making a trip to a waterfall I’ve not been to before. This is a plunge waterfall.

This is a fan waterfall.

And this is a block waterfall.

There are other types, too, as well as “combination” waterfalls that have characteristics of more than one type.

These are just a few of the many things I’ve learned because of my photography. As I continue to challenge myself and photograph new things in new ways, I’m excited about all the things I’m likely to learn along the way. My sincere hope is that for as long as I live, I will never stop learning.