The Photo Code - Let's Decode the Acronyms

Now that the original texting generation has transitioned into the workplace our lives seem to be overrun with shortcuts.  It seems that there is an entire generation incapable of utilizining the entirety of the English language.  On occasion though I do find this method of communication to be very affective.  Why are we talking about this to open a wildlife photography blog you ask, well let me SIOFU.  

You are combing the beaches of Florida with a group of shorebird photographers when one of the crew yells out WTF!!  While one may be initially offended you must consider context.  While in the civilian word this acronym carries with it an entirely different connotation to birders it is simply an inquiry, “Whats that Flock”.  Come along with me as we work on translating more of this photographers code.  

These are the commonly used acronyms like you might write on a map that you mark up for a friend:

SRE - Subject Rich Environment, you can find birds to bears and everything in between in an SRE.

SOO - This is not a target species but you won’t pass it up, Subjects of Opportunity may include mink, fisher, marten, kangaroo rats or any reptile or amphibian you can imagine.  

LBJ - another birding term the Little Brown Jobbies are the bird species that you have to identify when you get home and can sit down with your ID book and key the species out.  LBJ’s are still commonly misidentified and you do not want to use this abbreviation if you happen to be photographing with a serious birder lest you face ridicule for the remainder of the trip and never get invited out again.  

PFL - If you enjoy having a location to yourself you’ll want to avoid Photographer Flooded Locations.  These are green spaces in metropolitan areas or easily accessible national parks where tripods are stacked leg to leg and one has to set up carefully as there is no ability to turn or rotate your gimbal.  

FNG - The Fancy New Guy is easy to identify, he or she has all the newest gear (usually rented) and takes everything into the field just in case.  The telltale sign however is that every photographic opportunity is followed by a burst that ends with an exasperated tirade of expletives.  The fancy new guy enjoys the opportunity to shoot at 20 FPS but does not understand the limitations of using slow cards in the new camera requiring them to spend the majority of their time trying to figure out why the camera is locking up so frequently while their buffer attempts to clear itself.  

OG - In distinct contrast to the FNG the OG (Old Ass Photographer) never says a word, if you pay attention to light and animals behavior however you will notice that the OG has already slid into the location that will give he or she that best angle in the best light, not where the subject is but where they end up.  

PDA - You may see this on a social media post, Please Don’t Ask typically refers to a location.  It may be because the location was passed on in confidence or one that was privately discovered, either way its one that you want to respect if you every hope to earn the trust to discover its hidden truth.  

In the field with a group leader one will want to keep these in mind, the most important indicator of pending success however is silence, when the abbreviations stop and nothing is being said, ready your camera and find the subject that the leader obviously sees.