A young wildlife photographer from Vacaville is proving that patience pays off.
Brandon Fien, 15, will often wake up at 5:30 a.m. to ride his bike to Pena Adobe Park and set up his Canon 7D Mark II.
The action he wants to capture might only happen for a minute or two in the six or so hours he waits.
“I can’t control nature, so I have to wait for what nature does,” he said.
The Vacaville High School sophomore picked up his mom’s old camera just two years ago, when he quit baseball and was looking for a new hobby.
“I hunted all my life with my dad, so I wanted to experience the hunt in a different way,” Fien said.
On his most recent trip, it was foggy, offering a good opportunity to add a new element and emotion to his photography.
His dad, two brothers and new black labrador Crash were with him.
Crash was retrieving every bird perfectly, and it’s rare for the whole family to go on a hunt together, Fien explained.
He captured the image — Crash carrying the bird in the foreground with his father standing in the foggy background.
A few months ago, hunting brand Tanglefree contacted Fien through his photography Instagram account, which has more than 5,000 followers.
He was only 14 at the time, but the company was so impressed that they worked out an agreement to add him and his father to their professional staff.
“It’s just nice to have a company that is really a family too,” Randi, Fien’s mom, said.
Through Tanglefree, Fien has been put in touch with other companies and publications that publish his photos.
One of his images of a white-fronted goose appeared on the cover of the most recent edition of Christian Waterfowlers Association’s digital magazine. Three more of his photos were published inside.
Fien never thought it would happen so quickly.
“It was kind of surreal,” he said. “If you said a year ago that I’d be where I am now, I’d just laugh at you.”
To collaborate on his craft, Fien talks with fellow photographers on Facebook and Instagram.
“We discuss how we can make each other better,” he said.
In addition to getting published, Fien will be the subject of a documentary film by Jake Latendresse, who will visit from Colorado in December.
The film will focus on his age, because it is uncommon for someone this young to be producing the photography that he is.
To check out his images, visit brandonfienphoto.weebly.com.