Diverse:  mixed,wide-ranging,different,various,assorted,miscellaneous.

I guess that if my nature photography deserves a title it would be diverse.  There simply is not a subject in (and sometimes out of) nature that does not interest me.  Most of what I find stimulates me visually and that will always set me in motion. 

I think it is perfectly natural for all of us to have favorites.  Favorite people in our lives.  A favorite pair of shoes.  A favorite photography subject.  When I taught photography workshops I would always try to feature the subject my student preferred, but I would attempt to preach that keeping an open mind will bring you even better images.  The care and discipline needed to wedge you and your tripod amongst the dew covered grasses to photograph a dragonfly without knocking the dew or the dragonfly to the ground, will serve you well with every photographic subject.  The slow deliberate composition you may create while working a grand landscape will teach you to be thoughtful of composition even when time is short.  The reaction time needed to stop that bird in mid-air, while composing your picture and making sure you have the proper exposure will surely help you to deal with those serendipitous moments that will otherwise rapidly pass you by.   You may also fall in love with many of those images of “foreign” subjects.

The images below are just a celebration of non-discriminatory diversity.

Sometimes it is just so simple.  A fallen autumn leaf and a covering of frost.  Add some dramatic light and you have a subject worthy of your time.

I am captivated by ice or snow with liquid water.  Be it the slow-moving waters of a small waterfall, or the reflective qualities of a little pond.

Whenever possible I try to give dragonflies and butterflies a similar photographic treatment as I do with birds.  The clean and simple philosophy is a powerful one that works well with all of those pretty flying creatures.

Waterfalls and rivers were among my first photographic subjects in nature.  When I want photos of eastern rivers at their best, the Smoky Mts. of Tennessee/North Carolina is a dream location.  In fact I label my pictures from that region as “Smoky Mt. Dreams”  Below are two such shots.

I have a great time making pictures of Black-crowned Night Herons.  I have previously displayed many photos of an immature member of this species that I found at Horicon Marsh in 2009.  The bird was well into the marsh on Federal Dike Rd. when I began making pictures from my car.  I hoped it would come closer.  It did!  My final images with my 500mm lens were eye shots.  The heron kept coming until my 200mm was too much.  I tried to make an 18mm image from my car but my friend disappeared.  I had lost sight of my subject.  Finally I scooted over to the passenger seat of my car to find my feathered friend right against the passenger door, standing up on its toes (so to speak) trying to look into my vehicle.  I do believe that I could have taken it for a ride if I had chosen to.  Below are a couple of mature birds.  Our top bird does indeed have two legs.  Like most waders they can stand on one leg for a very long time.

Here we are still in September and a ways off from any color change, and I have already posted an entire gallery of fall color shots on this blog.  I just can’t help myself when it comes to autumn.

Part of the job of a nature stock photographer is to show those symbiotic relationships that benefit multiple nature subjects.  Such is below as we see a Brown-headed Cowbird looking for a lunch of tics and other insects while its vehicle, a Whitetail Deer, happily waits for the relief it will bring.

My next two images are certainly not shown to display any photographic expertise on my part.  These images come as close as I come to making snapshots.  I have photographed Native American petroglyphs and rock paintings in Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. The pictures below were made deep in a deadend Utah canyon and belong to the Ute tribe.  The Indian markings on this wall  span  time from ancient to modern.  I do not have a good enough knowledge of the meaning of the markings on this wall to pass along that info.

I have written much about places that have become special friends to me.  I have visited them many times and they are as much my friend as the people in my life.  Sometimes we get lucky (luck is usually made) and find wildlife that we get to photograph several times.  They become Xtra special friends.  As I write this some foxes come to mind as well as both Great-horned and Snowy Owls.   While I could not testify under oath, I am quite sure our Red-tailed Hawk below is the same bird I have been photographing for four years.  She has lightened a bit over the years but can be found on the same stretch of powerline several times a week.  When I pull up with my car she generally gives me one quick glance as if to make sure it is me and that is the last time she will even look my way for that morning.  Just like my human friends.  She does have a mate and he is just a little bit more concerned with my presence.   Below our hawk photo is an image of a special place that I have written about too many times I am sure.  I just happened to “trip” over this image that I did not know I had so I thought I would share it.  Morgan Falls.

I spent some time this morning visiting a variety of blogs.  Some hard-core opinions, some general musings and some photo blogs.    Then I began to cruise the various posts (that I can) on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and others.  I always notice how we humans create a bit of a facade or public image so everyone will like us and think that we are intelligent.  Then something happens to bring out our emotions.  Anger, joy, humor, it really does not matter, we will drop that facade in a heart beat.  I am subject to all of those same actions.  I contemplated whether  I enjoy reading postings on this thing we call the World Wide Web, more when we are in the mode of public image or emotional honesty.  Of course there are also those that share every detail of their private lives on a daily basis.  It is a decision for each of us but one thing for sure is that nothing any of us put out for consumption can ever be taken back.  Just a thought.

Reflecting on Four Special Places  https://nelsonearthimages.wordpress.com/2010/09/08/reflecting-on-four-special-places/

Thanks and I really appreciate your stopping by,

Wayne