Sometimes I just just feel like sharing photos of a subject that I care deeply about.  Birds certainly fit that criteria. I hope you enjoy the images.

A study in elegance….the male Northern Pintail

I think the male Red-winged Blackbird is an understandable favorite among many wildlife photographers.  As much as I enjoy those males, it is the female of the species that literally never disappoints me. It’s either a great antic, or a great pose every time.

Then there is the “male of the species”

Birds of a feather.  A pair of male Yellow-headed Blackbirds.

Scratchy.  Male Bobolink.

Two of the favorite times of my life were spent sitting in a blind, observing and photographing first Greater Prairie Chickens, and then Sharp-tailed Grouse. We also have Roughed Grouse and Spruce Grouse here in Wisconsin.  I have always enjoyed the shots I made of Sharp-tailed Grouse dancing just at sunrise. I think the out of focus washes of yellow, that were provided by other birds, complement this image of a dancing male.

One of the things about social media, is that you find not only the best of the newer nature photographers, but you are privy to the resurrection of some of yesterday’s photographers.  Such is the case with Scottish photographer LaurieCampbell.

I am happy to say that my post Details & Depth of Field With Birds is slowly gaining in viewership on Composition 101 and Cloudy Day Landscapes.

Living life with passion makes our time here fruitful and gives us things to share with others. My personal faith is my greatest passion, but there have been many other passions as well.  I make no apologies for having things I have cared about and enjoyed. Win or lose, I try to excel at them. Sometimes I lose more than I win, but the passion is not lost. We need people to help inspire us and give us goals to shoot for. Having others who are good at things, helps all of us to be better. I think it is supposed to be that way. When you buy a new car or television do you want it to have been built by someone with a passion who is trying to excel, or someone who thinks that caring about something like this, is unimportant in the grand scheme of things. Unlike many, I have no issues with people who have a passion for creating wealth. My issues arrive if they commit illegal or immoral acts to gain that wealth, or when money (or power) becomes their idol. That last part goes for anybody with any passion. Setting an example of how to create wealth is a valuable example for all of us. We are all put here for a reason and one of those reasons (I believe) is to provide the gift of human inspiration to others. That inspiration can be big and newsworthy, or small and quiet. Each of us has a special purpose.  Our finger prints and our DNA are unique.  So are our personalities.  There are spiritual leaders, and then there are the rest of us. Being one of the “rest of us” is just as important. We find what interests us, and we try to “infect” others with our enthusiasm.  God bless those who have inspired me, it would have been a more difficult (and boring) trip without you.

Thanks for stopping and see you next time.