Today’s post is all about sharing. Well, at least it is about sharing the work of nine fine photographers.

Le’s begin with some of the winners of Mike Moat’s annual macro contest. Mike is one of the best known close-up photographers in the business.  I’ve brought three of his winners that I enjoyed very much. He had to sort through over 1,000 pictures this year. You can access his contest page via the link above, and then see all of the winners.

Noel Wright

Guy G. Hawkins

Patricia Brundage

As we move on to landscapes this awesome shot of The Subway, in Zion N. P., Utah was created by Rick Fraguero.

Ian Plant is an elite landscape photographer and this shot from Olympic N. P. shows why.

I have shown Greg Vaughn images before and this beautiful sunrise HDR is great example of his style..

Finally we move on to wildlife photography, beginning with this picture by Denise Ippolito. It’s not often you can get action and elegance in a single image but this photo of some very elegant Least Terns accomplishes that.

Every wildlife photographer is searching for a great pose, or a special moment of action. Jack Zievis caught one with this fine picture of a Carolina Chickadee

Finally we have the great bird photography David Hemmings switching to Alaskan Brown Bears. He, or better said the bear, causes all of us to gasp a breath of air as it comes straight at us. While I was a “don’t get involved” sort of wildlife photographer, I never left the scene when they came to me. I do not know how long David stood his ground or if the bear veered off this path, but I do know that David returned home safely.

Thank you for stopping by and taking a few moments to share these special images and great photographers with me.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you moms out there!

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When I view the images of others, I usually pay attention to where and when they made their pictures. I do that today to see what the trends are. I did that when I was an active photographer so I knew where the pictures were. It gave me a leg up on the likelihood that I would get some great images. Just the same I never went to those places, or followed things like bird reports, as much as many other photographers did. Photography for me was about the adventure, and the act of discovery. I would have quit years ago if all I did was go to where the top photographers went to make their landscapes, or followed the local bird report (and bird photographers) to where the action was. I always and I mean always left time to explore on my own. There is nothing like finding your own great bird, or discovering a special place that nobody talks about that has superb landscape opportunities. When you go your own way, you will indeed not always find the great shot. Your adventure, your exploration, and your satisfaction when do you find that bird or location will be well worth any misses you experience. Every once in while when everybody is headed for “the new great place” to go, travel a different route.  Even when I traveled to national parks or to well-known national wildlife refuges, I left time to visit the lesser known parks or explore the countryside for landscapes, or birds and other animals.

One of the great things about macro photography is that there are very few specific locations to go to. Oh that rare species of orchid, or that hard to find butterfly may be reported at a location that will bring a handful of photographers in, but mostly you will explore and find your own subjects and locations. I cannot stress enough, the value of including close-up photography as part of your photographic activities.

Don’t let yourself forget that there is more to photography than making the same pictures everybody else does. In fact there can be more to nature photography, than making pictures at all. The personal experience and the act of discovery are just as important. You may even find that what you discover is yourself.                                                                 Wayne

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