Today’s post is “owned” by three great image makers who are kind
enough to leave their photos in the Earth Images Flickr group, aptly
named Earth Images.

There was a time when the majority of the world’s greatest landscape
artists made sure to photograph America’s legendary Grand Canyon. This
despite the fact that millions of tourists stopped there to make
snapshots. With the advent of digital photography, which turned tens
of millions of people into photographers, almost nobody with serious
image making skills stops there anymore.

Flickr friend David Renwald has indeed stopped at the canyon and he
proves that with a little patience for great light, and the technical
and artistic knowledge to create great imagery, the Grand Canyon still
belongs atop the list of this planet’s best landscape photography
destinations.

This is a powerful image by a fine artist.

I do not believe I have ever shared a photo of a bat before. Another
Flickr friend named Yanis has given me the opportunity to change that.
I personally, have never made an image of a bat.

Many years ago I was cutting zzzzs or sleeping if you will, in my
bedroom in the wee hours of the morning, and my dog Sarah awoke me as
she charged across the bedroom and made an airborne attempt to catch
something. I thought, must be a big ole fly. She made another
(thankfully failed) attempt to  jump to the top of the window curtains
but failed again. I arose and turned the light on only to see a bat
fly across the room again. Thankfully, Sarah’s leaping powers were
once again insufficient to catch this acrobatic bat.

I grabbed an extra sheet from my dresser, bundled it up, and caught
the bat on those curtains, opened the window and tossed it into the
freedom of the summer’s night.

That’s as close as I have ever come to a wild bat. I have however,
many, many times watched them at dusk as they filled the summer skies
in search of mosquitoes and other little flying critters.

Bats are an important part of the wild ecosystem and are our friends
not our enemies

Yanis has given each of us the opportunity to view a wild bat up close
and personal, and I thank him for that.

I love lizards especially Iguanas. Tori Andews captured this flawless
image of a very beautiful Iguana. Tori is a top shooter regardless of
the subject and this is just one small example.

Thank you Tori.

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Springing Forward

After displaying today’s featured images above, I questioned the
wisdom of sharing some of my own very, very old pictures, but why not?

I try here at earth Images to keep photographically  abreast of each
season, and the season at hand is spring.  The images below are of
course old, but were all made in spring.

Dragonflies are really a summer subject but my records show that this
“choked with dew” dragonfly was actually photographed in June.

The only thing required to find dragonflies in this condition is to
get up early after a damp and dewy night, and walk the fields and
forests, and do so very, very slowly. Then set up a tripod, very, very
slowly. The get into position and shoot, very, very slowly. Then pray
that after all of that time, the dragonfly is still there, and that
all that dew hasn’t dried up. I have made hundred of images like this.

In these northern latitudes where I reside, migratory shorebirds are a
common occurrence throughout spring. If you are a nature photographer
who records (translates) the seasons via your camera, spring is your
busiest time.

The bird below is a Spotted Sandpiper and the image was created along
the shores of Lake Michigan.

There is really nothing quite like springtime in the Smoky Mts. of
Tennessee. This is a view of Cades Cove and the little white church
that resides there.

There is no more harbinger of spring, than spring flowers.

The first image is that of a wildflower called the Shooting Star.  The
next are garden Tulips, and the final flower picture is of two wild
Geraniums and of course, a tree.

For me, late spring in these parts means one thing above all, nest
digging and egg laying by the Common Snapping Turtle. The timing is
similar for Painted Turtles and Blanding’s Turtles.

Enjoy your spring and make lots of pictures,

Wayne