I love turtles and certainly “Snappers” are among the most interesting.
I was especially enamored with the moss and other debris that this one
was carrying around with it.

The simplest things can transform a standard wildlife picture into
something more.

Little critters like insects and such, are animals too.  At least in
the sense of “animal, vegetable or mineral“.  I know there are people
today who think that the only animals are mammals.

Whether you carefully skulk around in a field with camera and tripod
in the early morning, attempting to capture (photographically
speaking) chilled “little critters”, or you pursue them when they are
active, either by drop, stop and shoot with a tripod, or tripod free
with electronic flash, insect photography is both challenging, and
rewarding.

I look at macro photography of small animals in various ways.
Sometimes it is the same as when I attempt to photograph active birds,
and sometimes I view it in much the same way as I would as if I was carefully set
up to compose a flower photo.

I always took them as they came, and accepted what they gave me. With
admittedly, some fairly hard work on my part.

When I found these two Red Fox kit siblings resting in the sand not
far from Lake Michigan, to me the only thing that was missing was to
capture both of those pretty faces. Walla, ask and ye shall receive.

They remained cooperative for some time.

I have only spent a few hours of my life photographing marmots. These
are Yellow-bellied Marmots in Colorado. I have been sharing those few
pictures for too many years to count.

These “youngsters” are playing not fighting.

I have precious few images of Green Herons, once called Green-backed
Herons. That makes the few photos that I have accumulated over the
years even more important, even when they are less than perfect as is
the case with this one. Some eye-popping light is what’s missing here
but we take what we are given.

I doubt I have ever shared this one before.

A Western Grebe, particularly in winter, is not the sort of critter
that one dreams of, because of its lack of coloration. But when you
photograph them in the Upper Midwestern state of Wisconsin, it brings
birders out in force. They do not belong here.

Lack of color not withstanding, he/she put on a nice show with its leg
stretching routine.

What is she ( I think this is a female) looking at. Perhaps the rabbit
that ran across an open patch of snow right after she landed.  Snowy
Owls made many of my winters fun and productive.

Honeymoon Hotel?
Two happy pairs (one male and one female each) of Purple Martins check
out the surroundings. I am guessing that they are all about to go out
and catch a bite to eat. Maybe a dragonfly or two.

I have known photographers who would never make the image above. Not
wild enough. The truth is, along with action and portraits, images
that tell stories and show habitat, even when it is man-made habitat,
are important.

To educate, humor or inspire, any photograph always has a chance to succeed.

On a cold winter’s day, a flock of Cedar Waxwings gave me some great
opportunities for pictures.  When they began to move into some nice
photogenic poses near the snow, I clicked, clicked and clicked.  It
was near Christmas when I was given this special present, and I said
thanks for the gift and moved on.

In my opinion, what makes photography great, is the wide variety of
subjects both in and out of nature.  With that said, it’s pretty
difficult to find a subject that provides more fun and adventure, than
wild animals.

“ We are the sum total of who we’ve known, where we’ve been, what we
believe in and stand for, and what God’s plan for us is.”

Wayne Nelson