Today’s theme is variety, something I always tried to “see” and photograph.

I doubt I need to tell any of you who have been here before, that I
love contrast. Contrast can be a winning (or losing) aspect of image
making. Most of the disciplines of photography transfer from one
subject to the next.

Variety of contrast.

“Edge of the day contrast” of both light (sunlight and shadows) and
color (warm and cool), is the kind of drama that I always looked for
when  I was pursuing landscapes. I have lost so much sleep in order to
find images like the Badlands M.P. South Dakota photo below, so that
I do not have enough years left to ever make it up.

Close-up work can also benefit from contrast. This desert mud comes
alive with dimension and texture because of contrast. The late day
sidelight creates little shadows alongside those clumps of mud. That
makes the texture obvious, and creates the “illusion” of a third
dimension in a two dimensional photograph.

I love trees when their skeleton is showing. Dirty me!! Some drama producing
shadows helped to create contrast between the well-lit and darker
areas of both tree and sky.

A little dappled sunshine, some nice dew, and a background that is in
deep shade.

Notice that the plant itself has both sunlight and shade. The difference in exposure
between those two entities on the leaf itself was much closer together than it
was between the plant and the deep, dark background.

Contrast of light and shadow can also be problematic. Animals can
become more of a mystery than we want them to be when a portion of their
face is in shadow.

I could edit this picture of a male House Finch to bring back a little
more facial detail than this image shows. I didn’t do that mainly
because I wanted the image “as is” so I could use it for an example.
With that said, I can actually live with the shadowed face. I still
enjoy the drama and besides, it is not like I don’t have images of
this species without shadows if I want to share them.

Variety can indeed be the “spice of life”’

I have never had more fun creating images than I have with various
families of Red Fox. This is a young mother with one of her five kits.

The closer we move into their world, the more we feel a part of it. I
of course used long lenses and never actually interfered with their
lives.

There are lots of Prairie Dogs in the American west. The Black-tailed
is the most common species, but I have made far more images of the
White-tailed. I caught this Black-tail in North Dakota one morning.

To me, the Black-tails are always so chubby they tend to look like they
are in a zoo. This was made in Theodore Roosevelt N.P..

A new species or subspecies of anything always got the adrenaline
going in the stock photographer that resides deep inside of me. It
also left me with thousands of memories and occasionally a few dollars
in my pocket.

I captured (photographically speaking) this pair of wild turkeys the
same day and location as the Prairie Dogs.

I will leave you with a spider and some dew. Why not. I have spent a
lot of time with spiders (as a photographer, not socially) and have
found them both interesting, and to be great subjects.

Now for other things.

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Candace Owens, as usual, continues to put the undeniable truth into
simple terms. This Tweet, says it all!!
Candace Owens
@RealCandaceO
·
Sep 4
To the people who fly private, but lecture us about the environment.
To the people who live in gated communities, but lecture us about building walls.
To the people who travel with armed guards, & lecture us about guns:

Your bottomless hypocrisy is why America chooses Trump.
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I’m not so smart or arrogant as to presumptuously think that I am the
one to suggest to others what to think or do, but then again I have
never let that stop me.

When given the chance to speak out (voting etc.), vote for freedom.

Let freedom ring (with apologies to Martina McBride).

Too many have given everything to win and preserve our freedom. It
would be an insult to their memories to give in to repression and
elect a government of political elitists who would presume to dictate
to our most honest, productive citizens what you can say, if you are or are not
allowed to defend yourself, and how you are to lead your lives.

If you have watched any of the current debates, you know what is at stake.

Once again, let freedom ring!!

May God truly Bless,
Wayne