First let us begin today’s post with an out standing image from photography great Jim Zuckerman.

This amazing image was made in Namibia, Africa

The Art of The Pose

One of the things that makes birds so artful as photography subjects is they strike poses that are in an of themselves, art. They can’t help themselves.

Even with a standard “ground pose”, birds like this immature Robin appear to be taking direction from the photographer. The photographer if course was me and I deserve no praise for that pose of curiosity.

My long 500mm lens helped flatten out the perspective and made it look as though I was almost laying on the ground in front of the bird. I was actually in my car.

Black-crowned Night Herons are wading birds not swimming birds.  Just the same, this one waded in deep enough to prove to me that it is capable of swimming.

In this case “my model” seemed to want to strike an interesting enough pose to satisfy me.

Wading birds can be artful models when they are out of the water as well, No doubt this Green Heron is looking for fish or other water bound critters for a snack, but come on now, could he/she strike a more artful pose even if I was giving the bird direction?

This Yellow-rumped Warbler stopped and posed at a portion of this branch that was its most artful location. The bird posed was as though it had been to modeling school.

Some species of birds, including waterfowl, just look (and pose) artistically. The male Northern Pintail duck is naturally artful in everything it does.

Then again!  This male Canvasback Duck looked funny (minus tail feathers during the molt), and posed like he had spotted a duck he did not like.

We take em as we find em.

The good Lord is the universe’s greatest designer. It seems as though winter is His favorite season.

Close-ups of ice and frost were one of my favorite subjects.  It meant I spent some cold days kneeling in the snow, but it was worth it. The images below are certainly not the best of this subject that I have shared with you, but I found them to be interesting.

There’s nothing like finding a patch of ice, looking down, and capturing whatever designs you see.

I always checked out tree limbs, areas around doorways, and roof edges in shelters in county parks, when snow and a thaw was followed by some more cold weather.

Frost is a delight for nature photographers. This frost covered a delicate but twisted little branch and I was glad it did.

Of course animals exist in winter as we see with this snowbound young Whitetail Deer.

Birds, at least those who choose to live and spend their winter in northern climates, also make for great subjects this time of year. This Cedar Waxwing held to my idea that birds create their own nice poses, as this one kept its feet warm by using a small twig as a platform.

There are endless subjects for photographers. Curiosity is the trait that will bring the majority of those subjects to our lenses.  Photographers, particularly outdoor photographers, should be fed by their need to see and need to know.

Certainly birds and winter provide much to be curious about.

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.” (1 Peter 3:18)

Have a great day and may God Bless,
Wayne