Today is one of those posts where the images are not old, they’re really old. They were not born on film, but most are early digitals.

Bird, birds, everywhere birds.

Our avian friends are one of the most popular photography subjects in existence. They are the only subjects that some photographers photograph. That would never suit me, but they were certainly among my favorites.

Ah there’s nothing like a song at sunrise. The colors of sunrise and the “crooner” type pose of this Song Sparrow made for a nice start to the day.

Emergence!! 

I was thrilled to capture the likeness of this male Goldeneye Duck as it arose from the depths, covered with water.

The action required a shutter speed of 1/640th sec for a sharp image. An aperture of 5.6 with a 500mm lens made for a rather shallow depth of field. The fact that the duck was pretty much parallel to the camera helped keep everything sharp.

Reflections.

 Images that reflect a subject in water are always cool, but they present their own challenges. The water was producing just enough movement that it made the reflection a “bit wobbly”, if you will. I find the photo  a bit more artful with such a reflection. It is in fact reality, as this is the way it presented itself to me.

The bird is a Lesser Yellowlegs.

Common subjects are just as much fun as scarcer ones, but often the reward is higher for the less commonly found ones.

White Pelicans do spend summer in the state where I live, but Browns are rarely if ever found here. There was no such issue on the Texas Gulf. The Whites and the Brown were only a few yards apart from each other. Getting a new subject can be exiting and rewarding.

I was thrilled to be able to photograph this North American Badger. It was made in a remote area of north central Colorado. The state I reside in is called the Badger State. That moniker has more to do with our iron mining industry than the actual animal, although they do exist here.

This lizard was photographed in west Texas. It was at least as curious about me as I was about it. If only it would have had a camera. When I traveled, I have never had to say that.
7

The seasons.

Every season produces great opportunities for photographers. 

We are enveloped in the summer season now so below you find two summer images.  Each has its own feeling or mood.  Photographing the seasons up close and personal, can be a joyous thing.

Never pass up an opportunity.

Before you know it, summer will be a memory.  Seasons come and seasons go. To me, autumn is the “quiet season”. Grand landscapes, and especially (for me), intimate landscapes as well as close-ups can all produce statements about how you feel about fall.

The moon as a subject.

My only real intent when photographing this full moon, was to capture the texture at least a little bit. That meant  not overexposing the picture. An exposure straight from the bright moon, causing detail rich underexposure, and then opening up the lens for more but not too much exposure, was my method. It seems counterintuitive to open up to get detail on something so bright, but because the moon was bright, I dropped the exposure to compensate too much. How did I know how much to open up?  In the editing phase, I clicked on the nighttime sky background, and flipped the area to be worked on to the moon, and then added and subtracted exposure until I finally got what I wanted. 

In photography as in life, there is always more to learn.

——————————————————————————————————-

To fear the Lord is to understand who He is, and what He represents. Learning is wisdom and that wisdom can save you.  There is good fear and bad fear. God presents us with the opportunity for the good kind.

Proverbs 1:7 KJV
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

God Bless,
Wayne