Let us begin today’s photo journey with three superb photographers, and an incredible image from each of them.

Raymond Barlow made this beautiful flower/bee image, and I am glad he did. It not only shows us the symbiotic relationship between insect and plant, it provides us with as visually stimulating of a view as can be imagined.

Kevin Raber created this powerful image of Palouse Falls in the Palouse country of Washington State. I have been there and it is one of my favorite areas of the Pacific Northwest.  I unfortunately, I did not come home with an image such as the one you see here. I am quite glad that Kevin did.

I love the African image you see below. I imagine that it can be tough to be short, but being tall has its drawbacks as well. Gary N. Maloch is the photographer and the image is technically flawless, provides natural history info, and it touches the heart as well.

None of the remaining images on this page will equal what we have seen above, but then the photographer (yours truly) has long retired and disappeared into the past. In other words, the images below were made a long time ago and were selected for this post, based on nothing more than for one reason or another, they jumped out at me.

One of the first things that came to my mind when I saw the landscape and waterfalls in my files, was the word contrast.

Most photographers hate contrast, where I will accept it under certain circumstances, and even seek it out under others.

I love color contrasts such as warm against cool, and only sometimes I like highlight contrasts, as in bright spots and deep shadows.  I also often sought out and hopefully properly exploited texture contrasts such as smooth against rough.

The first image below was made in west Texas.  There are both color and light contrasts going on here. While I could see more detail in the shadows with my eyes  than my camera captured, it was a very high contrast scene.

This image is “on the border” for me. I can at least see some value in it. Low morning sidelight skimmed the surface and fully lit some areas, while leaving others in deep shadow. I like the drama here, and I like the contrast between
cool blue and warm grasses.

This waterfall which was photographed in Smokey Mountains  N.P., was dancing in and out between light and shadow. That was not what attracted me to the scene, but am okay with it.

Enough of our journey into contrast except to say, the image below displays the value of soft, low contrast light. This Lily was evenly lit via a soft overcast sky. That kept the values of the flower and the out of focus green background close to the same.

High contrast, low contrast or something in-between, we can put to use whatever when out making pictures.

This wet gull feather which was deposited on a beach by its owner, was to me, the sort of subject I was always looking for. Yes, I ended the last sentence with a preposition, almost all of us do that fairly regularly.

Soft feather, wet surf, and hard stone are in fact a type of texture contrasts. I was attracted to entire “mini scene”.

Initially I considered putting the Osprey image in with the contrast images. There is some strong contrast going on here, but I felt that the photo was mainly about the birds. Yes there are two birds there.

The two years that I worked this nesting sight were a delight for me. Eventually the platform was torn down by local government.

Father Fox!!  The hardest working most diligent wildlife father I have ever known, and I have known a lot of them. All night and most of the day he would roam the city, yes the city, hunting squirrels, rabbits, groundhogs, and occasionally a sandwich from a garbage can. His five babies and his wife were well fed.

Finally, reflections of what once was. A Song Sparrow, some wetland reeds, and its reflection. Any day doing that, was a good day.

Enjoy and God Bless,
Wayne