Today I present to you two great images from two of today’s top photographers. Then I will share with you a few images from yesterday. Created by a photographer who no longer makes images, but still enjoys camera art.

David Hemmings, the leader of Hemming’s photo tours, remains one of the top image makers around. It must be nice to tour the world and bring home images of wildlife that most will not get to see any other way.

Below we have a pair of Red Headed Barbets, photographed in Columbia, South America.

While I may prefer the wilderness to the city, I am grateful to have visited many of North America’s best known cities, coast to coast, and north to south.

One such city was New York. A much better place to see, way back when I did so with y family, than today. Still, this metropolis is a visual jewel.

Below we have the Grand Central area of that city all decked out and gleaming and glowing. With large cities, there is no time like dusk. Lights on, and as mood provoking as can be.

Susan Candelario is the photographer.

Now for a few antiques from me.

There’s nothing like the wild world to provide inspiration, energy and solace, all at the same time. Certainly to the photographer capturing the image, and hopefully to subsequent viewers as well. What I share below, are old and show their age, but I share them with fairly vivid memories of the moment , which hopefully will allow you to feel at least a little like you were there with me.

Bird photography remains one of the most popular uses of cameras…..and usually long lenses.

Showing that birds are often not discriminatory, below you see a female Northern Shoveled (outside), with a male Northern Pintail.

Another male Northern Pintails keeps his feathers properly cleaned and ready for flight if necessary. This very elegant duck species even clean themselves with elegance.

Ah, then there is the male Eastern Bluebird. A living work of art.

Bird photographers often shy away from cloudy sky days, and especially dark days. It is true that the overall tone of such imagery might be a bit somber, but the color saturation of some birds can equal that of flowers or autumn trees.

One of my favorite birds is the Common or Wilson’s Snipe. They are always expressing themselves, and are very active as if they are about to grab a frog or fish out of a pond.

This one was on a sign post along a road, and the bird was vocal and active.

Young birds are always fun. This immature Black-crowned Night Heron is balanced atop the railing of a metal footbridge in a marsh. It is in fact, fishing. At this age, this species is rarely frightened at the presence of humans. I spent a fair amount of time watching, photographing and being entertained by my young friend.

I have no idea what this flower is. It was living in the wild but it might have escaped captivity. Needless to say, flowers are and always will be, a primary subject for photography.

I have made countless wildlife or macro images in parks and other places that were considered “scenic” destinations. Of course, I have made my fair share of landscapes in places thought of as wildlife destinations as well. That is certainly true of Yellowstone N.P. I was fortunate to be there on three occasions in my life. Once as a son, once as a husband, and once with a pal as a photographer. As a photographer, I made no bones about it to my photography buddy that was there with me, I wanted to make at least a few images that show off the visually beauty of the park itself. I decided that I was willing to pass on Old Faithful erupting. That is the ultimate cliché, and if I had to miss something, I was willing to do so there.

This first Yellowstone image was created at the first peak of sunrise on our initial morning a the park. I found the light to be drama personified. Almost eerie, but powerfully beautiful just the same.

One afternoon we had just finished photographing Pronghorns and wild bison when we came upon this scene. This says as much about Yellowstone as a does a does a bison photo.

I tried to work the edges of light, wherever I roamed. Certainly the Badlands of South Dakota were no different.

If memory serves, as the day grew late the color of light, and the textures from shadows, began to change by the moment. That prompted me to search for oblique angles of land mixed with cloudy late day skies.

Eventually the sun will of course disappear behind landforms. As the clouds become more colorful and powerful, what a better time to reduce a landform to shadow and shape.

Sometimes detail, is in the eye (and imagination) of the beholder.

The Good Lord shined on me much as I traveled and created images. Maybe He liked the way I loved and shared His Creation with others.

May God Bless you as well,
Wayne

Deuteronomy 7:9
Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep his commandments.