[The photos here are of animals, scenes and experiences shared by or with fellow photographers and birders.] One of the best things about wildlife photography, outside of spending time with wild animals, is the community you build. A good number of us grew into this pursuit because we connected with animals … which then translated naturally to observing them behind the lens….
The Family Procyon Lotor
[These images were shot in under-exposed conditions and required more post-processing than usual. I took some artistic liberty with selective desaturation to deemphasize the contrasts, etc.] Just a few days into my Seattle relocation, the friends who generously housed us, pointed to some ruckus in a tree. Since ruckus in a tree often signals animal activity, I grabbed my camera…
On Cricket Time, Not Mine
I was reminded of this poem tonight, by a cricket who hopped on my knee. It’s a poem that takes a while the first time you see it … a nonsensical staircase of letters by e.e. cummings:. r-p-o-p-h-e-s-s-a-g-r ~ by e.e. cummings It’s nonsensical until you learn, as OxfordWords blog explains, that e.e. cummings is presenting a “grasshopper…
Meadowhawk Cleared for Landing
I’m taking a summer break from my writing here at the blog, to finish some creative projects. I’ll be back in the fall — maybe a bit sooner. Until then … I’ll be posting some of my favorite photos and photo-tunes in this spot. (Ziggy Marley, today). Thanks, my friends, for sticking around and for…
Postcards from a Freegan Raccoon
If I had a photography motto it might be “follow the crows.” As sentries of the canopy, crows know what’s going on. So I pay attention. If it mattered at all to crows, they could tell me who shattered my car window last month and who stole our Christmas tree (with decorations) back in 1995….
Eating Lily Pads Like Enchiladas
It’s like waiting for a geyser to erupt … or an eclipse. There’s a start time to this endeavor. At 6:45p, we’re told, a North American beaver or two (or more) will swim into this stew of lily pads and systematically take them down for dinner. They have a lodge not far away, this family of…
Rorschach Heron
Great Blue in a single-wing stretch … reflected in Elliott Bay like an ink blot.
Spa Day for a Night Heron
I originally named this portrait “Standing Room Only.” I’d never seen a Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) creep chest-high into a pool — then just stand there forever like a Japanese snow monkey. This pose made me laugh as I watched the heron soak up the swirls of his own private day spa. One of my…
Western Gull + Fishing Line + Rehab
In my previous post, I mentioned a Western Gull I managed to rescue … by true luck. Here’s that story. We were in Los Angeles all of January and part of February, and in the context of a chaotic month, I stole an hour to go strolling on the beach. On my walk over, through…
Favorite Images
I’ve done a “best of” selection at the end of previous years … but this year I’m opting for a favorites list. I didn’t realize there would be a disparity between the photos I consider my best technically versus those I hold close to my heart. There appears to be only a loose correlation between…
