Showcasing the beauty of Mother Nature
Cold temperatures and sunny skies this week have made for a some beautiful walks. I was delighted Tuesday to see a pileated woodpecker for the first time in a few years; I was even happier when it decided to fly from the thicker trees to an electrical post, and perch in the sunlight long enough for me to take a few photos.
I hope you enjoy my selections from this week – have a great evening!
A trio of wildlife photos for this week’s topic – Trio.
Enjoy!
Wishing all my American friends a very Happy Thanksgiving.
One of the members of the local photography group I’m in recently posted a prompt asking people to pick one word that describes themselves as a photographer or their photographic style, and why. I spent some time thinking about it recently, and I think the best word for me is fortunate. It’s a great descriptor not only of my photography, but of my life in general.
Over the relatively short time I have been practicing photography, the absolute best wildlife sightings, and photographs I have captured, have been when I have gone out without expectation of seeing anything specific (or anything at all). Conversely, the times I have set out looking for a certain bird or a specific type of photo, I have almost always come back empty handed. In all aspects of my life, I am trying to be more open and allowing of things to unfold… I think I practice this with the most consistency within my photographic work.
Day to day, I take my camera along when out walking the dog; somedays there will be a beautiful sunrise, or perhaps some interesting birds in the area I am walking. If I can capture a photo of it – great! If not, I’ve still seen something that has made my day brighter. And on those days when I don’t see anything at all, I still have had the chance to get some fresh air with my best buddy. Last summer, I never could have planned to watch the result of eagles robbing an osprey nest (see the post here if you missed it http://jennifersawicky.com/2014/08/10/bald-eagles-versus-an-osprey/) or sharing a walk with half a dozen northern flickers. I don’t always get great photos of these sightings, but that really doesn’t matter to me.
On my first trip to South Africa, our guide asked us the first afternoon what we were hoping to see, and we all said “Everything!”. I was so in awe of the place, so amazed to be in a place that I had dreamt of for years, that every plant, tree, bird and mammal was, and still is, thrilling. Not only does having this relaxed attitude while out on a game drive takes the pressure off the guides, it allows you to enjoy whatever mother nature has in store for you that day. Again, some of the most amazing things that I have seen were completely unplanned. I had hoped to one day see a leopard in a tree; I never expected to see that in the middle of the Okavango Delta, twice in two days! I had hoped that one day I would be fortunate enough to see a pangolin, but I knew the chances were very slim. When the call came in that a pangolin had been spotted on my last night on safari, I couldn’t have been more thrilled. http://jennifersawicky.com/2015/07/02/pangolin/
I think of myself as fortunate not only because I am happy to take advantage of photographic opportunities when they happen, rather than planning and trying to force things, but also because I have the opportunity to get out and practice something I love, sometimes even traveling to places that fill me with joy to do so.
I know this is much wordier than most of my posts, so I’ll sign off on the chatter now, and share with you some photos of wildlife encounters that I consider fortunate, whether they resulted in great pictures or not.
I’ve been having a wonderful time watching the birds discover the feeders in the yard over the last week. So far, I have seen grey jays, chickadees, nuthatches, woodpeckers and flickers visiting. Perhaps there are more as well, that are visiting when I don’t happen to be looking out the window.
Of course, I’ve been taking my camera out on walks as well, but most of the photos this week are from the backyard.
I hope you enjoy, have a great evening!
Years ago, I lived for a year and a half in the UK, and spent a lot of time on my weekends touring properties listed under the National Trust. If I had been asked to come up with photos to describe my impression of ornate at that time, I would have drawn on references such as rococo furniture, tapestries, paintings with gilded frames, the fencing surrounding Buckingham Palace and the gardens of Hampton Court. All are still valid today, and I could go back in my archives and find dozens of examples… but my brain seems to work differently now.
Now, when I think of ornate, I think of birds. The beautiful detail of feathers when seen up close. The dizzying array of patterns, colours and textures. The mating performances. Even the patterns of their flight.
When you look at the birds below quickly, they seem to be dusty creatures in tones of beige, brown and grey. So take a closer look at a few ornately decorated birds I found in Botswana and South Africa.
For anyone that hasn’t been in the presence of a hadeda, they sound kind of like the kid on the Simpson’s show that always says “HA HA”. Honestly, if you get a large group of them, they can get a bit irritating after a time. I think more than one ranger I’ve met has described them as the most annoying creature in the bush.
Now about this photo. I flagged it quite some time ago to edit, and couldn’t figure out the reason why, other than I liked it. But after staring at it for the last 20 minutes, I think the two things I like are the contrasts (the bright highlights and dark shadows and the flash of iridescent feathers against a flat sky) and that the shape of the bird is repeated in the shape of the branches (look to the branch directly below the tail, it has the shape of a head and beak). The monochrome treatment highlights what I like about the image, whereas the colour version is pretty easy to overlook.
Sometimes I find it difficult to explain what draws me to one photo over another; I often find myself at a loss for words when someone is looking for a critique on an image. I know very quickly whether I like an image or not; but the reason why isn’t always easy to put into words.
