Sometimes when you’re out, you end up with critters everywhere you look. Of course, having a likely habitat nearby is a good way to help those odds, but even then, you sometimes just get luckier than usual. These shots are from my morning outing to the marsh yesterday, and it was one of those mornings:
Simple Clicks – Nesting Swallows
Digging back about a week here, to some files that got left in the camera after the 4th of July was over. Shot these that afternoon, before the festivities began. These guys are nesting in a box at my grandparent’s house, and although my grandmother stated that they are Purple Martins, I’m pretty sure they’re actually Tree Swallows.
Simple Clicks – Belted Kingfishers
Driving the dirt roads that surround the marsh this morning, I did one of those manouvers for which photographers are famous – you know, the one where you suddenly (but as quietly as possible) hit the breaks, throw the car into reverse, and back up with your head out the window, hoping like hell that the critter you just got a glance of is still there.
Thank goodness I had the road completely to myself! And the critter was still there, a female Belted Kingfisher perched atop a dead tree a short ways into the marsh. Read more »
How I spent my first day on vacation
Other people go to the shore, or sleep late and spend the morning sitting on the porch with a good cup of coffee. Me, I’m a bit odd, I suppose – I spent mine in the middle of a swamp.
Simple Clicks – Sunrise
I’ve strayed away from landscape/nature photography during the past year, in favor of wildlife and people (not much people work lately, but that’s soon to change). But when the light is perfect, I look for worth-while landscape images. Shooting through the fog, into the sunrise is a bit cliche. So are spider webs with dew. But when the light is right, and the elements comes together, who cares – things become cliche because they’re true.
Outside on the 4th of July
I spent sunrise on the 4th of July on the grounds of Binghamton University’s Nature Preserve. Although BU is my alma mater, I’ve visited perhaps twice since graduating almost three years ago. During that time, I had forgotten just how rich the Nature Preserve is – although in my defense, when I was there I wasn’t yet shooting wildlife images. In town to spend the holiday with family, I figured the Preserve was a good, convenient place to try my luck.
I was lucky! Read more »
Simple Clicks – Oxbow Lake
Checked out Oxbow Lake with my friend and fellow photog Paul (and his wife Chris) – I’d been there once before, about a year ago, on a morning where the fog was so thick that I could hardly see the water from the shore! At the time I kind of wrote the site off. Then this summer, I decided to give it another chance. I’m glad I did. Turns out to be a really nice site, with a good hiking trail, and a lot of potential for some great nature/wildlife shots in the future.
Simple Clicks – Fords Pond
Starting of July on a high note – actually a really high note, as far as wildlife photography goes! Here’s some from Fords last week; a very happy Red Squirrel eating an apple, and the first Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker that I’ve seen in PA.
Simple Clicks – End of June
It’s been very busy for the last week, as it usually is this time of year. Summer projects, gigs, the 4th of July, family get togethers…the calendar stays full. So here are a few simple clicks to help me catch up!
Ricketts Glen
I’ve been visiting Ricketts Glen for almost five years now, with the DPChallenge.com annual get-together – between 10 and 20 photogs who come in from around the region and descend on the park with a startling array of gear and a huge picnic spread. So when going through some information in a guide book a few weeks back, I was surprised to read that Ricketts was an Important Bird Area, per the Audubon Society. I dragged out the park map, and there’s the proof – whole huge swaths of park that I suddenly realized I had never seen. In fact, about all I had seen were the waterfalls.
So it turns out that there are birds to be found at Ricketts. Quite a few, in fact. Saturday’s visit was a scouting trip, trying to find out where the best spots are to return to. And I’ve got several spots on the map marked – some of which I’m quite excited about! Read more »
