“You have the freedom to be yourself, your true self, here and now,
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
and nothing can stand in your way.”
Your True Self
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Solitude and Community
Geese at Dawn Solitude is important in my life. Community is important in my life. Time alone nurtures my inner spirit, clears out the cobwebs, and heals. Yet, spending time with others also nurtures my spirit, helps me see life through others eyes and community also heals. Spending time alone shooting photographs helps me become a better photographer. Shooting with and sharing experiences with fellow photographers helps me become a better photographer. Why shouldn’t I embrace both solitude and community.
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Barn Owl
Barn Owl If you were an owl, would you want to be called ‘Monkey-face?’ I will admit, however, there is some semblance. The more I wade into the stream of photogaphy the more I want to know about the subjects I see in the view finder. Yes, people may compliment me on an image but what do they think about the subject? I do love the light on this Barn Owl and how it is facing the light, it makes for a fine image. But, what else?
With the ease of the internet, I’ve begun to snoop around to find out about the subjects. You can follow this link to a good article on Barn Owls. I did not realize the short life expectancy of Barn Owls, 1-2 years. Nor did I know about there different calls.
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Waiting
Patiently Waiting I admire the patience of Blue Herons or any wading bird. I sure have learned to accept patience as a vital part of keeping my serenity. This image as taken almost five years ago just after purchasing my first DSLR and was shot in jpeg format. Now that time has presented the opportunity to practice and learn, I know to shoot in RAW format. So, it’s good to be patient and good things will come to us.
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Zoo Time
Zoo time 
Hold still, you’re making this difficult. 
Parrots at Columbus Zoo Two of my roommates made a day trip to the zoo this past weekend and as you would expect for a weekend, children were everywhere. And, why not, aren’t zoos for children? NO! they are for all of us to enjoy. Anyway, Jamie was showing me images this morning and it triggered my mind to the images I took this past summer. I looked back through them and found some I really like. I added a few images to my gallery that you can find here. I enjoyed the above image depicting the enjoyment of a child meeting nature up close and personal and I chose the the following image as it shows and adult enjoying the nature. Nature is truly an artist as seen in the image of the parrots.
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Eye Contact
Eye Contact How often do we make and keep eye contact with people? A few weeks ago I met a fellow co-worker and another man in the airport. The man he was with looked familiar to me but I was unable to think of his name or how I knew him. My friend and I exchange a handshake while my mind was focused on figuring out how I knew this other man. As I turned to greet the other man my friend would not let go of my hand. I turned and looked at him and realized I had not truly greeted him. I had quickly made eye contact, extended my hand and just as quickly turned away. It was a lesson for me to watch for eye contact and at times keep it a bit longer. I know that animals, birds will keep eye contact just as this gull does in this image. How often do we make and keep eye contact with people?
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Mallard
Mallard A friend of mine travels with his work and was venting some frustration due to mechanical and weather related delays on his trip home. I can relate to his feelings of frustration as I work as a flight attendant and face those situations on a regular basis. Wouldn’t it be nice to conduct our business on a local scale and not have to commute great distances. Think about this: Get up in the morning, take camera out and shoot a few frames, come back to the house, download the images while I take a shower. After shower make a latte then sip on my latte while I sort through my morning shoot. Do it again the next day.
I had the opportunity to do that for a while and loved it. Just outside the front door of my condo in Colorado is a pond where geese and ducks hang out, they’re always chattering about something. While a couple blocks away is a paved path I like to walk and winds through the city following a small creek. I would use these two locations for photo opportunities. That’s where I got the shot of this mallard. It’s an easy commute to either one of them. Since I’m walking there’s not going to be any mechanical delays, well maybe a few creaky bones and an ache or two from aging. If the weather is bad I can dress warmer, take an umbrella or, in the most severe cases, just stay home. That’s a delay I can easily live with and the delay occurred at home.
There is no major travel in that scenario, nor delays, nor much income. 🙂 Just some thoughts. Hope everyone has a good day!
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The Turkey Stare
The Turkey Stare Wild turkeys inside the city is one of the pluses the Metro Parks provide in the Columbus area. I have seen several of them while walking the trails in one of my favorite parks in the system called Blendon Woods Park. I’m not sure my intentions for being in the park that day but came across 23 of them and took a few images. The wild turkeys of North America have a long, dark, fan-shaped tail and glossy bronze wings. The male is substantially larger than the female, and his feathers have areas of red, purple, green, copper, bronze, and gold iridescence. Female feathers are duller overall, in shades of brown and gray. It is an interesting bird and leery of people as evidenced in this stare.
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Mine! Mine!
MIne! Mine! A few years ago I saw the movie “Finding Nemo” with my grandchildren. One of the scenes in the movie my mind has kept stored is the reaction of the seagulls as they hoover over something edible and start calling out the word “Mine! Mine!”. It is so real as you walk along some pier and see them following people looking for handouts and calling out “Mine!”. It has ben one of the few movies I’ve enjoyed.
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Perched
Yellow Breasted Blackbird The chirping sounds of these birds and their cousins the Red-winged Blackbird lets you know you have discovered one their favorite breeding habitat’s; cattail marshes. I enjoy finding these marshy areas with cattails where I can setup a tripod and long lens and shoot away. They forage in the marshes, in fields or on the ground and will sometimes catch insects in flight. They mainly eat seeds and insects.
