Wetlands

This is the edited version, where I blurred around him to try to bring his image out more, but it didn't help by much.

This is the unedited version.

Anyway ... :) I went to the wetlands this morning to go shooting. It’s about 35 miles northeast of where I live. It’s a cool place, not only because it attracts a variety of animals, but because it’s free.

Whatever I could find of interest through my viewfinder was open “game,” including dragonflies … what I saw mostly were water birds and reptiles.

I only saw one bird of prey, the Red-Shouldered Hawk (see above). Unfortunately, the only shot I got of him was his backside, as he flew away with brunch. Worse yet, the shot is blurry. He came out of nowhere, so I had little time to focus. As I stated above, I tried to blur around him, so his image would stand out more, but it didn’t help by much. I posted both versions for comparison.

Each time I stopped for dragonfly shots, I drew the attention of passers-by, as they’d ask what caught my eye. Evidently, most only want spoon-fed sights. Seeing the obtuse is just as gratifying.

Anyway, I love that place. I love how there are places we preserve just for wildlife. As Thoreau says, “We can never have enough of nature.” So true. At one time I had Henry Thoreau’s book, Walden (a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings), but never got around to reading it … and now I no longer have it. … If the library has it, I’ll check it out.

I did a cursory glance of some of the pics I took today, and I’m happy with a lot of them. I notice that in some of the shots, there are cool reflections, like in the alligator shot. Unless the alligator is doing something exciting, I normally find shots of them boring since they don’t have contrasting colors, but it’s reflection makes the picture richer.

I also got a couple of butt shots that I was thinking of turning into a graphic for fun by adding a “kiss my bum,” or the like. :)

Another picture I looked at briefly was of a momma Anhinga feeding her fledgling, and she is literally putting the entire babe’s head into her mouth and partially down her throat.

I’m learning so much, not only about photography, but of the ecosystem … and am becoming better versed on the local butterflies, dragonflies, birds and reptiles. Such fun!

I have many pictures that were taken last weekend that are ready to be uploaded to Flickr, so I may upload them tonight … or not, depending on whether I get sidetracked by my other pictures. Since I *still* have pics left from last weekend to go through, I’m torn between which ones I should work on first, cuz’ I really wanna’ play with today’s pictures too … but so little time. It’s great to feel inundated by such treasures.