The Crow: Day 2

The crow.

I do believe most folks don’t give the crow enough credit casting the species off as a dirty bird. Granted, the crow doesn’t have the grander of its cousin, the raven, or the joyful song of a warbler or the handsome, rugged good looks of the bald eagle, but the crow is a bird species like no other.

The American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) is an all-black, large, long-legged, thick-necked, and highly social bird. Inquisitive and sometimes mischievous, crows are good learners and problem-solvers all awhile asserting dominance over larger birds like owls and hawks.

But they are nervous birds. This is the first time I ever photographed a crow. Most often they take off at the very squeak of human footsteps. This particular crow balanced on the tree top for 20 minutes none the wiser to my photo taking. However, once I took my camera off of it to change my CF card, it took to flight.

On a side note, the weather here in northern Wisconsin is depressing. The calendar says spring, but the temperature continue to be glacial and the falling precipitation continues in the form of snow. The weather and lack of sunshine is beginning to take its toll on everyone’s spirits and general well-being.

American Crow. Star Lake. Vilas County, WI. March 21, 2013.

 

 

Cuties

Had some cuties come to the studio for sessions this past weekend (cuties as in cute kids, not the small, easy-peel orange).

I am still adapting to the studio. It's weird to be confined to a space after shooting the wandering outdoors for so many years. But I am really beginning to love the studio and hope that things only get better.

 

 

Simply, Blue

While I waited for the sun to rise for what would be the official beginning of my spring photography project, I snapped photos.

This was the very blue and very cold scene that preceded the rising of the sun. This photo definitely as a "feeling." (and I like it almost as much (if not more) than the sun rise photo I took for Day 1 of my project).

Spring Cleaning: Day 1

In 2009 I began a photography project where for 100 days beginning May 1 I took a nature photo each day. I made it to Day 83 before I failed. Time simply slipped away from me and I couldn't keep up with the project.

As I work on putting my studio and gallery together, I have been looking through the 83 photos I took while doing that project and forgot how many wonderful photos I had the opportunity to take. So I decided on trying it again. From March 20, 2013 to June 21, 2013 (or 93 days of our spring season) I will take a nature photo a day. I have no idea if I will be able to see this project to the end, put I am going to try.

So, Day 1: March 20, 2013. COLD. SNOW. March has been a beast of a month this year. Temperatures have not climbed any higher than 35 degrees and snow storms continue to batter the land. This is the time of year where cabin fever sets in at a fierce pace. Year after year you count on March to bring the temperatures into the 40s, rain instead of snow, and the emergance of buds and greenery. There has been none of that. NOTHING. I am beginning to think Mother Nature has forgotten about us and that it's offically spring.

I knew that I wanted the first photograph of this project to be a sunrise photo and as luck would have it this morning's sky was clear and bitterly chilly (-11 degrees). I knew where I could catch a good sunrise photo and that it would require me to drive 20 miles East and tredge through thigh-high snow drifts but with the temperature well beyond chilly, I mentally backed out about a half dozen times. But you don't get anywhere in life by backing down from a challenge, so I went. It was COLD (towards the end I could not get my fingers to move to click the shutter button), but there was no wind and as the sun rose above the horizon the eagles swuacked and the crows chattered. It was a good first day.

Morning sunrise on Seven Mile Lake. Oneida County, WI. March 20, 2013. 7:07 a.m.

Itchy

The itch has begun.

This time of year, when everything from the ice on the creek to the temperatures on the thermometer began thawing, I get itchy to paddle up the creek in the kayak. And that's what I did yesterday.

The paddle was not a photography expedition (which my paddles often are) but just about getting out in the fresh air and believing spring is on her way. I did, of course, bring the camera (Well, what would you expect? What if a wood duck had nestled up the creek or the otters were fishing on the lake and I didn't have my camera?) and although there was no animal wildlife moving around the area, the ice on the creek entertained.

This is not  my typical nature photography photograph. My concentration is often wildlife or landscape, but these marco shots of the ice formations on the creek provided some wonderful snapshots. I especially love the color tones.

Jack Frost's days are numbered and I am not sad about that.

 

Tomorrow is Another Day

Landscape photography is not my forte. Here in the northwoods of Wisconsin, my nature photography is focused on wildlife, so when my husband and I planned a trip to Yellowstone National Park for the fall of 2012 I thought it best to become more acquainted with my landscape photography skills.

 

Polarizing filters, ND filters, a shutter release cable, a wimpy tripod, and my wide angle lens accompanied me on my "get to know landscape photography" lessons. I would wander the shoreline looking for different landscapes and angles to photograph. The evenings were quiet. The weather was warm. The sunsets spectacular.

 

The photograph below is one of the snapshots I took on my landscape photography expeditions. I LOVE the original image, but adding a few texture overlays and a reflective quote gives the photo a completely different feel.

 

"A setting sun still whispers a promise for tomorrow." ~Jeb Dickerson.

 

 

Where the Wild Things Are

I am addicted to Pinterest. (Duh, right. Who isn't these days). Lately I find myself pinning quotes that inspire me. For as long as I have been able to read, I have always been drawn to the simplistic life lessons found in quotes.

I noticed a lot of the quotes I was pinning were layered onto beautiful photos which made a "light bulb" moment. Why don't I take my favorite quotes and put them on some of my favorite snapshots! (and why had I not thought of this before? why did it take countless wasted hours on a website to draw me to this idea?)

So here is my first photo quote. I hope to do this at least once a week (if not more) and eventually make a book out of them (or wallpaper a wall with them as a reminder to smile no matter the havoc my daily life).

This first quote is by one of my idols, Aldo Leopold. "There are some who can live without wild things and some who cannot." I am one of those who canNOT live without wild things. I never feel more connected or at ease than when I am wandering the wilderness. Without all things wild I don't know who I would be. The photo was taken this past October (2012) in the backcountry of Yellowstone National Park. This late-evening snapshot of the mighty Yellowstone River is probably my favorite photo from our trip to the park; when I look at it I just see peacefulness.