Last Viewed Photography Blogs (166)

One of the things I enjoy is nature.
I used to post nature photos on CS a while back.
I'm thinking of perhaps doing it again on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis,
depending upon the level of interest.

For now, here's 3 of my photos. Let me know which of the 3 you prefer the most, if you don't mind.

1 - Soaring bald eagle;




2. Cormorant caught a fish




3. Sunset over the Raritan River, NJ



That's enough for now.

Or create your own photo caption, if you like.

Here's the photo;

"OK, hold still and stop grabbing your nuts"

or..... add your own photo caption

The day before we had the huge snow storm here in New Jersey, I went to a park in Somerset, NJ,
that I had not been to in a couple of years. Unfortunately, they are currently dredging their 2 larger
ponds. There's little water and cranes are digging up the mud.
So, although there are usually a significant amount of waterfowl and other water related mammals,
there was next to nothing that day there. Near the parking lot, there was one mockingbird, who
was apparently too cold to fly away. Thus, I he patiently posed for me.

I did spot one great blue heron. But, he just looked angry that his feeding pond was a horrible mess.
Nonetheless, I ventured around the current huge mud pit to get some photos of him on the sunny side of him instead of from across the huge muck depository.

On the way there I encountered a herd of 11 deer, who initially ran away from me, but didn't run far at all.
Several years ago, I was essentially functionally part of their herd. I accomplished that with frequent visits
and the initial visits were literally running through the woods to catch up with them repeatedly,
while letting them get comfortable with my presence gradually. I would never get too close to violate
their personal space. But, I convinced them, they they could not shake me from catching up to them
and when they ate leaves I would act like I was eating leaves. Little by little they accepted me and
would not run away from me when I approached and gradually allowed me to get closer.

Years ago I got lots of great pictures of them. But, it has been several years. So, I was not surprised,
that they may have forgotten me. However, they didn't run far from me and when I encountered them again on my way to the great blue heron, they did not run again, despite me not running initially after them.
I got within 15 yards of them. There was the matriarch, who is the boss of the herd, and she paid little
attention to me, so the others did the same. There were a few yearlings, male and female fawn from earlier in the year and 7 does from earlier years.

There was one young doe, who I figure was almost 2 years old. She became very curious about me.
If I could read her mind (which I can't), it was something like, "that's a human. Why isn't the herd
running away ???" So, she slowly intentionally walked up to me, sort of acting like it wasn't me
she was curious about, but a leaf here and a branch there, without taking her big brown eyes off of me
and getting progressively closer. At one point she was standing perhaps 10 feet from me.
So, despite it being in the forest, I took a lot of photos of her while softly speaking to her.

After this encounter, I walked away and found the heron again and took a couple photos of that bird.
However, the heron was partially hidden by brush on it's sunny side. So, those shots were less satisfying.

When I went to walk back to the car, I encountered the deer herd again. They did not run away at all
and again, the same doe came walking up to me and stood only 10 feet away. I thanked her for being such a lovely wild model, and left very pleased, that perhaps the herd may have somewhat remembered me after about 2 years.

There are 3 other herds that are closer to me, that know me well. I see them frequently and vice versa.
But, this Somerset herd was the first one that I attempted to become a herd member and successfully achieved that. I successfully applied what I had learned to the other herds.

Here are some photos from that day, including one of the mockingbird, a mallard drake in a stream that ran off of one of the lakes, and one of the heron.
The rest are of the doe I mentioned, which I named Curiousity.

Borrowing the theme for this blog from my old buddy, the one the only JimNastics. He has done a lot of these and I found an interesting pic.

My caption is .... "I said can you please join the car pool."

There be lizards!


When my cat was a kitten.

:)


Just some drops of water.


The lone sunflower.


Sunset through the trees.


Have a great weekend. And may your god go with you.

Smiler x

YOU make the call !........

Which do you prefer ?
.
.
.

#1 "We decided to let him play through."
.
or

#2 "One could say, that I bear-ly missed that putt".

or

add your own photo caption, or vote on other's captions.

Your choice.


Here's the photo;

---- IMAGE REMOVED because photobucket.com no longer allows embedded images ----

Have a terrific Tuesday people.

I couldn't help to stop for the images of Spring on the way home or in Dad's hospital. Though they are simple but pretty in my eyes.

I've been down in Florida since mid December and having lots of fun.
as I always do.

One of the many things I enjoy doing is exploring and photographing nature.

So far, I've taken over 2,800 nature photos, which I just finished cropping into a
8" x 10" orientation.

I realize that quite a few of the members here enjoy pictures of sunsets.
So, I selected 16 recent sunset photos to post on here now for your viewing enjoyment.

Let me know which one(s) you like the best.

Also, lets take a vote on which theme the next set of photos you would prefer to see.
Whichever of the following gets the most votes, will be the next one I post.
Would you prefer to see photos of;

Alligators ?
Purple Gallinule ?
Otter ?
Manatee ?
Osprey ?
Great Egret ?
Little Blue Heron ?
Great Blue Heron ?
Green Heron ?
Tricolored Heron ?
Flowers ?
Red Shoulder Hawk ?
Limpkin ?
Lizards ?
Turtles ?
Pelicans ?
Quaker Parrots ?
Belted Kingfisher ?

With no further ado, here's the 16 sunset photos;

































If you would like to see more of my photos, including other sunset photos, you can go to my webpage;

What better way to start the day than with a bike ride in the early morning hours? I love being out and about while people are still sleeping. It's so quiet and peaceful, the only sounds those of nature. Travelling east, my first stop is the tulip lady's house, her beautiful Japanese plum tree in full pink bloom.


Continuing on my journey, the scent of freshly mown hay wafts on the soft breeze, long lines of cuttings damp with dew, left to dry in the sun, Mt. Cheam towering over the valley.


Cycling south, the pavement comes to an abrupt end up over an incline, a gravel road taking it's place. Blueberry fields stretch to the west, a robin perching on a numbered post indicating the row. Two old rubber boots are upside down over a couple of posts, an indication of something to the owner.


An occasional house and riotous vegetation hide the slough to the east. An abandoned house, broken windows with plywood coverings and sagging doors in a state of disrepair, blackberry bushes almost to the height of the second floor, is the last house.

Just past a barrier of tall alders and poplars, an large field is home to hydro towers. At this early hour, as the sun starts to peek above the mountains, even the towers take on a certain beauty, metal girders glowing as they reflect the first fingers of light.


Continuing on my journey, the gravel road continues towards the bridge and the old ferry landing. Wild cherry trees intermingle with other deciduous trees, their white blossoms contrasting with the new growth of spring leaves.


Of course, my penchant for macro photos had me paused there for quite some time taking the 'perfect' shot of shadow and light on the milky, fragrant blossoms. A challenge, as this close to the river, the wind is always a little stronger. Of course, gusts of wind play games with one's attempt at macro photography. I believe I did manage to 'win' this contest, though. lol.


Stopping at the bridge and the former road to the ferry landing, solar rays danced light across the river, breaking through the clouds behind the indomitable Mt. Cheam. Too many clouds for a colourful sunrise, the shadowed scene filled me with a sense of wonder and peace.


Riding under the bridge, the riverside bench greeted me. I can just visualize people sitting there, watching the former ferry traverse the river and dock on either side. Perhaps watching the pleasure boats in the summer, large plumes of water arcing behind sharp turns, waves slapping the shore from their wake.


Through a narrow path and vegetation that threatens to take over along the riverfront, the path opens up to a gravel lane, blueberry fields bordering both sides. Dodging potholes and mud, asphalt greets me at the first massive domicile, following the path of the slough. A heritage home sits at one corner, it's multi coloured orange tulips with sculpted petals beckoning me to photograph it's allure.


The owner of the home was out walking, a rosary in her right hand, greeting me with cheery hello. We discussed the height of the slough, already high with spring runoff, and the resident beaver she hadn't seen in awhile. I mentioned that I'd seen one there the evening before but it was too fast and too dark for me to take a photo.

...continued....