“Move and the way will open” – Zen Proverb
Love the tricolored heron youth. They have a lovely white patch across their back.
Quote found at http://thinkexist.com/quotes/zen_proverb/
Bird Monday
Tag: heron
I Spy
Looking for a meal.
Silhouette
“Photography is a language more universal than words” – Minor White
Quote found in The Moment of Seeing – Minor White at the California School of Fine Arts.
Mathematics in Nature
“The most beautiful thing is the mysterious. It is the source of all art and science.” Albert Einstein
“Where there is matter, there is geometry” Johannes Kepler
I’ve been waiting for a month for the proper post for this heron. Sunday’s pine tree gave that to me. The patterns within the feathers are amazing.
Quote found at http://www.goldennumber.net/phi-quotations/
Learning about Birding
As a result of my photo taking and nature walks I have developed an interest in birding. To that end I have borrowed The Audubon Society Handbook for Birders by Stephen W. Kress from the library. Very informative book that covers many details about bird identification and behaviors. There is even a chapter on photographing birds.
Currently I am studying the basic parts of a bird and feeding behaviors. Since there are close to 30 different parts and more than 20 feeding behaviors documented in the book I will concentrate on them before moving onto other behaviors. On my next walks and picture sets I will be looking out for these things.
The above picture was taken at Orlando Wetlands Park. This is an example of stalking feeding behavior. It was taken during a photography workshop in November of last year. There were 8-10 of us with our tripods set watching and waiting for the bird to strike. It was quite fun and reminded me of a celebrity appearance where you here multiple camera shutter sounds. I would love to see some of the other pictures that were taken.
Acres of Diamonds
Once again the Russell Conwell speech proved true. http://www.temple.edu/about/history/acres-diamonds . You don’t need to roam the world in search of fortune because acres of diamonds are in your own backyard. In December I had the good fortune to get out before dawn on at least a dozen occasions, I probably traveled 1500+ miles in total and took that many pictures too. Captured some great shots and enjoyed some fabulous sunrises, birds singing, and landscapes, but the 2 pictures I consider my best were both from within 2 miles of my house.
The pictures are of a lesser blue heron and a baby woodpecker. I stalked the heron for about 50 yards along the lake before getting this shot. The woodpecker baffled me for a while as he mined a palm frond for bugs. Large palm fronds are hollow and make great amplifiers, so I couldn’t determine what was making the loud noise. I never expected him to be as tiny as he was.
While this “lesson” won’t dampen my wandering spirit, it does cause one to think a bit.
Cocoa Pier
It was foggy and cloudy this morning, but the birds were cooperative. These guys were hanging out on the pier waiting for gifts from the fisherman – fortunately no one was feeding them.
I’m shooting auto ISO and manual mode so I can control the shutter speed better, I capped the ISO at 400, I can go to 800 without much degradation, but I don’t like it. Personal preference I guess. Post processing was a bit difficult, I need to determine how to get 8X10’s using the full raw file.
Picture This by Frank 