Tag: nature

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All activity had ended.
There were no more murmurations.
Even the swallows and ducks had called it a day.
A sure sign that all was finished.
Even the sun had all but left the building.

There were two exposures already cooking in my camera.
I let the camera rest, strapped to my neck.
Ready to let the shot remain unfinished.
Then out of my periphery…movement beyond the trees.
A six foot giant….or great egret.

He was tired, and he ignored me.
His glide path was sure to bring him into view.
Snatching the camera up to my eye, I focused.
I was using a manual focus Lensbaby, so getting him in the correct plane was imperative.

His glide was so slow that I had enough time.
Focused, metered, placed in the negative space of the composition.
Click.
Sometimes these things work.

December’s Solstice

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Fall and winter are my most prolific creative seasons for photography. December has not failed me.
To walk in our little wooded areas is like jumping through a time portal. I’m a kid again and everything inspires. Our fall colors are just now ending. There are leaf hangers-on spattered throughout the depth of the wooded areas that grab the falling light. These energy catching leaves will illuminate yellows and orange like stars in the sky. That’s what I’m talkin’ about!
Clouded evenings make for more available colors to include in multiple exposures. Even reflected artifacts have more punch.
This month’s moon has been very usable for several days and it makes a great addition to impressions on the fly. Until yesterday, my starlings have been all but absent. Their numbers have been down several years now.
I started including starlings in my impressions seven years ago. Back then there were some 1000-2000 birds (or more) that would murmurate. Now, I am lucky to see 30-40 at a time. They fly in with the red- wings….
People have told me they do not do that (multi-species flocking). I would believe their word, except I have seen so many of these starlings up close.
Last evening, a flock of about 300 birds murmurtated for a time and I was able to capture them with the colors of the falling sun and the moon, all on one frame.
Color me happy.
I have been thinking a lot of our little woods and the magic they hold. They do inspire me so much. I feel a little music instrumental comin’ on…soon.

The Joy of Light

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The Joy of Light

We are all grass
Among many grasses
The lone portrait
Is a lie
We live 
Among the thickets
Thriving
In the dust
Always at the ready
To fight or die
In darkness
Death keeps us still
In deep shadows
We grope
For knowledge
And assurance
When the light comes
We rejoice
The celebration
Of life 
Of color
Of comforting revelation

Straight of of the camera photography – Botanicals – Mission Trails San Diego – Music “Touch the Stars” By me, poem, by me ©2018 Mark Steven Wade