Birds and Beast of 2018

My number one

I enjoy photographic contests if only with me. What if someone asked you of all the photos you took this year which are your favorite? Or to narrow it down what are your favorite bird photos. Those questions to myself were one of my favorite aspects of the 365 day challenges.

 And I doubt I will abandon that if for no other reason than I belong to the a garden club affiliated with a state and national organization of garden clubs which holds a yearly photography contest. So recently I had to cull through my photographs looking for the best bird photo. And best wildlife. The turkey above could be both or either. But I entered a turkey last year as a bird. And I had a wildlife entry I was more fond of.

Elk at Eagle Nest Lake

And why did I like this one? Because of the landscape. It was only a portion of a huge herd of cow elk. One photo of almost 50 I took. Such a dilemma - wide angle to get most of the herd or telephoto to get a closeup of even less of the herd. Without a super wide angle lens I have no way of getting the whole herd in the frame. There must have been almost 200 elk. I settled for this representative sample in their environment. Like the turkey which could be bird or beast, this photo could be landscape or wildlife. But I had a more loved landscape photo. Well about six best landscapes.

Burn scar of the 1996 Hondo Fire

This landscape of the mountain outside Questa, where I once lived, made a statement I wanted to make. It has been 22 years since that fire which dominated 22 days of my life and became the deciding reason for my divorce, and move to the wet side of the mountain range. Forest fires have consequences. And they don't heal themselves over night.

But back to birds and beasts.

Eye to eye with a Rufus

I had two humming bird photographs, but doesn't everyone. And a goose coming in for a landing on a mirror surfaced pond.

Every spring for several years I have watched the debate over ownership of this particular bit of water. I know these geese well. And better yet they know me and allow me to point cameras at them. But goose pictures are a dime a dozen. And it isn't everyday you can get a photo of a cold junco in a snow storm. They are very nervous birds. Who knew the snow sticks to their beaks.

Junco at the suet feeder

I took this photo and the one I eventually entered for the bird category from inside my studio and ergo through the window with my telephoto lens. I didn't want to get too close to the glass and scare them. It was an experiment the results of which surprised me.

Shelter from the storm

I finally opted for this one because of the sunflower husk. It is after all for the garden club. And this was the remains of a wonderful year of growing sunflowers. I used it as a fall decoration in my house while it dried and when the snow storm came I put it outside on the bird feeder where it was enjoyed for its seeds and for its ability to block the wind.

For me a good photograph is not just about the clarity and focus and composition and what F stop I used. If a photograph is worth a 1000 words there needs to be a story it tells. When I sit down to select my best for the year it has to be first a good photograph and it has to have a good story. The photograph below is a very personal story.

Mare and foal in the wild flowers

I watched that foal from within 10 minutes of her birth as she grew under the watchful eye of her mother. The owners moved them to a field closer to their house but until then they were mine and I came to believe mother was posing for me. But they are neither bird no beast if beast is wildlife. So just one of my all time favorite photographs.