A Trip to the Nature Preserve

Back in mid-January, shortly after signing up for my photography classes, I got the bright idea to take some new photos of the burrowing owls.  I was thinking that if I got there bright and early maybe I could catch them up and active.  So I set my alarm before the crack of dawn and was out the door just as the sun was rising.

Only to get to the park and find that THERE WERE NO OWLS!  Apparently, they have been relocated to an undisclosed location.  *sigh*

So instead, I headed off to a nearby nature preserve to see what I could find to photograph.  Since I really didn't have any agenda or expectations, I just wandered around and took photos of whatever caught my eye.  I can't say I captured anything earth shattering, but I did get several images that will work for my first class assignment and that was the goal of the outing!

Here are my favorites from the day:

There were tons of these birds up in a tall tree near the parking lot.  I spent quite a while taking photos of them but only caught a few decent ones.  Since my longest zoom lens is only 70-200, wildlife photography can be a challenge.  I often have to do a lot of cropping of the photos after the fact so the subject doesn't look like an ant on the horizon.  If I intend to take up wildlife photography with any regularity, I definitely need a different lens.  I have been thinking about renting one in the near future just to see what I think.

Whatchu looking at?...

I was so excited to see this heart shaped leaf! I see people posting images of hearts they find in nature all the time and this was the first time I have ever noticed one!...

This little guy caught me taking his photo...

A few bunnies just for fun! These guys are EVERYWHERE at the preserve...

Oh to be able to just spend my day lazily gliding through the water...

So tranquil! I really am a water girl at heart. Even just being near it feeds my soul...

Love the coloring of this little guy...

This series of images cracked me up! I don't know if he didn't like the piece or if he sneezed (do birds sneeze?) or coughed and spit it our or what...

I'm not quite sure what it is about it, but I really like this photo a lot...

This guy just hung out and let me take several photos of him until someone walked by with a big dog that scared him off the ledge...

A few more of the ducks flapping their wings. One of the photos I need to turn in for my assignment is one that freezes motion, so I was specifically trying to caputure the ducks flying or flapping their wings...

The eye color of this bird really caught my attention. It seemed like an odd color...

This guy didn't seemed thrilled with me photographing him, or even being on his bridge!...

I was pretty shocked to see that I actually caught one of the ducks in mid-flight! Photogrpahing wildlife feels like it takes an immense amount of luck mixed in with the skill...

I had fun watching the ducks chase each other around in the water. I couldn't tell if they were playing or fighting, though!...

I liked this photo best as more of a silhouette in black and white...

As always, thank you for stopping by the blog!

Michele Whitacre used to be a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona.  Now she just takes photos for fun when the mood strikes.
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