Category Archives: Nature
Green Heron Fishing
Friends, this green heron is fishing from his favorite perch just a mile from my house. In the early morning fog, he is back lit by a diffused light. Again i am experimentingwith a vignette, green this time. I like this pose, always alert for small critters below him in the water. til Tomorrow MJ
Hatch Year Swan
Friends, this is a juvenile Trumpeter Swan, this years young called a hatch year bird. They are gray with a pink beak, that is turning black as they mature. There were four immatures with their parents on Main Dike when we were on a sunrise shoot at Crex Meadows. I was experimentingwith vignettes other than black, do you like? til Tomorrow MJ
More Feathers
Friends, under this wing of wood duck, we found layers of feathers, brown and white. A contrast to his brilliant blue feathers of wing top. I find their wing feathers very interesting with all the tiny details. til Tomorrow MJ
Wood Duck Feathers
Friends, these wood duck feathers look like brush strokes,; the overlapping, fine details , and iridescent colors. The blue color is not a pigment but rather a structural color, the light is reflected as the full spectrum, that results from the light being bent by microstructure within the cells. Perceiving the color is dependent on the angle from which one views. If you stand ninety degrees from this angle, the iridescence is gone, til Tomorrow MJ
Red Shoes
Friends, I often see Common Merganser females in Lake Superior, but have not noticed their pretty red shoes. This one was resting on the banks of the Yellow River just a few miles north of our home. Enjoy, til Tomorrow MJ
Turtle Eye
Friends, this eye belongs to a Blanding’s Turtle that lives in Crex Meadows. Yesterday we went shooting with some friends from our photo club and this guy was sitting on the road, since the road is not a good place for turtles we stopped and put him in a safe place, but after we all shot some images of his smiling face. That yellow chin is his trademark, til Tomorrow MJ
Hawk Eye
Friends, this sharp-shinned hawk is looking for prey as he cruises above. Actually this image is the result of a little Photoshop magic. His bright yellow eyes tell us that he was a baby this spring and is a hatch year bird. When he is grown, his eye color will shift to orange and then to red. His beautiful chocolate coloring will shift to gray, oooo I could use some chocolate for breakfast, til Tomorrow MJ
The Smallest Falcon
Friends, this amazing little bird is our smallest falcon, the Kestrel. This female was captured and banded at Hawk Ridge, then released back into the wild on a windy cloudy day. til Tomorrow MJ
Swan Portrait
Friends, this swan is close up and personal, i love their curves; This image was shot in the very early spring in the brown of the reeds and grasses as background, I was able to sit in my car and shoot out the window. They are eating in water that is full of iron, so their neck feathers stain red. By this time of year they are molting into pretty white again, til Tomorrow MJ
Peace and Love
Friends, this morning i am reflecting on peace and love, my new mantra. These swans stopped their attack mode to briefly bond again as a couple. Their way of kissing and hugging. Dedicate this one to Jim, the love of my life, til Tomorrow MJ
MJ Springett 