Blog Archives

Milk weed

milkweedFriends, not sure that i like this shot, but the best i was able to get the day i was in Crex.  I like the background colors and the hidden seeds in the nest of white hairs.  this is the theme for Lets See you best shot on Facebook, til Tomorrow MJ

Cooper Blur

cooper flight33Friends, this Cooper’s Hawk is still protesting his capture and banding, or maybe the loss of a feather, floating in the lower middle of this image.  Hawk Ridge is an exciting place to be in the fall, lots of birds migrating and some are caught, banded, adopted and released back into the wild blue yonder. But I have a question, is this a pleasing blur?? til Tomorrow MJ

 

Crane Overhead

flying crane2Friends, this Greater Sandhill Crane is taking flight at sunrise.  In Crex Meadows, the cranes come into Main Dike at sunset and roost for the night.  People also come by the dozens to watch the nightly display.  In the morning, the cranes are noisy on the roost and all talking at once just before they take off and go back to the fields to spend their day.  They usually fly in large flocks or smaller family groups and this single crane was actually part of a larger group.  As they passed overhead, I was able to isolate a single crane in flight.  til Tomorrow MJ

Watercolor Sunday

fall foliage in motionDear Friends, the fall foliage is getting brighter every day and this was along the St. Croix River. I like  the watercolor effects of photoshop so this is a watercolor Sunday.  til Tomorrow MJ

 

Green Heron Fishing

green heron2Friends, 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

juvenile trumpeterFriends, 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

wood duck under wing detailFriends, 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

wood duck feathers2Friends, 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

merganser chickFriends,  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

blanding eyeFriends, 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