It’s fun to spot the Purple Gallinule tiptoeing through the freshwater stream, pecking around for food. When it steps into the sunlight, its brilliant colors delight the birdwatcher.
From purple to blue to shades of green and yellow, the Purple Gallinule’s feathers look electric in the Florida sunshine. Shark Valley, Everglades National Park.
The Cornell School of Ornithology describes the Purple Gallinule’s behavior:
Purple Gallinules forage near the water’s edge, where they walk nimbly on muddy margins, or on aquatic vegetation. They hunt a bit like domestic chickens, walking slowly and investigating the vegetation with outstretched neck, or pecking at fruits or tubers. Like most rails, Purple Gallinules swim well, and they sometimes perch high in bushes and trees, where their long toes make them agile climbers.
It’s 5pm in South Florida, when the sun is low in the sky and the water still. The moment is right to look for mirror-like reflections. I choose a low viewpoint to photograph this tall magenta water lily at Naples Botanical Garden.
This blooming water lily stands tall above the lily pads and another bud, reflecting in the pond at Naples Botanical Garden.
The pattern of these nearly parallel trunks also catches my eye. Each trunk has its own irregular shape, which adds some additional interest to the cluster.
This photograph of water reflection contains a push/pull of same/different elements. Naples Botanical Garden.
Today, I will take a flight north to a far colder climate, where snow and ice rule. I will trade this tropical environment for an arctic landscape. I’m hoping to be inspired by the change.
A bull elk with large horns is a dangerous animal to encounter in the wild, but I was able to get a close look at one (and a photograph) from the safety of my car window. (I also used a 600mm lens, and I was not as close as it appears.).
This beautiful elk was taking an afternoon nap by the roadside in Yellowstone National Park, and he woke up to see a few observers. While we watched him, he barely moved a muscle, except to open his eyes.
Have you ever heard an elk bugle? It sounds like this.
This bull elk has grown a large rack of horns this season. September in Yellowstone National Park.
We spotted (and heard) several elk in Grand Teton National Park as well as brown bears, bison, pronghorn and moose. The animals are very active in the Fall. I will continue to post more wildlife as well as landscape photos from our recent trip.
On first impression, the swamp is chaotic. With its high canopy, most of the scene is dark with shadow. The day’s bright sunlight barely filtering through. Large tree trunks, felled by past storms lie at random angles and decay. Walking the boardwalk, I look down into the murky water for alligators, frogs and snakes. I hear a variety of bird calls, but looking around and above me, I cannot spot the birds.
I walk and observe my surroundings for more than an hour. My vision is drawn to the ferns, which spring from the decaying tree trunks and at times fill in a section of the swamp. I see the color, the pattern and the contrast of a narrow trunk, speckled with lichen. I have found a composition. As I work with the image later, I developed a painting. What do you think?
My photograph of the bed of ferns in Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary became a painted image, using Topaz Simplify software. Available as a print by request.
For more information on a print, contact cathykellyphotography@gmail.com. Your feedback is always welcome, too.
A second floor sleeping porch, the perfect place to catch a breeze on a hot, muggy night might remind you of houses in Charleston or Savannah or New Orleans. But this picturesque home is found in Sewickley, Pennsylvania where I live.
Painted white with black shutters and shrouded with green trees, it seemed like a good subject for infrared photography — a medium that shows green foliage as white.
Infared photography can be processed many ways, but one way shows green foliage as white and skies as dark or black on a sunny afternoon.
I have just started this week experimenting with Infared photography, having bought a Sony 6300 camera and having sent it to LifePixel to have it converted to “Super color” Infared. Stay tuned to this blog for more interesting results.
“A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one finds a treasure. “ Book of Sirach, The Bible
Those words defined my father, and they were invoked at his funeral Mass. My father was a sturdy shelter to me and many others.
Sunset at Naples Pier with Brown Pelican in flight, February 3, 2020 before the site was closed to stop the spread of the virus.
When I reflected on the sturdy foundation of this pier, the reference to sturdy shelter came to mind. This sturdy pier brought the first settlers to Old Naples, Florida many years ago. In this millennium, it withstands the hurricanes and tropical storms and supports hundreds of individuals who enjoy it.
In these trying times of the Coronavirus pandemic, a faithful friend is a treasure, showing his greatest value in supporting those around him. As the hectic pace of life slows to a pause, meditate on your faithful friends.
“A faithful friend is beyond price, no sum can balance his worth.” (Book of Sirach)
The first clue to the unfolding scene of predators and prey was the Bald Eagle with fresh blood on its white feathers. Our group of four photographers pulled off the road in Jackson Hole to study what was happening on this snow covered hillside.
With binoculars, we noticed the Bald Eagle had fresh blood below its beak. We continued to observe to see if a story would unfold. It did. Jackson Hole, WY, February 2020.
Soon, we identified two bald eagles and a golden eagle perched on boulders. The golden eagle was much larger than the Bald Eagle, but as the scene appears compressed though the 600mm lens, you can’t see the size difference in the photo.
A larger Golden Eagle perched behind the Bald Eagle on the snowy hillside near a bloody kill site. Jackson Hole, WY, 2020.
Yes, with binoculars we spotted a bloody carcass between the boulders with a magpie (black and white bird common to the mountainous ecosystem) currently picking at the carcass. The eagles must have had their fill.
Up the hill, watching over the scene was a lone coyote. He was likely the killer of the elk, who may have wandered away from the herd, not feeling well.
Further up the hill, looking at first like another brown boulder, lies a silent coyote in the deep snow. Jackson Hole, WY, 2020.
Scores of elk stay safe in a tight herd in the valley. It is also possible that a pack of wolves took down the elk. All these animals and moose too roam the national park in great numbers. Soon the bears will break hibernation and join the throng.
Nearby scores of elk stay safe from predators in a large herd in the valley beneath the Grand Tetons, 2020.
While we humans tend to pity the prey, we understand that all wildlife have to eat, and this is Nature’s way. We are privileged to witness it.
We arrived at Naples Pier about 10 minutes before sunset. My friend Marjorie warned me, “It’s going to go fast,” and she was right. We needed to pick a spot for a sunset photo quickly among scores of others who were on the beach for the very same reason, to witness the sunset and preserve the memories with photography.
I realized that the sun was going to slip behind the pavilions at the end of the pier, creating an opportunity to photograph the sun as a sunstar with rays. When the sun or other bright light source is clipped by a foreground object, you can create this type of image by stopping your lens down to f/16. (This assumes you know how to manually set your camera!) If not, no worries. Just enjoy this image of a beautiful end of an equally beautiful day.
What a blessing to share this moment of peace and wonder with dozens of other respectful visitors at Naples Pier on the Gulf coast of Florida.
Click on the image to enlarge. Need a print? Please visit my website anytime.
Here is a challenge to all of you photographers out there. Yes, this includes all of you with an iphone camera! After the next big rain storm, take a walk and look for reflections in the puddles. Maybe you will see your surroundings in a whole new light!
Cathedral Rock of Sedona reflected in a puddle I discovered while hiking Red Rock Crossing.
Coconino sandstone does not absorb water quickly. The bad news is you need to be wary of a flash flood while hiking a low lying canyon. The good news, is the rain will erode the soft sandstone over time and in the short term leave some puddles for your visual enjoyment.
Both Charlie and I slipped and got one shoe wet while crossing Oak Creek, hiking the West Fork Trail in Sedona. Only one slip for each of us was pretty good considering the rocks and logs we needed to balance on while crossing the ice cold water. I snapped a few candids with my new iphone 11 Pro Max as we crossed a few times, to show how tricky it was.
With his Steeler hat and jacket, Charlie is ready to talk NFL football with anyone he meets, while climbing boulders and trying to stay dry crossing Oak Creek.You hope that the rock you step on is sturdy and won’t tip over, sending you and your backpack into the water. Crossing Oak Creek on the West Fork Trail, Sedona in November.After 5 hours of hiking and plenty of quad and knee exercise, we were a bit tired, but we paused and made a strategy for one of the last crossings of the day on West Fork Trail.
Blog: Cathy Kelly Photography 