On the Sunny Side of the Road

It was in the 80’s here today. Far too nice to spend the day inside. But since I knew it was going to be hot, I left for Nisqually at 8:00 and finished my hike by noon.

I’m discovering more and more that bright sunny days really aren’t the best days to take pictures because of the sharp contrasts between sunny spots and deep shadows, but you do have a better chance of capturing a bird in flight, even with a 5.6 lens.

One of my favorites of the day is of this Great Blue Heron, just taking off, with his wings nearly touching the ground:

Great Blue Heron in Flight

When I startled this raccoon that was walking directly toward me as I walked around a corner, he did just the opposite, freezing in place until I turned away, and freezing again when I turned back:

Raccoon Wading in Wetlands

Now if I could just convince the Belted Kingfisher to adopt this technique. But then I wouldn’t get a dramatic shot like this:

Belted Kingfisher

6 thoughts on “On the Sunny Side of the Road”

  1. Heron and kingfisher both outstanding. Wow. That wing almost touching down. They’re not really a very nice bird, but impressive. Remember that line from Roethke? “a single ripple starts from where he stood.”

Comments are closed.