Nisqually in the Sunshine

I’d rather think of myself as a Renaissance Man than a dilettante, but there’s no doubt that if I don’t find ways to rejuvenate my interest in an area that I tend to lose interest rather quickly and move on. When it comes to photography, though, I’m more apt to shift my focus than abandon it.

When I began taking photographs, I was mainly interested in scenics, and I’ve never totally lost interest in that. However, since buying my first Canon digital SLR a couple of years ago, I’ve been focusing on birding and expensive telephoto lenses, and doing without a “scenic,” i.e., wide-angle, lens. Perhaps I’ve never owned a decent wide-angle lens, or even felt the need for one. After reading several reviews, though, I decided to buy a “good” 17mm-40mm L series lens.

I bought the lens mainly for the mountains and the coast, but I couldn’t resist taking it with me to Nisqually Friday. Good thing, too, because there was very little “birding” going on, even though I got there by 7:00 to see if I’d have better luck than I did last Sunday. If I’d gotten some better pictures of birds, I would never have included these next shots.

This shot was taken from the McAllister side of the loop trail, looking back into the center of the preserve. If nothing else, it reveals what a beautiful day it really was.

Nisqually wetlands

This one was taken looking out toward Puget Sound and the snow-capped Olympics:

Puget Sound with Olympics in background

Neither of them strikes me as particularly good, but at least they offer a starting point, and I’ve found that the best way to improve is to start taking pictures and building on my mistakes.

My main lens, though, will continue to be my 400mm lens, and I’ll still be featuring close-ups like this one of the red berries that lit up the shadiest spots in the preserve,

Red Berries

or this one of daisies who couldn’t quite hold all the sunshine falling down,

Daisies from behind

and pictures like this one of a Flycatcher, perhaps even a Pacific-Slope Flycatcher, which obliged by flying up on a branch right in front of me just as I was leaving. At least I saw one bird that I haven’t seen for awhile.

Flycatcher

8 thoughts on “Nisqually in the Sunshine”

  1. I wish you could come to our yard and take pictures of the wrens nesting in our bird house. Your pictures of birds are so amazing. But I love the two wide angle scenes as well!

  2. Loren, I’ve just written a post on herons and poetry and wondered if you would mind if I used one of your superb heron photos to illustrate it? Naturally I would credit you as the source etc etc.

  3. You’re welcome to use one, sw. Let me know if you want one cropped a different size for your site.

    Thanks for asking. I do get a little upset when people just take pictures, or, worst yet, hot link to my site.

  4. It must be a result of being nearsighted, but I always like the closeups best. The berries and the daisies and the bird, and how they deserve observation, and silent applause.

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