Category: Nisqually NWR

Pursuing Beauty

In the last month or two as I’ve walked the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge I’ve noted a small, yellow-orange butterfly, an Orange Sulphur, as it turns out, flit back and forth in front of me. Try as I might, though, I’ve not been able to get a picture of it, even with my 400mm telephoto.

My luck changed dramatically this week, as I got shot after shot, even though I had to use the 400mm telephoto I was carrying for birding. If I’d had any idea there was going to be so many and that they were going to be so calm, or distracted, I would have brought my macro lens and got even better shots. As it was, I often found myself having to back away from a butterfly that had landed at my feet because my telephoto couldn’t focus that close.

Here’s the best of twenty or so shots I took:

At first I thought that perhaps the sudden lack of birds, even song birds, might account for their tendency to totally ignore me to the point of nearly landing at my feet.

After I saw these two chase each other through the flowers, though,

I suspected that it was probably different passions that drove them, and they no longer cared who I was or what I was about. Who could blame them, considering that they seemed to be pursuing the same beauty that I had futilely pursued much of the summer.

Better Than a Day at the DMV

Birds, particularly new birds, continue to be scarce at Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. Though frustrating, it allows me to become more familiar with old friends.

The most common birds continue to be crows, starlings, gulls, and Great Blue Herons, probably in that order. Starlings and gulls don’t interest me, and I’m waiting for the long â€?”greyâ€? season around here to try to get some decent crow pictures because invariably all the feather detail is lost in a smudge of black when I shoot them in sunshine. The GBH is certainly the easiest to photograph, the most photogenic,

and I’d like to think my photographs of them are improving. However, I’ve taken so many shots of them by now I’m afraid â€?”betterâ€? is a relative word. Still, this shot reminds me of the Tai Chi forms I’ll be practicing in class and perhaps suggests a dynamic awareness I’m trying to cultivate in myself.

While sitting in a photo blind waiting for a new variety of duck that never appeared, I began to realize that Mallard behavior and human behavior may not be that different.

This Mallard drake spent nearly an hour preening himself, puffing up his breast, quaking loudly, and often, and generally showing what a handsome fellow he really was. You see how impressed the females were, right? Perhaps they took some small comfort in knowing their boisterous neighbor would probably draw the fire of any nearby hunters as they went about the business of getting a meal.

The local Belted Kingfisher continued his game of hide-and-seek, too, landing nearby just as I was about to leave. Naturally I had to stop and try to get a better picture of him. While this one is actually further away than last week’s shot, it seems clearer and the kingfisher has more expression:

I suspect he’s razzing me that I’ll never manage to get a decent picture, a point he emphasized by diving into the pond and spearing a fish, most of which took place behind the shrubs while I tried to move to get a better shot.

Some days we just have to satisfy ourselves with the fact that we spent half a day playing outside in the sunshine while others sat inside a dingy DMV office renewing their driver’s license. I’m okay with that.

Beauty is Where You Find It

It hasn’t been a very good week for birding here in the PNW. Though some summer residents seem to have left, the winter migrants haven’t arrived yet. I did manage to get a few bird pictures, but my best pictures weren’t bird pictures at all, but simply the result of paying more attention to what’s happening around me.

My best photo as far as birding goes has to be this one of a Wood Duck:

Truthfully, I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting when I took this shot, but took it because the duck stood out so distinctly. If I hadn’t taken it myself, I’m not sure I’d really believe that a Duck could look like this. No wonder this species is endangered; it’s impossible to miss the males while hunting.

My most embarrassing moment of the week was misidentifying this Giant Blue Heron when I saw it from the front and didn’t recognize the breast colors, which are much softer and duskier than I’d ever noticed before:

Most of the shots of Giant Blue Herons I’ve seen emphasize the blue feathers and are taken from the side. Still, as much as I’ve been observing them, you’d think I would have known better.

My favorite shots of the week, though, is this one of a butterfly I’ve sighted several times but haven’t managed to get a picture of before. This one landed close enough, and far enough away, that I could use my 400mm lens to get a relatively clear picture of it.

I suspect if there were more butterflies out there I would have become a butterflier, not a birder. I’m a sucker for a good butterfly shot, often spending an inordinate amount of time trying to get a picture of one that’s flitting from here to there.

Lens Envy

As I’ve gotten deeper and deeper into photography I’ve seen the gap that exists between my equipment and the equipment the top photographers are using. Almost all serious photographers I’ve talked to are using Canon D20’s and using faster 400mm lenses than I have, most considerably faster, and considerably more expensive.

They’ve also steered me to some top-level websites that feature shots taken by other photographers in the Northwest. It’s hard not be intimidated by some of the shots I’ve seen. I’ve never even seen Great Blue Herons as beautiful as the ones pictured, and none of my lenses would allow me to get the kind of crystal clear close-ups they’ve taken.

I’ve had to re-examine my own values and goals in taking photographs. While admitting a fondness of â€?”trophy shots,â€? that’s not really what I’m attempting to do in my photographs. I’m trying to convey the natural high that I get from being out in nature experiencing nature at its fullest.

Sometimes I think pictures like this

do a better job of conveying that feeling then a spectacular close-up of the same heron would do.

While my shot of a Cedar Waxwing

is not as spectacular or technically outstanding as a shot of two Osprey attacking each other or of a Bald Eagle scooping up a salmon, watching the Waxwings fly back and forth in front of me while feasting on plentiful berries was a highlight of my day.

In fact, I think this rather fuzzy shot of an all-too-common crow shot through layers of branches and leaves is my favorite shot of the day

because I love crows and have no idea why. Born a city boy who spent most of his life shut up in a classroom, my a warm-fuzzy view of nature sometimes seems little more than a romantic longing, but it has served as a constant source of strength throughout my life.