Last week we did an overnight trip to Lakeland’s Circle B Bar Reserve. It’s one of the few reserves where there is activity all day long thanks to an abundance of wildlife. You don’t have to get up early and be out there at sunrise, though that is still a good idea, to capture nature’s beauty.
Black-bellied Whistling Duck
Big Blue Heron
Anhinga Taking in the Sun
Barred Owl
The Skagit Valley, particularly the Skagit River, is known at this time of the year to be a haven for Bald Eagles. It’s located in the northwestern part of Washington State. About half of the time on our recent trip was spent on the Skagit River photographing eagles, and the other half on land photographing swans, snow geese, and a bit of landscape. Although the weather was cold and rainy, the experience yielded some exciting photos making the colds, both my wife and I now endure, worth it. Below are some photographs.
Earlier this week my wife and I took a short trip to the Naples area of Southwest Florida. Included was a short day trip to the Ding Darling WLR on Sanibel Island where we were greeted by a small pod of Pelicans. Here are a few of my photographs.
A recent trip to Boothbay Harbor in Maine provided my wife and me with the opportunity for a boat trip to Eastern Egg Rock Island, an Audubon Society run sanctuary for Atlantic Puffins. The day was beautiful, a little cool out in the ocean, but more important was the number of Puffins that made themselves available to us to photograph. They are uniquely colorful looking creatures, only about ten inches in length.
No one is allowed to land on the island, except for Audubon employees and volunteers, so we had to shoot from the boat. Subsequently, the distance and the rocking of the boat made photographing a bit challenging at times. Still, with a little bit of luck and assistance from the Puffins, we got the shots.
I had to crop these photos quite a bit because this family of Anhingas were well back from our path and the trees and brush did not give me a clear shot. I used a 300mm lens but I really needed more like a 500mm or 600mm. Photographed at the Sawgrass Lake Park in St. Petersburg.
I photographed this egret at a nearby rookery a few years back and never did anything with it. Like so many photos, as you continue to shoot more and more, older works sometimes get buried and forgotten about. Originally shot in color, I finally decided it worked better as a black and white. Here is the final results.
You can see more of my work by clicking on John Greco Photography.
Living in Florida I see Sandhill Cranes just about every day; many times in my backyard. On trips to one of my favorite places, Bosque del Apache NWR in New Mexico, there can be thousands of them, if your are there at the right time, in the Fall as they head South from Western Northern States for the winter. However, this friendly fellow was photographed Vancouver, British Columbia back in 2015. They are big birds with wings spans of approximately 5 feet (females) to well over 6 feet (males).
