Well, the ducks really seemed to have migrated through Michigan quickly this year. I am usually photographing ducks throughout the entire month of April. A couple of weeks ago, we had strong winds out of the south, and I think the ducks took advantage of these winds and continued their journey north.
One of the great things about nature photography is that there is always something else to shoot!
New Subjects for Floating Blind Photography
The last time I was out in my floating blind there were not many ducks around, but I did get a chance to work a subject I have always wanted to shoot from my floating blind, turtles. It must have been one of the first days they had come out of the water to bask in the sun because they were moving very slowly due to the cold temperature of the water.
A Blanding’s Turtle
Pictured here is a Blanding’s Turtle, a species that I don’t see much around here. This turtle’s carapace (that’s a fancy word for shell) was about the size of a basketball cut in half! I like this picture because he looks utterly exhausted from having hauled himself out of the water and onto this log.
Blanding’ Turtle
I was initially drawn to this log by this one Blanding’s Turtle that was sunning himself and as I was shooting him (or her) painted turtles started to emerge from the water and climb onto this same log. This was a very popular spot because after a couple of hours I counted 46 turtles on this log, all vying for their own place in the sun.
Two’s Company-Painted Turtles
Threes a Crowd-Painted Turtles
I just returned from Tennessee, where I put on my slide show “A Wilderness Year” for the great folks at the Southern Appalachian Nature Photographers Association. I was also able to get a few days shooting in at Great Smoky Mountain National Park as well, where the wildflowers where in full bloom I will try to get some images posted from that trip soon.
Good Luck & Good Light!
Steve & Nicole
Related: Floating Blind Photography: A Unique Perspective of Birds on the Water