“At the Water’s Edge” – Raccoon - The reflecting pond attracts more than just birds. One year we had a mother Raccoon that brought the kids by on many evenings. This excellent mother was able to raise four babies to adulthood (only two in this image) and we got to watch the whole thing from our front row seat!
“Cold Feet” – Tufted Titmouse - We have a few blinds around our house from which we photograph backyard birds Tufted Titmice are certainly favorite subjects. We really love to get out and shoot when we have winter conditions making for much more dramatic images. This image was made on a day where the temps were 20 below zero making for a very frosty perch of berries.
“Making Preparations” – Eastern Chipmunk - Fall is a very busy time for our resident chipmunks. Lucky for me this one paused and gave me the “look back” for a quick portrait, complete with reflection! A single chipmunk can gather as many as 165 acorns in a single day.
“Final Approach – Female Northern Cardinal - A Cardinal drops by the reflecting pool for a drink. This image was from a project I did a couple of years ago. The goal of the project was to create images of birds in flight complete with a full reflection. It was all very involved requiring 6 special high-speed flashes and a custom trigger to fire the camera when the birds were in the right position.
“Sound Waves” – American Toad - Getting a girlfriend is not easy when you look like a toad. The males gather at ponds and trill their songs in hopes of attracting a mate. I love the water rings radiating out from the toad caused by his trilling.
“Mother’s Pride” – Common Loon - Just the day before this image was made, I was lucky enough to watch this loon chick hatch from its egg. If you look closely at the top of its bill you can still see the egg tooth the chick uses to get itself out of the egg.
“Getting to Know Each Other” – Sandhill Crane - This sandhill colt hatched out the morning I made this image. In fact, mom is still on the nest because she is still incubating the egg of this chick’s sibling. That second egg hatched out the very next day.
great horned owl (Bubo virginianus) Snow fall, Captive, Howell Nature center, MI
“Pretty Pair” – Eastern Bluebird Pair - One of our favorite blinds that we use to photograph birds and other wildlife from is a ground level blind built in front of a reflecting pond. This image showcases a pair of Bluebirds that came by for a drink. It is such a treat to have these charming birds’ nest in our yard. The photograph was made during an unusual Spring snowstorm.
“Spring is in the Air” – Tufted Titmouse - A tufted titmouse pauses in a pretty spot for me. I especially Love how the grey plumage of this bird helps to make the flowers “pop” of the screen in this image.
“A Fungus Amongus” – Black-capped Chickadee - Our The Black-capped Chickadees around our house are the Ambassadors for the bird world. They are always the first to come by and check out what seed we have just added to the feeders, and they just make good friendly neighbors. While I have made thousands of images of Chickadees, I don’t think I will ever be able to stop they are just so photogenic!
“Transformation” – Baltimore Checkerspot Butterfly - This Baltimore Checkerspot is just recently hatched from its cocoon. The transformation from a rather homely caterpillar to a spectacular butterfly is one of nature’s many miracles and a joy to witness.
“New to this World” – Whitetail Fawn - This tiny fawn was less than eight hours old, and about the size of a football. If you look below its back leg you can see the umbilical cord. It is fine to be left alone like this because it has no scent and if it doesn’t move, very little will find it.
Steve Portfolio - Around Home Steve - 013
“The Prince of the Meadow” – Question Mark Butterfly - We have built a 15,000 square foot wildflower meadow on our property. Nicole went through the butterfly book and figured out all the species possible in our area. Then we planted the plants and flowers that would feed the larvae and butterflies for those species. This effort has yielded countless photographic opportunities, like this handsome Question Mark Butterfly