With all due apologies to Genesis, I have narrowed down my selection for the 2011 Miniatures Exhibit to one of three photos:
I have got to admit, that I am leaning towards the Osprey. It took me over a year of looking before I even saw it. And to catch it with lunch in hand (talon) was special.
Please feel free to express your views in the comments.
I have signed up again to show a photo in the Monterey Museum of Art’s Miniatures exhibit. The exhibit is a fundraiser for the Museum, where 300 local artists donate small works for the Museum to raffle off.
The show runs from November 17 to December 31, 2011. If you are in the area, check it out.
For me, it means that I need to come up with a suitable 5×7 image before the end of October. I have started the process, by creating a set of possibilities on Flickr. I started out with about 47 images and have culled it down to 6.
This year’s submission will almost certainly be a bird shot. In fact I only have one non-bird photo in the current set. Though that may change because I have been known to change my mind and there is always a chance that I could take the perfect photo between now and the end of October.
If you would like to help in the process, feel free to make comments here, on Facebook, or on the photo’s Flickr page.
There is nothing like a job to cut into your photography excursions. Not that I am complaining. After ten plus years of being self-employed, I am now working for someone else. It is a little different, but a regular income is better than an irregular one.
It will take some getting used to. For example my old boss was extremely flexible with the hours that I kept, allowing me to go out birding and taking photos nearly whenever I wanted to.
Anyway, I bring all of this up to explain why there hasn’t been a bird of the week or even a post here for the last month. I have been a little busy, applying for, interviewing for, and ultimately getting and starting a new job.
I did get out to Moss Landing last week and the waterfowl are still migrating through. There are large flocks of peeps (tiny shorebirds) in the wetlands south of highway 1, where there is no place to stop and look at them safely.
Fortunately, there were some smaller groups of peeps amongst the bigger birds at Moss Landing State Beach. This allowed me to capture the latest bird of the week (month) photo:
Semipalmated Plovers and Western Sandpipers – 2011
Forster’s Tern, 2011As difficult as last weeks selection was, this one was easy. I went out to Moss Landing with hope of shooting some terns. Both Caspian and Forster’s Terns are in the area and I saw a number of Caspians in the distance when I was there last week.
My hopes of getting a closer shot were dashed by construction which closed most of Moss Landing State Beach. So I had to shoot across the harbor to the jetty were the terns were hanging out. Fortunately, there were some Forster’s Terns in the air and I got a few shots.
With the State Beach closed, I crossed the highway and checked out the Moss Landing Wildlife Area. The Wildlife area sits behind a boat repair shop. It is the sort of unpretentious setting that appeals to me. There is a viewing platform a little over 0.2 miles from the parking lot. Once there I spotted a Least Sandpiper, some Caspian Terns fishing out on the Slough and a large collection of young Brown Pelicans about a quarter of a mile away.
On my way back one of them flew by allowing me to shoot this weeks Bird of the Week:
Young Brown Pelican, Moss Landing Wildlife Area – 2011
There was a reason I bought my truck nearly 20 years ago and when I needed to make some end of life decisions last year, sunk my savings into it to keep it running.
It takes me where I want to go. Sometimes, that is just a line on a map.
Today it took me on the old coast road, east of Big Sur. Just a line on a map, but one I have been looking at it for a while. When the time came, the truck made the turn more than I did (I should probably get that looked at).
We spent the next hour driving over rocky passes and down through redwood filled canyons and ended up with a view of Bixby Creek bridge that you won’t see in a coffee table book. It was, time well spent.
Yellow-rumped Warbler, Pacific Grove – 2009
I am pleased to announce that the Wild Bird Haven of Monterey is offering six of my bird photos for sale. The 8×10 prints are signed, matted, and available for $55.
If you are in Monterey, check them out. They are located in the Del Monte Center, next to Whole Foods.