Maybe Today /  by Dave Hileman

We are supposed to leave today for a trip West - hopefully we are well and not dealing with terrible weather or Covid or flu or... The photo is of an Oystercatcher along the Outer Banks on the Atlantic Ocean. I share that because we will be at several places on this trip that have unique birding environments where certain birds can be found only in those areas and I intend to climb past the 399 species on my life list. Or at least that is a plan. More information on the trip tomorrow and new daily travel posts begin on Monday. Unless we are still here:)

Fungi /  by Dave Hileman

I got very interested in photographing mushrooms this past fall. No, I don’t know why either. But this one turned out kinda cool. I won’t promise not to show another one or two but I won’t start on the 60 or so I took. Nuts.

January Bonus or Maybe Penalty Photo! /  by Dave Hileman

A friend kindly asked about what I was carving. Just finished this trio. Bert the General Manager of a Rambler dealership, a bear of no known distinction and Hiking Moose. I think I have a long way to go! going to be working on figures for the spring. This guy is number 4. I also did a penguin with a fedora and bow tie but I gave him away before I took a shot.

B&W /  by Dave Hileman

Nope, not the photo, but the bird. This is a tiny Black and White Warbler in Minnesota near Lake Superior. The song birds, like this one, are enjoying life in Southern Florida or the Caribbean or even South America. They will return late spring.

Windswept the Definition /  by Dave Hileman

Along the cold and rainy boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland in early December was this pile of leaves. A few more were swirling along the wet boards and collecting in some of the shuttered doorways. This group was the largest. Makes you wonder where they came from along the treeless stretch of beach and boardwalk.

Icarus /  by Dave Hileman

In Greek mythology Icarus tries to escape from Crete with wings crafted by his father Daedalus. His father warns him not to fly too close to the sun but the warnings go unheeded. He is overly proud of himself and as he climbs higher the wax melts and he falls into the sea and drowns. Fortunately this Ford Tri-motor from 1938 does not suffer a similar fate flying high over the Perry Monument in Lake Erie.

Indeed More... /  by Dave Hileman

This is another of the beautiful waterfalls you will find on the hike at Ricketts Glen State Park in Pennsylvania near Scranton. I enjoyed this hike enough to plan a return trip this summer, or at least I intend to do so. It is a remote location but nice campground on site makes it easy to access the hikes anytime. Though the sun does not get into the glen early in the day, that might make interesting photos. Not sure of which named falls this one is, I lost my list. Oops. I have two or three more yet to post but no names. Sorry.

On Empty /  by Dave Hileman

This shot is a stark reminder of the lengthy drought in the Southwest. These are intake towers at the Hoover Dam and ought to be just visible above the waterline.

You've Seen This Before - but wait there's more, lots more (five photos) /  by Dave Hileman

I posted this photo on Monday and said it was a favorite. What I don’t post, usually, are the ones that I take that are not - in my opinion, the better of the subject. For example, I took 18 images of this falls, more than usual because it was so lovely and different with the yellow leaves and the small side falls. Four were of this composition but different exposures the others were different compositions. Often the first one taken is not the best of the series and it was true in this case as the one below was the last of five possibilities. The others follow below. And if I had taken more time and care I know there were several more that could have been taken of this same subject.

On a rock just below the trail

Same spot as number three below different focal length

Just off the trail

From the top on a side trail - walking up on an overhanging rock.

Third Composition /  by Dave Hileman

There are actually more but these are the three main shots that include the boat. I did not like this one at first but it has grown on me a bit, still not the favorite. I do like some of the elements and with a more dramatic sky, yes. However the sunset just sort of faded, this shot is looking northeast. I expected the clouds to get brighter but they did not. As the sky darkened the pretty light on the trees just evaporated. A better angle here would have less sky and that would improve the photo to me.

Second Composition /  by Dave Hileman

This is the same subject/place as the shot posted on December 29th. This was the first frame I made at the time. I like the flowers in the foreground and the wider sweep of the foliage and the curve of the lake, I don’t like the boat positioned into the reflection. Could not get any higher here.

Ethereal /  by Dave Hileman

This is my favorite photo of a waterfall. It is one of the 21 waterfalls you can hike to at Ricketts Glen State Park in Pennsylvania. We were there in the fall and the trees down in the glen were just starting to change. But it was beautiful. I took this photo from above the falls off the trail about 30 yards. I wanted to get above the tree that still shows in front of the falls but that was as far as I could get. (They seem to frown on triming the foliage!) I would love to go back there, maybe in the spring and see what it would look like with the light green colors of spring. Winter would be beautiful as well but you need special equipment and permission to walk the trail in the winter as much of it is covered in ice.