176: Bird flying through a wave*

(Sunlight on the pond.)

Doesn’t that sound lovely?  Almost poetic.   I don’t have a bird flying through a wave, in a photo or otherwise.  This is just another search engine term doubling as a post title.  I do, however, have some waves and some birds.  You can put them together in your imagination and come up with a bird flying through a wave if you like.  Or, if you’re in the mood to think metaphorically, you can think of this post as a bird passing through a series of waves, touching on different experiences (subjects).  I don’t think I’ll be sticking to one subject today.

Light gives of itself freely, filling all available space.  It does not seek anything in return; it asks not whether you are friend or foe.  It gives of itself and is not thereby diminished.

~ Michael Strassfeld

While out for my walk yesterday, I took photos of the sunlight on the water.  I am fascinated with the way the light plays on water, as well as how the sparkles of light appear to the camera.

In the image above, for instance, the sunlight on the water reminds me of stars or little suns (which are stars, after all) in a wavy, dark sky.  If you look carefully you’ll find one of the little stars is heart shaped.  Did you find it?

I also like the texture of water in close-ups.  There are times when the camera makes it looks silky and soft even though I can see the wind is making it choppy with sharp waves.  It can also come out smooth as glass, rippled, or ruffled and ridged as if it is icing over.

(Rocks in a stream.)

For me, one of the fun things about photography is the discovery of how my camera interprets what I framed and captured.  It isn’t always what I think it will be, nor is it always what I thought I captured at the time.  Since I can’t see through the viewfinder all that well (well enough — I’m not blind but even with my glasses it’s sometimes not all that clear), and since the LED screen isn’t much better, I am frequently surprised when I upload my photos to the computer.  I love, love, love that element of surprise.  The surprises might not always be good surprises, but I chalk those up to learning experiences and enjoy them almost as much as the good surprises.

(Leaf preserved in the pond.)

It is a little like what happens when the snow and ice melt, and you finally get to see what’s under there, such as the little bits of green (the crocuses) I showed you when we had our first snowmelt of the season.  Or a leaf that has retained some of its color throughout the winter months as it floated under the ice, something I couldn’t see until the pond thawed.

(Male mallard standing guard near the pond.)

Another thing I find fascinating is the way my camera sometimes turns a photo into an almost painting-like image.  I often wonder if all cameras do this.  I never noticed it with my old camera.  I thought it was related to camera shake (blur), but I’ve seen it happen when I’ve used the tripod.  Not that the tripod is a guarantee there will be no shake, especially on a windy day.

(Last night’s moon.)

We had a beautiful evening here in the Bogs last night.  It was warm with a light breeze, the almost-full moon surrounded by a halo and giving off a watery light.  The exciting part was hearing the chorus of spring peepers for the first time this season, the males courting the females with their song.  I have never, ever seen a spring peeper.  If you’re unfamiliar with the spring peeper, you can learn a little about it and hear it here.  If I have time tonight, I’ll go out and see if I can record their sound on my own.

A blackbird in Florida

I’m posting early today because I’m going on an outing that will involve lots of picture taking, image making, photography — call it what you will.  I have another such outing planned for tomorrow, too.  One will be a feast for the senses.  The other will be a learning experience, as well as a tasty treat.  I’ll tell you all about both soon.  Tomorrow, I hope.

In the meantime, it’s time for this bird to fly away for a little while.  Happy Weekend!  😀