Chickadee dee dee.....

The most common bird visiting my feeder is the Maine state bird. They allow a pretty close approach so they're good to practice bird photography on.

What Are You Looking At....?

Red Breasted Nuthatch...

The nuthatches are a lot quicker than the chickadees but yesterday one stayed still long enough for me to get a decent picture.

Another Chickadee.....

I took the top photograph shortly after photographing the squirrel from yesterdays post. I've included a photo I took last summer to show the comparison of how chickadees puff up their feathers when it's cold to help keep warm.

Striking a Pose....

I bought some squirrel food the other day and it didn't take long to attract a couple of red squirrels once I put it out. I took this photo on Friday, the temp was a balmy 5 degrees after a low of 25 below zero. One of the squirrels wasn't as skittish as the other so it allowed me a pretty close approach and I was able to get a few pictures.

Guest Post...

Photography and its Role in Environmental Awareness

Our world is beset by environmental problems because of man’s continuous quest for modernization. In our ardent zeal to do more in a shorter period of time, we’re depleting the natural resources that our planet has to offer faster than Mother Nature can replenish them, and because of this, we’re facing intense climate changes, global warming that’s melting the icebergs faster than ever before, and holes in the ozone layer that are contributing to an increase in pollution and toxicity in the places we live.

If it’s true that a picture is worth a thousand words, then we all must agree that a photo that captures the essence of its subject is of more use than the most loquacious of essays about the same subject. And what better use for photos than to increase awareness of the earth’s plight and get more people to realize that we have to act immediately if we wish to provide our future generations with a non-hostile planet to live on. So here goes, a list of reasons why photographs are ideal as a medium to enhance awareness about the need for eco-friendly measures:

· Photos produce a wow effect: If you’re shown a picture of whales being slaughtered, of the destruction wreaked by a typhoon that’s extremely powerful, of the ravages wrought on a rainforest by illegal loggers and poachers, or of animals driven to extinction because of the loss of their natural habitats, you’re likely to take more notice of their cause. The same effect can never be achieved with words or their equivalent.
· Photos provide lasting memories: Just as we don’t remember an earth that was teeming with wildlife and rich in natural resources, our children and their children will know how much destruction one generation can cause only when they see photographs of the earth shot a few decades ago. Photos serve to remind us of what we have destroyed and to warn future generations to preserve what they do have in a wise manner.
· Photos show us how much we stand to lose: Before and after pictures are extremely effective in educating people about the adverse effects of deforestation, global warming and other environmental dangers to our world. They’re the next best thing to actually being on location and witnessing firsthand the kind of damage we are knowingly wreaking on our planet.
· Photos are understood even by children: The future generations need to wake up to the fact that they may not have a world to live in if they’re careless and ignorant about the environment. Since photographs portray the entire story in a way that even children can understand, they realize the importance of doing all they can to protect and save what’s left of the earth’s environment.

By-line:

This article is contributed by Sarah Scrafford, who regularly writes on the topic of Associate Degree in Photography. She invites your questions, comments and freelancing job inquiries at her email address: sarah.scrafford25@gmail.com.

25 Below....

The photo I took of my thermometer this morning says it all!

Downy Woodpecker...

It was about 8 below zero this morning when I got up but it had warmed up to 2 degrees when I decided to go out and photograph the birds attracted to the feeder. I put out a suet block the other day and this downy woodpecker came to it while I was out photographing. I was out for about 30 minutes or so and ended up getting only four photos worth keeping, I trashed the rest. Needless to say my fingers went numb even with gloves so I had to call it quits before I got frostbite.

Red Squirrel...

While I was photographing the chickadees the other day I noticed a squirrel running across the yard holding something. It climbed a short way up a tree and it turned out it had a pine cone. I was only able to snap off a couple of shots before it finished digging seeds out of the pine cone and scampered to the top of the tree.

Winter Chickadee....

I took this photo this past weekend and it also happens to be the first photo I took in 2009. It's one of the chickadees attracted to my feeder.

This coming Friday I'll be having a guest post on this blog, it'll be a great article written by Sarah Scrafford entitled "Photography and its Role in Environmental Awareness" be sure to give it a read and let her know what you think.

New Year's Muskrat....

I like to spend the first of January out photographing some where but yesterday it was so bitterly cold I stayed inside. This photo is from New Year's day a few years ago. I went to Sabattus River to photograph ice patterns that the flowing water creates on the rocks and I ended up photographing this muskrat, there were actually three of them hanging around that morning. This guy swam right past me about ten feet away and it looked like it was holding a rock but when it climbed up on the ice I saw it was a mussel and it proceeded to break it open and chow down. I just had my point and shoot with me at the time but I thought the photo came out pretty good.