The Mercer County Parks staff has put up fences at the Pole Farm to remind people to stay on the trails and not to wander off into the woods where long-eared owls have been roosting. I applaud the move. I was walking up the central trail in shoe-sucking mud this morning when up at theContinue reading “What part of ‘stay on the trails’ don’t you understand?”
Tag Archives: nature photography
Birds large and small, I like photographing them all
I don’t know what the numbers are, but a high percentage of birders are photographers. And among birding photographers, a certain percentage focus exclusively or primarily on the largest birds, mostly raptors — eagles, hawks and the bigger owls. I’ve done field studies of a sort, in that I often talk photography with birders IContinue reading “Birds large and small, I like photographing them all”
The irony of wildlife photography
“Don’t look back” may be good psychological advice for putting the past behind you, but for wildlife photographers in the field, it’s advice to be ignored. Shortly after I arrived at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm yesterday, I looked ahead and saw a photographer I didn’t recognize pointing a camera with a long, tripod-mounted lensContinue reading “The irony of wildlife photography”
A wonderful morning at the Pole Farm, harrier hotspot
I wrote recently about days when photo opportunities are few. As if to restore balance to the universe, Mother Nature smiled on me today with good morning light and encounters with a couple of photogenic birds. Knowing that time was limited “because work,” I took the quickest route to the closest place, the Mercer MeadowsContinue reading “A wonderful morning at the Pole Farm, harrier hotspot”
A bird’s gotta eat
I’m delighted to be able to get back out onto the trails again, and I’ve been building back my stamina. This morning, I did a nearly 1.5 mile loop out at the Pole Farm, and at my slower pace, I’m learning to enjoy how it brings me unexpected pleasures in birding. The photo atop thisContinue reading “A bird’s gotta eat”
In nature photography, how much post-processing is too much?
Saturday morning arrived cool and very, very overcast gray in my part of the mid-Atlantic region. Those conditions can occasionally make for great photos, but often they leave me with dull, muddy images. The photo above of a great blue heron stalking in Colonial Lake just off Business U.S. 1 in Lawrence Township is whatContinue reading “In nature photography, how much post-processing is too much?”
Sometimes, the birds come to us
You can tramp for an hour through the woods and fail to find a bird to photograph, and sometimes all you have to do is look up from the kitchen table to find something magnificent paying you a call. The latter happened yesterday as my wife and I sat down to lunch. I was oneContinue reading “Sometimes, the birds come to us”
Patience pays off, in birding and nature photography
On most Saturday mornings, I start my day at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm. I don’t have the pressure of having to get back in time to catch a bus to work, so I have more time to wander the fields. This morning, I arrived before dawn, hoping to catch sight of the short-eared owlsContinue reading “Patience pays off, in birding and nature photography”
Birding joy: Finding the unexpected on your camera roll
It happens frequently on my outings that I point my binoculars at a distant bird and can’t figure out what it is. If I’m lucky, I have enough time to point my camera and capture a few frames, hoping that the bird’s identity will be revealed once I get the images up on screen backContinue reading “Birding joy: Finding the unexpected on your camera roll”
The bald eagles living next door
Although I generally head to the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm for most of my morning outings, I occasionally switch my destination to another nearby park. I did so today and was rewarded with an encounter with two bald eagles. I headed to Colonial Lake and Park, which is a mile and a half from myContinue reading “The bald eagles living next door”
The Jersey Birder 