A day to remember!

Kokosing River

Designated as one of Ohio's Scenic Rivers, the Kokosing River lives up to its name.  I was recently invited to take a canoe ride on it.  I was internally resonating with my wildlife interests as we floated for about two and one half hours.  I was amazed at the fish.  They were everywhere and easily visible.  It appeared that their size varied according to the depth of the water.  We had a Great Blue Heron which went down the river with us, flying ahead, landing, and flying ahead.  We saw a Green Heron also.  We saw whitetail deer, muskrat, maybe a beaver: though I doubt it.  My internal resonance was so high that I could not keep my mouth shut.  Had I been able to, we would probably have seen more wildlife.

http://www.larrysimages.com

Sassafras Redo

Sassafras Fruit

Sassafras fruits are eaten by many species of birds including Bobwhite Quail ,Eastern King-bird, Great Crested Flycatchers, Phoebes, Wild Turkeys, Gray Catbirds, Northern Flickers, Pileated Woodpeckers, Downy Woodpeckers, thrushes, vireos, and Northern Mockingbirds.  This is a according to Wikipedia.  I understand that the fruit is not recommended for human consumption.  I love to drink sassafras tea made from steeping the roots in boiled water.  The old farmers recommended drinking it in the spring to thin the blood after a long winter.

I saw this shot the other day when the light on it was mottled and highlighted the fruit.  I did not succeed in capturing it.  This is the redo.  The light is never the same.  I used a circular polarizing filter to cut down the sky reflecting off the leaves and flash to get more light back on the fruit and red stems.  I think that the one with mottled light would have been better.  Maybe next time.  I like the colors.  I think they unify it.  The lines of the leaves and fruit draws my eye into the fruit.

http://www.larrysimages.com

Found again!

eggs on cattail

I looked for these eggs yesterday and could not find them.  You may remember them from blog of Sept. 2. Larry at Larry's Images.com: My Part!

I had looked for them yesterday and could not locate them.  I assumed they were already gone without a trace.  Today the wind was moving the leaves around and I saw them.  I used my insect setup with a heavy tripod.  I was able to make this capture even though they were blowing around wildly.  I think that the dark eggs are ready to hatch.  I still do not know to what insect they belong.  Stay tuned!

http://larrysimages.com

What draws my eye

Gorman Trail

I walk the same trail every morning. You might say that I am a creature of habit. How boring! I find that this modus operandi reveals to me many things about photography. I find that the light is different each day.  It gives me the opportunity to see what attracts my eye. This morning, as I walked, I tried to think of the things which I have noticed to attract my eye. This is probably not exhaustive, but they are: lighting, contrast (tonal, textural, color), movement (creature), line, and sounds (creature).

The bird house in this shot attracts my eye. I think that my eye goes down the trail and bounces off between the trees into the weeds to the nest box.  It is like a continuation of the line of the trail.