Back to the Nature Preserve
So, in the lean times, colder and more in climate weather, holiday seasons and what’s entailed in those, we may find ourselves lacking in places to go and shoot. Mind you, I have lists of places to go and things to shoot when I get there, but allot of them require at least an overnight, if not two, to get what I need. But who has time for that during the holidays? Well, my particular answer for that lies in Ridgefield, Washington…let me show you!
Literally…every time I visit Ridgefield Wildlife Preserve in Ridgefield, Washington, it’s a whole different experience that the time before. So, armed with my trusty Nikon P1000, I ventured off and I was far from disappointed…in fact, this trip made me all around giddy! This Wood Duck, to the left, was gliding along the water in the early morning sun.
Most, but not all, times I come to this awesome place, I will see at least 1 Bald Eagle. They truly are majestic in how they conduct themselves and I rarely miss an opportunity to capture a specimen. As much as I talk up the P1000, I have to say that it does have its limitations. Such as the sensor in it you would also find a similar one in a cell phone. So it sort of takes cell phone type photos and at 16 MP, well, there can be allot of room for error. It takes awesome video and I highly recommend you use that feature if you’re going to a place like this and you can even get stills from your video. The closer you get, the more distortion and noise can occur in your photo. I do a bit of post-processing with what I take on the P1000. But, you can get some decent to good photos with this camera and for now, that will do.
This Red-tail Hawk posed for more time than I needed, which is great for composing different shots, and I took my time in getting shots that were in different poses, from a bowing-type shot (Left), to portraits of the face and shoulders. Never a dull moment!
For the second time in my life, the first in Yellowstone National Park in Montana, I have been phenomenally lucky to photograph a Great Grey Owl. This is what gets me excited about going to Ridgefield and this wildlife preserve and photographing what I see. If you go to these types of places, then play a game with yourself. The game is called…What Doesn’t Belong! It’s easier to play in the Winter time, but as you get better at it, then the easier it becomes, even in the Spring and Summer. It’s so automatic with me now that I can find subjects like this one without allot of difficulty. It’s a great little game to train your brain with…and I’m aware of the rhyming that has just occurred. When you play it successfully, images like the one to the right are very achievable.
That concludes my story, and I’m absolutely sticking to it, this week and I hope to venture out soon! I told my wife, when I was leaving to go to Ridgefield, that I was going to be gone a couple hours…MAX, when I concluded my 2nd lap around the Preserve, I was gone almost 5 hours. Time flies when you’re having fun…and I had a blast! Until the next time, go out, go and be, capture some fond memories and have fun! Enjoy your travels, take care of yourselves and each other…be and travel well!
