Nature Photography - Michigan Birds
Therapy for the Soul
Nature speaks in silent actions, take a walk, the soul will hear.
National Geographic's Annual 2011 Photo Competition
This Michigan photo won editors' favorite in the NG 2011 photo contest.
Click Here: National Geographic Photo Contest 2011
Juvenile Night Heron - I Can Make It! Photo by Ike Austin
Osprey - Nesting Pair
Nesting pair of Osprey at Kensington Michigan Metro Park
Mallard - Rising like a Pheonix
With This Old Lens
What a spectacular shot of this Mallard Duck exploding out the wetland pond.
One Bird Fact: Unlike most birds that need a large space to take off, Mallads can take off almost vertically as captured in the above photo.
To really appreciate this photo, I must share the fact that it was shot with a twenty year old (135mm 2.8.) manual lens.
A manual lens must be pre-aimed and focused on a specific location. If either the subject—in this case a duck or the photographer, move even a small distance forward or backward this would throw the image out of focus. It was pure luck to get such a fast action shot with a manual lens.
Another feature about this shot was the amount of water droplets. The increased amount of droplets are a result of other Mallards that jumped out the pond a split second before our duck made its leap.
I must also admit, I have taken hundreds of duck action shots with my expensive automatic focus lens and none has produced the amount of droplet action, emotion, lighting and composition seen in this photo.
"This old lens" (I inherited from a co-worker) really worked it's magic the first time out in the field.
Michigan Birds Birding Tip
Take your camera, if you don't own a camera, take a pair of binoculars, if you can't find your binoculars, then just go and visit Erie Metro Park, Kensington Metro Park or any Metro Park in your area.
Be sure to venture off the main paved bike paths onto some of the more secluded wooded trails. Walk slow with an occasional pause for several minutes, the pauses will reveal some of the more timid creature that remain hidden at the noise of approaching humans.
Silence... is for listening to nature, thinking
Birds of Michigan - Therapy for the Soul
Take the nature walk process slowly, let the silence and the sounds of nature; the rustling of chipmunks in a pile of leaves, the sound of bird calls off in the distance, permit these rare occasional moments to transfer hidden messages from nature to your mind.
Physically relax and pay attention to what catches your attention, this is often natures way of presenting a needed lesson or esoteric message that is meant for you at a particular time in your life.
Physical needs are not the area of focus during your stroll among nature. Yet strange enough, the way your mind will be altered, can change your life for the better.
Nature photography is therapy; As you continue to walk and look around, you are casually drawn deeper into the silence and the mysterious abode of Michigan Birds.
Encrypted messages of silence may sometimes come in the form of a small creature. A message might be revealed in the the manner or position in which the animal might sit on a branch or when it poke its head from out the cavity of a fallen tree stump—you will feel or in a non-verbal way understand something related to life in general or about your own personal life, or thoughts buried deep in your mind you thought were secret, but you will discover... nature knows.
The same happened to me on early morning as I stood at the edge of a steep incline looking out over the wetland; this giant bird flew by within a few feet of me and as it did, he filled my mind with conversation. The giant sixty foot long bird then landed far down the gravel road, and started walking back to my location. We had a most astonishing conversation. I later discovered his name wasGrus Michigan Bird Canadensis.
A large raptor circling high above in a cloudless blue sky may emanate a message to your mind providing you a view of life from a higher perspective other than your ordinary ground level viewpoint.
Everyone can hear, everyone listen... to nature
Enjoy the many nature photography and wildlife photos, elaborate on the thoughts and feelings that certain images stimulate in your mind. In my personal walk, observations of nature have truly been therapy to my soul.
Nature photography and bird pictures can help to relieve stress.
"The silence of nature has the effect to clean the mind of constant noise pollution. Pure sounds and images of nature alter my soul, when I come close to nature, stress is transformed to calm, I am amongst the truly civilized." —ThirdSon
I wish all who view these nature photography photos, the same. Visit the ThirdSon Nature Photography Michigan Bird Blog
Michigan Birds and Nature Photography
So by planning or just by an act of spontaneity, go take that walk among nature. Get a very different understanding of animals—as we have been taught to call them.
Observe the forest creatures behavior for several visits and see if your perception of animals as being simple emotionless, soulless and mindless creatures will change. Don't try to force your perspective of animals, just see if your opinion will naturally morph into a different perspective after a few short visits and close observations.
Go and see if the pollutions of the mind are clarified and the complexities of life become simplified—the answers to what you need is in the walk among animals—so called. The many birds of Michigan await your arrival.
The Things Nature Tell Us
Nature speaks to us all, in silence I hear a deeper truth—ThirdSon
When possible, grab that camera take a photo of your most memorable Michigan birds you encounter and freeze some of those fleeting moments for future reference and sharing.
Enjoy your nature photography excursions.
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