Two extremes

March 23, 2018 by Mike Powell

Are you attracted more by something that is powerful and exciting or by something that is familiar and comfortable? When it comes to photography, it seems like I constantly face this dilemma. Should I be chasing after the large predators of the air, travelling, as some birders do, hundreds of miles in the hopes of photographing a rare species like a snowy owl? Should I be content to spend my time scanning the branches and bushes for familiar birds that some dismissively call “backyard birds?”

Fortunately, this is not an either-or proposition—it is what academics would call a “false dichotomy.” I don’t have to choose only one type of subject on which to focus my attention and my camera. The reality is that I want to photograph them all and find equal enjoyment in photographing a modest White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) and a majestic Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). I photographed both of these birds this past week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and for me they represent the two extremes that I mentioned earlier.

One image is a carefully composed portrait of a small bird at rest and the other is an action shot of a powerful predator in the air taken on the fly, relying on reactions. Is one “better” than the other? Maybe it is better to ask if you find one more appealing, one that speaks to you more.

It is a bit of a cliché to state that beauty is in the eye of the beholder—beauty is often subjective, but sometimes people talk of universal beauty. How can that be? Personally, when I think about beauty, I realize that it is inherently contradictory, that it is an elusive mystery that we can never fully understand, but that is worth pursuing.

Beauty can be found in many places and in many ways. As you prepare for the weekend, I hope that you too will find time to discover the beauty that surrounds you, in the familiar or the exotic or somewhere in between those two extremes.

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, spring, wildlife | Tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, white-throated sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis | 13 Comments

13 Responses

on March 23, 2018 at 7:11 am | Reply exploringcolour

Thank you for the great photos and thoughts on beauty. Lovely!
- on March 23, 2018 at 12:41 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  I didn’t know exactly what I was going to write when I sat down with those two photos this morning. As it turned out, my thoughts wandered into the area of beauty, Liz, and I put down a few of the ideas that, if fleshed out, could eventually turn into the guest post you are encouraging me to write. 🙂
  - on March 23, 2018 at 2:09 pm exploringcolour
    
    Big silly grin on my face !!! I like what I hear 🙂
on March 23, 2018 at 8:47 am | Reply Ellen

Benjamin always wants to know what you write in the posts with the photos. Sometimes I need to put them into words he understands. Today I said you were talking about which photos were most important to take. The Toddler Art Critic, has an opinion to offer. “Mr. Mike, take pictures of everything. I love them all!” We both “Thank-you, Mr.Mike!”
- on March 23, 2018 at 12:45 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  You summarized my basic ideas really well. Be sure to thank Benjamin on my behalf for his words of encouragement and motivation. I’ll try, in fact, to take pictures of everything. At his age, curiosity had no limits and I’d like to be childlike in that respect.
on March 23, 2018 at 12:43 pm | Reply kenneturner

Nicely said. However, for me, there is no mystery in beauty, only our ability to connect what we know from experience to what we observe.
- on March 23, 2018 at 1:01 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Kenne. Beauty and mystery are topics that we could probably discuss endlessly, in part because we all sense and interpret the world in different ways. Even if we are looking at the same thing at the very same time, I suspect that we are perceiving that “reality” in our own unique ways, filtered by our knowledge, experience, and even out emotions at the time.
on March 23, 2018 at 1:16 pm | Reply blhphotoblog

Well written Mike, both images are great but to me I like the Sparrow better, it’s the sort of bird images I aim for though birds of prey are harder to get! Nice one (two)
on March 23, 2018 at 2:33 pm | Reply Laura (PA Pict)

I personally enjoy the diversity of your photography – the portraits and the action shots, the big predators and the little birds, the brightly coloured birds and the wee brown jobs. I don’t think one is better than the other when it comes to the quality of your photography or its merits. I appreciate that you often show me birds and other critters I have not myself seen in real life but that is as true of the showy birds as it is of some small, dun-coloured bird.
on March 23, 2018 at 3:01 pm | Reply Dan Antion

Thanks forthe beauty you capture and share with us, Mike. Have a great weekend.
on March 23, 2018 at 5:20 pm | Reply New Hampshire Garden Solutions

I think they’re both beautiful, in different ways. The sparrow says peace to me and the eagle says freedom.
on March 24, 2018 at 3:13 pm | Reply Ellen Jennings

I’m towards the “I want it all” camp and sometimes it just means looking around. I’ve seen and photographed so many beautiful things around me while other photographers in the vicinity concentrate only on that raptor. Great images!
on March 24, 2018 at 9:18 pm | Reply nliakos

The ability to see beauty in all of creation is a true gift.