As I was looking over some images from about a month ago, I realized that I had not posted any views of this North American Beaver (Castor canadensis) that I spotted swimming off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge one early morning. At that hour we both were moving pretty slowly—one of us on land and the other in the water.
As the beaver altered its course , the light falling on its face and body changed, occasionally catching a bit of sunlight from the just-risen sun. I love the way that the water was tinged with light blue and pink and how the mostly still water picked up the reflections of the swimming beaver.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
So very lovely, Michael. You captured the peace and beauty of the morning with aplomb.
Great shots Mike! Super capture.
Super shots, Mike. I love the lighting in the second one. The beaver almost looks like he is bronze.
Great captures, Mike! The light and colors reflected in the water in the third shot are very nice!
I love the beautiful silky water!
Thanks, Liz. The light was somewhat limited, so I inadvertently let my shutter speed drop pretty low, which is why the water is so silky. Fortunately I was using a monopod for stability and the beaver was swimming slowly, so the shots were more or less in focus.
Oh, and I’m putting together a ‘Pink and Blue’ post for later in the week! Are you ok with me using the middle beaver photo if that ends up fitting in with my other photos?
That would be fine with me. I was really struck by the way the background appeared as the sun was coming up and the accents of pink and blue that shone through on the surface of the water.
Thanks Mike, its a really beautiful photo.
Nice pictures!
Thanks so much. I don’t see beavers very often and every encounter with one is a special occasion for me–the chance to take some cool photos was a nice bonus.
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