March 8, 2016 by Mike Powell
It was so cold yesterday morning at Huntley Meadows Park that the breath of a Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) was visible as he sang out from atop a cattail.
Spring is definitely in the air and potentially record high temperatures are forecast for later in the week. However, it was right about at the freezing level when I arrived at the local marshland park where I spent so much of my free time wandering with my camera in hand.
I’ve photographed Red-winged Blackbirds lots of times, but I rarely pass up an opportunity to shoot them again—I just never know when I may capture an unusual moment. The sun had risen and light was starting to reach the cattails. I turned toward the light when I heard a blackbird call out.
As I zoomed in on the bird, I was amazed to see that the blackbird’s breath was visible as he forcibly exhaled when singing. In the still morning air the visible breath swirled about and the bird looked like a smoker getting his early morning nicotine fix.
I was fascinated by the differing patterns of the condensation as the blackbird moved his head or body position and was thrilled to be able to capture several different views of the blackbird’s visible song.
As I went to bed last night, I noticed that the counter for my blog was right at a hundred thousand views. Thanks to so many of you for helping me to reach this milestone and for encouraging me and supporting me as I journey on into photography.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Agelaius phoeniceus, Alexandria VA, blackbird breath, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, male Red-winged Blackbird, red-winged blackbird, Tamron 150-600mm, visible song | 35 Comments »
March 7, 2016 by Mike Powell
Recently I posted a photo of a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) arriving at a perch with talons extended. Here’s what the same eagle looked like when it eventually left the perch. I love sense of power that the eagle is able to convey when it extends its mighty wings. (The second photo, taken a split-second before the first one, shows the eagle as it was preparing to take off,)
Note that the eagle has a band around his left leg. I wonder how many of the eagles I see at Huntley Meadows Park are banded. I can recall only one other time when I could see a band, but must admit that most of my eagle shots do not have enough detail to be able to tell if a band is present.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm | 4 Comments »
March 6, 2016 by Mike Powell
A Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) was preparing to land in a tree yesterday morning at Huntley Meadows Park and had its talons fully extended. With perfect form, the eagle was able to stick and hold the landing.
The judges all gave the eagle a perfect score of 10 for the routine.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm | 5 Comments »
March 6, 2016 by Mike Powell
Yesterday morning I had a portrait session with a male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) who wanted to update his presence on social media. Nowadays, he said, it takes more to attract a mate than merely putting on displays and singing loudly and he wanted to set himself apart from his rivals.
We tried a number of different poses in an effort to give him an artsy, mysterious look that would simultaneously suggest vulnerability and passion. We even tried a full-body portrait, because he knows that some of the lady cardinals are interested in more than just his handsome face.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Cardinalis cardinalis, Huntley Meadows Park, male Northern Cardinal, Northern cardinal, Tamron 150-600mm | 20 Comments »
March 5, 2016 by Mike Powell
Coated in a layer of snow, the landscape yesterday morning at Huntley Meadows Park was devoid of color, transformed into a study of black and white.
Partially hidden behind a branch, this Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) was almost invisible in a distant snow-covered tree.
This was almost a perfect snowfall—the accumulation of an inch or two (2-5 cm) was just enough to create a beautiful snowscape without inhibiting travel on the roads.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Landscape, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Huntley Meadows Park, snow, snowscape, Tamron 150-600mm | 12 Comments »
March 4, 2016 by Mike Powell
My heartbeat definitely accelerates when a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) flaps its wings and heads straight in my direction, as one did again this past Monday morning. I don’t know why the eagle chose to fly toward me, since I am pretty sure that it was aware of my presence and could have flown away. Perhaps the eagle was simply curious and wanted to check me out.
Eventually the eagle did pull up and fly past me, without getting as close as it might seem from the images. Some readers have asked me if I was near an eagle nest when I posted similar photos in the past. I have seen eagles multiple times in the same general location and suspect there might be a nest nearby, but so far have not located one.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Bald Eagle, birds in flight, Canon 50D, eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm | 9 Comments »
March 3, 2016 by Mike Powell
Do dabbling ducks double date? It sure looked like that was the case earlier this week when I spotted a Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) couple and a Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) couple swimming away from a larger group of mostly mallards for a few quiet moments together. I grew up in a family with eight siblings, so I can really understand their pursuit of peace and privacy.
It’s almost springtime and many of the birds are searching for mates. Usually it’s the males that put on elaborate displayes, but I think the female “Hoodie” here was the one that went all out to impress her date with an elaborate hairstyle.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Anas platyrhynchos, Canon 50D, Hooded Merganser, Huntley Meadows Park, Lophodytes cucullatus, mallard, Tamron 150-600mm, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 5 Comments »
March 2, 2016 by Mike Powell
For a few magical moments Monday morning the sun was shining through the trees at Huntley Meadows Park with a gorgeous golden light. At first I was a little disappointed that there were no birds or animals for me to photograph, but gradually I was drawn deeper and deeper into the simple abstract beauty of the trees themselves.
The varied colors, shapes, and textures of this intimate landscape enveloped me and filled me with a kind of reverent awe and inner sense of peace. I would have liked to freeze that moment and experience it in slow motion, but all too quickly the golden light faded and reality returned.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Art, Inspiration, Landscape, Nature, Photography | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, golden hour, golden light, Huntley Meadows Park, intimate landscape, Tamron 150-600mm, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 6 Comments »
March 1, 2016 by Mike Powell
There were a lot of Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) coming and going at Huntley Meadows Park early yesterday morning. This one was descending rapidly and coming in so fast that it looked like the goose was going to land right on me.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, birds in flight, Branta canadensis, Canada Goose, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 7 Comments »
March 1, 2016 by Mike Powell
I didn’t see where this Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) came from early yesterday morning at Huntley Meadows Park, but suddenly it was overhead at a relatively low altitude. I zoomed back a bit on my telephoto lens, but the eagle still more than filled the frame. At that close range, tracking was difficult and I had trouble keeping the eagle in the viewfinder (I think adrenaline might have been a factor too).
Incredibly, the first shot is an uncropped image. It was shot handheld at 483mm on my crop sensor Canon 50D camera with my trusty Tamron 150-600mm lens. The lighting was not that great, so I was shooting at ISO 1600, which resulted in a somewhat grainy image.
The second shot is one in which I got a bit ahead of the eagle in tracking it and chopped off its body. I liked the eagle’s expression so I cropped off the wide expanse of white sky to the right, turning the image from landscape mode to portrait mode, but otherwise left the framing untouched.
If someone had told me before yesterday that I could fill the frame of an image with a bald eagle in flight, I almost certainly would have laughed at them. Reality continues to amaze me.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Bald Eagle, birds in flight, eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Huntley Meadows Park | 12 Comments »
February 29, 2016 by Mike Powell
Recently, while exploring the streams in the remote back areas of Huntley Meadows Park, I have heard the unmistakable call of a Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) several times. Yesterday, on a warm spring-like day, I finally got a clear view of this beautiful female.
As I have mentioned before in some earlier postings, Belted Kingfishers are unusual in the bird world—the females are more colorful than the males. Females have a blue and a chestnut band across their white breasts and the males have only a blue band.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Belted Kingfisher, Canon 50D, female Belted Kingfisher, Huntley Meadows Park, Megaceryle alcyon, Tamron 150-600mm, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 10 Comments »
February 28, 2016 by Mike Powell
As I was walking through the woods on Friday at Huntley Meadows Park, I noticed something white among the leaves on the ground. At first I thought it was just a mushroom, but upon closer examination it turned out to be the upper portion of the skull of what I am pretty sure is a raccoon (Procyon lotor). There were no other bones in the area, nor was the lower jaw anywhere to be seen.
I don’t know much about animal anatomy, but I was fascinated by the shapes and contours of the skull, a kind of natural and organic sculpture. It was intriguing as well to examine the sizes and shapes of all of the different teeth.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 24-105mm, Canon 24-105mm lens, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Procyon lotor, raccoon, raccoon skull, skull | 12 Comments »
February 27, 2016 by Mike Powell
It is really nice when I am petsitting to have new subjects to photograph. Katie, a beautiful young German Shepherd, stayed with me last night and I took this shot as she was sitting on my couch, keeping a close eye on P.R., my rabbit.
Katie seemed utterly fascinated by the rabbit and intently watched him as he moved about his cage. P.R. (which is short for “Prime Rib”was more or less oblivious to Katie, even when they were only inches apart. I suspect that P.R. does not view dogs as predators, probably because she grew up with with a dog in the household.
The challenges of photographing a pet indoors are different from photographing wildlife outdoors, but so many of the basic principles carry over. This image looks a bit like a studio shot, because I was able to direct the light of a desk lamp so that it fell on one side of Katie’s face (and amazingly she sat still for a moment).
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in animals, Photography, Portraits | Tagged Alexandria, Canon 24-105mm lens, Canon 50D, German Shepherd, Katie, Runnymeade | 10 Comments »
February 26, 2016 by Mike Powell
As I was wandering about Huntley Meadows Park this morning, I came upon the remains of an Eastern Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) that quite obviously did not survive the winter. It looks to have been in place for quite some time not far from the water’s edge of a stream in a remote area of the park.
I don’t know if a predator consumed its flesh, but it looks like a lot of the bones were scattered around the skull of the turtle, as you can see in the first photo. I move the shell to nearby location to get shots of the the top and underside and also took a close-up shot of the skull.
Snapping Turtle remains in situ
Detailed view of the top of the shell
Detailed view of the underside of the shell
Detailed view of the skull
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Nature, Photography, Reptiles, wildlife, Winter | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 24-105mm lens, Canon 50D, chelydra sepentina, Eastern Snapping Turtle, Huntley Meadows Park, skeleton, snapping turtle, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 11 Comments »
February 25, 2016 by Mike Powell
Last Saturday, the final day of the 5+ month deer hunting season at Huntley Meadows Park, I was startled to see the unmistakable shape of deer antlers on the ground a short distance away from where I was standing. As I moved closer, I saw that it was only some kind of decoy used by the hunters.
Looking up, I realized I was at the base of an unoccupied tree stand. I felt a little safer knowing that there were no archers in the stand at that moment.
I understand the problems caused in our area by an overpopulation of White-tailed Deer and the reason for the extended hunting season. Still, I am somewhat amused by the lengths to which the county goes to avoid using words like “hunting” or “killing.” Instead, they refer to the “archery program” and “deer management.” Deer management? I have visions of a deer CEO.
On Monday the 22nd, I returned to the park and was surprised to see that least some of the tree stands were still present. I am sure that someone will eventually come to retrieve the stands, but I am going remain alert, just in case one of the stands happens to be occupied despite the stated end of the deer hunting season.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, deer, Huntley Meadows Park, Odocoileus virginianus, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, white-tailed deer | 8 Comments »
February 24, 2016 by Mike Powell
Some days it seems like the birds are conspiring against me. They are so skittish that they fly away long before I am within range or they hide behind a wall of branches, where I can hear them but cannot see them clearly.
In moments like that, a male Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) often comes to rescue me from my despair. These birds are so bold and defiant that they refuse to hide. Instead, they find the most prominent perch and sing out as loudly as possible, showing off for rivals and potential mates.
This past Monday was one of those days when I was having trouble finding subjects to photograph. Suddenly a blackbird appeared and flew to the highest branch of a nearby small tree. Undeterred by my presence, he looked in my direction and seemed to smile. After a moment, he burst forth in singing while continuing to look at me, as though he were saying, “This one’s for you.”
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Agelaius phoeniceus, Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, male Red-winged Blackbird, red-winged blackbird, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 10 Comments »
February 23, 2016 by Mike Powell
We visit our local parks and wildlife refuges for a short while and return home, forgetting sometimes that many of the creatures we observed live and die within the confines of these small (or not so small) areas. As I wander through Huntley Meadows Park, I see signs of this entire circle of life. Lives have ended and, as we move into spring, new lives are beginning.
Whenever I come across skeletal remains, a clump of feathers, or other evidence of the death of a bird or an animal, I cannot help but wonder how the creature met its demise. Was it a predator, old age, sickness, or starvation? Life can be harsh in the wild, especially in the winter.
As far as I can tell, the animal in the first photo is a raccoon (Procyon lotor). Several months ago a fellow photographer mentioned that he had seen the dead body of a raccoon inside a hollow in the trunk of a fallen tree. I thought that predators would have dismembered the body by now, but instead it seems to be slowly decomposing in its sheltered position.
The skull is the second photo is that of a White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Other body parts of the deer were scattered about in the same area where I spotted the skull. There are concerns that the deer population is too high for the park to support, so there is a chance this deer died from starvation.
I know that these photos, especially the first one, are pretty graphic and apologize in advance to those who may have found them to be excessively disturbing.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Odocoileus virginianus, Procyon lotor, raccoon, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, white-tailed deer | 5 Comments »
February 22, 2016 by Mike Powell
My long weekend of catsitting is coming to an end today, so I decided I needed to do a posting on Queso, the youngest member of the cat trio. Queso is still a kitten and is full of energy and curiosity. He loves to antagonize his two older “brothers” and will sometimes pounce on them when they least expect it.
Cindy Dyer and her husband Michael rescued Queso when they found him abandoned in the bushes outside of a Mexican restaurant. That initial experience and his orange-yellow fur caused them to name him Queso.
Tomorrow (or possibly later today), I’ll be back to my more typical wildlife and nature photos. It’s been a fun challenge this past weekend to shoot “wild” animals in an indoor setting with available light.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in animals, Cat, Photography, Portraits | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 24-105mm lens, Canon 50D, cat, Cindy Dyer, Queso, Runnymeade | 12 Comments »
February 21, 2016 by Mike Powell
Lobo is another one of the cats that I am watching this weekend. He and Pixel, the cat that I featured previously, were adopted at the same time. According to my friend Cindy Dyer, she wanted to name him “JPEG,” but her husband protested, so they settled on the name “Lobo.”
Lobo has always seemed exotic and mysterious to me, with piercing eyes that look like they could hypnotize me if I stare into them too long.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in animals, Cat, Photography, Portraits | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 24-105mm lens, Canon 50D, Cindy Dyer, Lobo, Runnymeade | 6 Comments »
February 21, 2016 by Mike Powell
I am catsitting for the weekend, which means that I have three new subjects to photograph. The cats all have distinctive personalities, so I decided to post photos of them separately.
Only a photographer and graphic designer like my dear friend and mentor Cindy Dyer would name a cat “Pixel.” Of the three cats, Pixel is generally the most sedentary. He loves to sprawl out on the carpet when he is not eating. He loves to ear and was starting to turn into a Mega-Pixel before he was put on a diet.
Here are a few shots of Pixel from yesterday that capture some of his different moods. I took them indoors using available light with my Canon 24-105mm lens, a lens that I rarely use when photographing wildlife.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Cat, Photography, Portraits | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 24-105mm, Canon 50D, cat, Cindy Dyer, Pixel, Runnymeade | 11 Comments »
February 20, 2016 by Mike Powell
How do you generate volume when you sing? I remember being told to breathe from the diaphragm, but this male Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) seemed to think that spreading his wings helped him to be heard yesterday morning at Huntley Meadows Park.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Agelaius phoeniceus, Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, male Red-winged Blackbird, red-winged blackbird, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 14 Comments »
February 19, 2016 by Mike Powell
I don’t know if this male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) qualifies as an “angry bird,” but he sure did not seem happy to see me this morning at Huntley Meadows Park.
Maybe he was cold and hungry or got off on the wrong side of the bed this morning. In any case, I couldn’t coax a smile out of him.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, angry bird, Canon 50D, Cardinalis cardinalis, Huntley Meadows Park, male Northern Cardinal, Northern cardinal, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 11 Comments »
February 18, 2016 by Mike Powell
Sometimes a Great Blue Heron’s catch is big enough for a main course, but sometimes it’s only an appetizer. The good news is that appetizers are really easy for a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) to swallow.
I included the second photo, which sequentially was taken before the first one, because I like the expression on the heron’s face. The heron seems to be both amused and embarrassed at the small size of the fish.
It’s obvious, though, that the heron does not have a catch-and-release policy if the fish is not of a certain minimum size.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter | Tagged Alexandria VA, Ardea herodias, Canon 50D, Great Blue Heron, heron, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 4 Comments »
February 17, 2016 by Mike Powell
I love to wander through remote areas of Huntley Meadows Park, often following meandering streams. Each time is different, as the level of the water, the varying light, and the changing vegetation alter my perceptions of the landscape.
The park is a freshwater wetland of over 1500 acres with meadows, ponds, streams, and woods that provide a habitat for the wide range of insects, birds, and animals that I often feature on this blog. I am always conscious of the beauty of my surroundings, but generally have either a telephoto zoom or a macro lens on my camera, so photographing the landscape is not something that I do very often.
I was drawn to the twists and turns of this section of one of my favorite streams after a significant rainfall earlier this month. It was relatively early in the morning and there were still shadows in some areas. I captured some images of the scene with the “short” end of my 150-600mm lens and this is my favorite of the group. I definitely need to work more on visualizing landscape shots, but am happy with this initial effort.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Landscape, Nature, Photography | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, landscape, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 5 Comments »
February 16, 2016 by Mike Powell
Like a tightrope walker, this American Robin (Turdus migratorius) inched its way along a narrow vine at Huntley Meadows Park, its eyes focused on the prize that awaited it at the other end. Periodically the robin used its wings for balance and moved forward until it reached a steady position almost within reach of the berries.
With a quick thrust forward of its head, the robin was able to snatch one of the low-hanging fruits. When I left it, the robin seemed to be enjoying its prize with a smile on its face.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, American robin, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, robin, Tamron 150-600mm, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, tightrope walker, Turdus migratorius | 10 Comments »
February 15, 2016 by Mike Powell
As I was watching some Canada Geese foraging in open water at Huntley Meadows Park on Saturday, I noticed a smaller, darker bird in the middle of the group. Clearly it was not a goose, but it too was wading in the shallow water and periodically pulling out tasty pieces of vegetation.
It looks to me like it is a Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus), a cool-looking species that I don’t see very often. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the “Rusty Blackbird is one of America’s most rapidly declining species. The population has plunged an estimated 85-99 percent over the past forty years and scientists are completely puzzled over what is the cause.”
Rusty Blackbirds often gather in small flocks, but I observed only this single individual. I kept an eye on the blackbird and was fortunate to get some shots as it moved in and out of the light on a frigid day at the marsh.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | 8 Comments »
February 14, 2016 by Mike Powell
Although the temperature was 20 degrees (minus 7 degrees C) and the wind was blowing yesterday afternoon, I got fooled into thinking the bright sunshine would warm me up a bit. Most of the creatures at the marsh were absent from view, probably trying to keep warm in sheltered locations.
I was excited, therefore, when I head the unmistakable sound of a Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) at work nearby as I was walking along a path. No other woodpeckers in our area can match the volume of a Pileated Woodpecker when it is burying its bill into a tree.
I managed to locate the woodpecker and was a little disappointed that it was high in a tree in a location where it was obscured by lots of branches. Eventually the woodpecker climbed higher in the tree and I was able to get a few relatively unobstructed shots, although I had to take them at a pretty sharp angle.
My favorite shot is the one in which the woodpecker looks like it is stalking a prey at the top of the tree. Its eyes are fixed on the target and it seems to be trying to sneak up on it. In reality, I have no idea what the woodpecker was doing, but it made for an unusual pose.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Dryocopus pileatus, Huntley Meadows Park, Pileated Woodpecker, Tamron 150-600mm, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 5 Comments »
February 13, 2016 by Mike Powell
My good friend and photography mentor, Cindy Dyer, is spreading the news about the two-page photo spread of some of my recent photos that ran in a local community newspaper. What she doesn’t note is that she is a source of constant support, encouragement, and inspiration for my photography as well as for my blog. Thanks, Cindy.
Cindy Dyer's Blog
Congratulations to my dear friend Michael Powell for getting his photos published in a spread in the local Mt. Vernon Voice newspaper. He was out shooting at Huntley Meadows one cold morning and the co-editor of the publication happened to be there. He asked him if he would like his work to be featured in the newspaper. He had a two page spread available to fill and Michael had to get him photos pronto. Nice showcase for your work, grasshopper! You can see more of Michael’s work on his blog at https://michaelqpowell.wordpress.com/.
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Posted in Birds, Language, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Mount Vernon Voice, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 18 Comments »
February 13, 2016 by Mike Powell
As the early morning sunlight hit the cattails yesterday at Huntley Meadows Park, this male Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) seemed to be contemplating the start of the new day.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter | Tagged Agelaius phoeniceus, Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, male Red-winged Blackbird, red-winged blackbird, Tamron 150-600mm, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 10 Comments »
February 12, 2016 by Mike Powell
No matter how slowly and silently I move, a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) seems to sense my presence very quickly and immediately takes to the air. It’s really not that surprising, given the eagle’s amazingly keen eyesight that lets it spot prey from a long distance away.
Last weekend I spotted this Bald Eagle when it was perched atop a broken-off tree. Most of the previous times the stationary eagles that I have seen have been sitting on branches. When they took off, they seemed to push off of the branch a bit to gain some forward momentum.
In this case, the eagle appeared to initially push in an upward direction to gain a little height before flapping its powerful wings. Here are a few shots that show some of the stages of the takeoff process.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Bald Eagle, birds in flight, Canon 50D, eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 3 Comments »
February 11, 2016 by Mike Powell
Some of my favorite photos are ones with a common subject and a simple composition, like these shots I took this past weekend of a male Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) at Huntley Meadows Park. The blackbird was perched in a field of cattails and the morning light was beautiful.
Sometimes photography seems so uncomplicated—it just works.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Agelaius phoeniceus, Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, male Red-winged Blackbird, red-winged blackbird, Tamron 150-600mm, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 5 Comments »
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