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Posts Tagged ‘Melospiza melodia’

Sparrow and shadow

Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on February 9, 2014| 6 Comments »

Have sparrows become my favorite bird? This winter, I’ve spent more time with them than with any other birds and I’ve featured them repeatedly in my blog postings. I tend to be more at ease with the familiar and the comfortable, rather than the exotic and extreme. and sparrows fit well into my world, like this Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) in the snow.

Photographing these small birds is a challenge, though, because it is unusually tough to isolate them from their often cluttered background and they are in constant motion. I like the way that I was able to capture this sparrow, with the small patch of exposed grass amidst the snow. The light was pretty strong and blew out a few details in the chest feathers, but if cast an interesting shadow.

Perhaps sparrows are not my favorite birds, but we are good friends who spend a lot of time together.

sparrow_shadow_blog

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Hopping sparrow

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , on January 27, 2014| 7 Comments »

I finally made it out to my local marsh this past weekend to check out the wildlife activity following our recent snowstorm and protracted period of cold weather. The boardwalks are still mostly slippery and covered with packed snow and almost all of the water in the ponds is frozen solid, which means that most of the geese and ducks have relocated. The cold spell is forecast to continue this week, so I don’t expect to see the water fowl returning any time soon.

The sparrows seemed even more active than normal, though, in constant motion as they moved from one set of vegetation to another. Often it seemed that they chose to hop from place to place, rather than fly, and I caught this Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) in mid-hop. (It looked like they would extend their wings a bit when they would hop down from a higher point on a plant to a lower spot).

sparrow_hopping_blog

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Portrait of a sparrow in the snow

Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 5, 2014| 11 Comments »

Although I already posted a photo earlier today of a Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) in the snow, I came across one I liked even more as I was going through yesterday’s images. This sparrow (and I am never certain of my sparrow identifications) seemed to be posing for me. Somehow I was able to capture details in its eyes that I have never seen before.

After our brief portrait session, the sparrow hurried back to work.

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© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Sparrow in the snow

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on January 5, 2014| 5 Comments »

We don’t get much snow here is Northern Virginia, so I was really excited to visit my marshland park yesterday to see what birds and animals were active. There were lots of crows and Canada Geese, but I was mostly attracted by the frenetic activity of the sparrows.

The sparrows moved around quickly in the snow and on the ice, foraging for food in the dried out vegetation in the cattail field. This little sparrow, which I think is a Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia), paused for a split second and lifted its head, which made it possible for me to get this shot. (Most of my other shots have the sparrow’s head in the shadows or buried in the vegetation).

sparrow_snow_blog

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Shooting the ordinary well

Posted in Birds, commentary, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , , on March 8, 2013| 4 Comments »

Do you aspire to photograph extraordinary subjects in exotic locations or are you content to shoot ordinary subjects in nearby locales?

This past winter (well, it’s almost past), I have really enjoyed photographing birds. At times, I have longed to be able to capture awe-inspiring images of hawks and eagles, of ospreys and owls and have thought about the travel and equipment that might be required to do so. Does that make me an adrenaline junkie, always searching for more, someone who requires increasing amounts of excitement to be content?

For the moment at least, I know that the answer is “no.” My pulse still quickens when I see a robin or a cardinal. I will take shot after shot of geese and ducks flying and landing. I am willing to kneel in the mud to try to get yet another shot of a sparrow. Here is one such shot of a Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) from earlier this week that I really like.

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I am content with the ordinary and strive to capture and display its beauty. Cristian Mihai, a wonderful, easy-t0-read blogger, wrote a posting yesterday on beauty, entitled Beauty will save the world that I really recommend. It caused me to think more deeply about my photography, about my goals and motivations. What is is about beauty that prompts a desire to respond, to share it with others?

I started this posting with a false dichotomy, with alternatives that are not mutually exclusive to stimulate thought, the kind of inner examination that I have been conducting. There is no simple answer—sometimes it is sufficient to simply think about the question.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Stopping for a drink

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , on March 3, 2013| 6 Comments »

Although it is enjoyable and challenging to try to photograph large, colorful birds, I often find myself returning to photographing smaller, more ordinary birds. It’s a different kind of challenge capturing images of these little birds, who seem to be in constant motion.

This afternoon I was able to photograph this Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) when he stopped for a moment to get a drink of water.

sparrow_blog

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Sparrow and vine

Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, tagged , , , , , , on January 29, 2013| 12 Comments »

The crisscrossing pattern of the vine and the cooperative pose of the Song Sparrow combine to make this photo one of my recent favorites.

It is always exciting for me when the elements of an image work together in interesting and unexpected ways. I was attempting to photograph this Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) when he flew onto this stalk. He was facing away from me, but I kept shooting and them he turned his head. I am not sure that I could have intentionally come up with a more interesting pose—I love the way we are looking down his back and get to see his wings and also get a clear view of his face.

When I first looked at this photo, though, what caught my eyes the most were the crisscrossing vines, an unanticipated bonus. The X-shape of the vine is both linear and curved at the same time and I chose to crop the photo to highlight this feature.

One of the things that keeps me thrilled about photographing nature is the balance between preparation and spontaneity, between technical excellence and creativity. I try to put myself into situations outside in which I know there is a chance that I will see something interesting and then prepare myself (and my camera) to take advantage when something does happen (and it’s usually not what I anticipated).

sparrow_blog

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Sparrows in the water

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on December 16, 2012| 8 Comments »

Birds seemed to be everywhere yesterday, foraging for food in the water, on dry land, 0r sometimes in between the. The latter was the case for two little brown birds, pecking for food in the still-green vegetation in the shallow marsh. Sometimes it seemed like they would stop and drink the water or gaze intently into the water, as though fascinated by their own reflection.

I am still not very good at identifying most birds on the spot, but my research skills are improving and I am pretty confident that these birds are Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia). Gradually I am starting to see the distinguishing characteristics, like the color on the top of the head, the markings on the breast, and the shape and size of the beak.

This growing sense of the broad diversity among birds serves to magnify their beauty, as I see them as individuals, not merely as nameless little brown birds. Who knows, maybe birds appreciate it if you can call them by their names.

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© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Song sparrow on cattail

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , , on December 6, 2012| 8 Comments »

Sparrows generally fall into the general category of “little brown birds” for me and I get frustrated when I try to identify them. I decided, however, that I need to learn more about birds and attempted to identify this little bird that perched atop a cattail and provided me with a photo opportunity this past weekend. After some research on-line, I am pretty confident that this is a Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) and I like the way the image captured the beauty of the bird and the fuzziness of the cattails.

I may be wrong about the identification, but my effort has at least caused me to look more closely at the coloration and markings of the birds. I’m pretty sure that I’ll be getting a bird guide (and maybe even some binoculars) soon.

song_sparrow_blog

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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