A Gallery of Winter Birds 26 December 2013
Blue Jay
Winter brings a certain monochromatic lull to
Wisconsin. From a distance, the land is
white with scattered shades of gray and black.
Even the balsam fir, bur oak, and sugar maple give the impression of
blackness against the subtle tones of white snow. Look more carefully, and you begin to see the
deep greens of the evergreens, the scattered yellowing of lichens upon black
ash, and the peachy orange of the paper birch.
Look even closer, and you find the deep red of the birches’ newest
growth and the optimism of an aspen or a willow in the greenish yellow
photosynthesis of young bark. And
then…there are the birds!
American Tree Sparrow
Downy Woodpecker
American Tree Sparrow
Tufted Titmouse
Wisconsin’s winter birds are surprisingly
colorful. In the truth of their
versatility, it could be said that each bird, each durable survivor of winter,
must “wear many hats” in its ecosystem.
Equally, in art, each species of Wisconsin winter bird seems to be
wearing a decorative hat!
Blue Jay
Oregon Dark-eyed Junco
Blue Jay and Downy Woodpecker
Mourning Dove and Winter
All
of these images were made with a refurbished Canon 7D and Canon 300mm f4L IS
lens. These images were handheld, and
the prior evening’s carbohydrate loading on chocolate and cookies provided the
stability of arms against shivering cold. Peace on Earth!
No comments:
Post a Comment