Nine Years, Many Fears Conquered

Liberty Wildlife just ran a Volunteer Spotlight on me, and re-reading it made me laugh at how far I’ve come! Nine years ago I started volunteering there, hoping to conquer a lifelong fear of birds, an irrational fear for which I squarely place the blame on Alfred Hitchcock.

The Hawk, the Lizard, and the Heron I Almost Missed

These four photos came out of three completely different outings: a park visit that turned into a hawk-rescue misunderstanding, a hike at Pinnacle Peak, and an afternoon at the pond that started with one bird and ended with two. None of them were the shot I actually planned on getting.

What a Dragonfly Taught Me About Photography

Everyone assumes a dragonfly shot comes down to reflexes. Fast hands, fast shutter, right place at the right time. I believed that too, for about two weeks.

Those two weeks were humbling. I'd spot one perched on a reed, wings catching the light just right, and I'd move in for the shot, only to watch it lift off the instant I got close enough to focus. I'd find it twenty feet away, try, and lose it again. I did this for the better part of an afternoon at a pond, sweating, half-crouched, convinced the problem was my speed. I just needed to move faster, get closer quicker, beat the dragonfly to the punch.

I never caught the dragonfly. Not once.