Favorites Series III

Continuing with my series of favorite photos from the past year, here is the next group of shots that made my list.

This young Barn Swallow sat on the ground and waited as the adults brought food. They didn't stop to feed the little one, though. They would fly over and feed in flight and continue on. The whole process happened very quickly and I missed most of the feedings because of it. I did get one sequence, though, including this drop off shot.

I have a lot of moon photos, but none that have another subject with the moon. I was taking shots of the moon early one evening while it was still quite light and was literally looking through the viewfinder when I noticed the jet enter the frame. I had just enough time to get one photo. My step-father saw this after I posted it and asked me if I would send him a high-res version. He had a large print made and framed which now hangs in their home. He even asked me to sign the back and include a quote, so I wrote, "Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good".

While we were visiting the Blue Ridge Mountains earlier this year, I had the opportunity to photograph a large number of Canada Goose goslings. In many places that might not be a big deal, but I've never seen goslings here at home. We have lots of adult geese, though. I like this particular photo because of the grass hanging out of his bill and the dew drops on the grass blades. This little guy has kind of a clueless look about him.

Gulls are fairly common in many places, but I normally only see them here during the winter. This gull was flying just above the frozen lake. If you look near the bottom of the photo, you can see a white patch which is actually a dead fish just under the ice. Several birds, including a heron, investigated this fish trying to get at it. I like how the gull's head is framed by his wings as he looks at the fish and the way the wing tips flair out.