A few days off and I’m now back to bloggin’ :o)
First, I want to welcome any new blog readers that I may have picked up over this past weekend’s “Art in the Park” art festival in Columbia, Missouri. I had a great show in Columbia, meeting many wonderful, nature-loving folks, and selling lots of nature artwork. Additionally, we had a wonderful dinner one evening with some long-time friends who live in Columbia. And the surprise of the weekend was unexpectedly seeing one of my fraternity brothers and his wife, who I hadn’t seen in about 40 years! So, every aspect of the weekend trip was rewarding :o)
This morning, I decided to get in a kayak outing at one of the nearby state conservation areas that I hadn’t visited yet this year. I was hoping for lots of opportunities with warblers and beaver. But today wasn’t the day. Not a lot of action this morning, but it was a quiet, relaxed outing. Just sitting in the kayak, listening to the calls of the Gray Catbird and Baltimore Oriole were very peaceful. And lots of male Red-winged Blackbirds were busy displaying their brightly-colored red/yellow wing patches while they sang. But the highlight of the morning was experienced while kayaking back to the take-out point.
As I slowly glided across the lotus-covered water, I saw a single deer intently watching me through the tall grasses along the bank. I continued to paddle slowly by the deer, stopping only to grab a couple of images as I floated by. I was also watching to see if a speckled fawn was accompanying the adult deer, but didn’t see one. Here are my favorite images I captured on my way back to the vehicle:
Photographic Equipment Used:
- Canon 7D Mark 2 body
- Canon EF 100-400mm, f/4.5-f/5.6 IS lens
- Handheld, with IS “On”
- ISO 400
- Aperture f/5.6
- Shutter 1/1000 sec. to 1/2000 sec.