Taking in Life Around Me....#Sundaystills..."wild"

This #sundaystills challenge is hosted by Terri from Second Wind Leisure. It's a great themed photography challenge that you'll enjoy. I love seeing the other participants interpretation of the theme each week...it causes me to think outside the box. I joined in hopes of it pushing me to get out and take more photos...I have to some degree, but I also like that Terri is okay with us finding photos in our archives, which is also a lot of fun. So check out my photos and then head over to Terri's page to participate or visit other's posts. There are some awesome contributors who always inspire me. 

Terri is starting a new monthly challenge around a form of wildlife each month. It might be a particular species or something entirely different. This month the theme is "wild", featuring animals in their natural habitat. I love this graphic she did.

I admire wildlife photographers for the patience they have to get "that shot". Stand in water, sit in snow, wow! I don't know if I could do it. Maybe when I was younger I could. I follow a local FB page for our nearby wildlife refuge (and a few other pages) and some of the photos they get make my jaw drop. Sometimes I have to step away because I then find myself becoming envious, questioning myself (and I'm honestly only doing this for my enjoyment, not to be "really good" or sell photos). Sometimes it's easy to start comparing and that's just not a good thing. Learn? Sure. Try to improve your skill? Definitely. But no comparison game. I'll be the first to admit, I'm not always patient to sit in one spot and wait (I have things to do). I'm working on that part. Before I digress any further, here are some photos I've captured that I really enjoyed taking. I will say that I am grateful for those on different pages who are willing to kindly share tips and "try shooting with these settings", etc. 

In February I finally had saved enough to buy a used 150-600 lens. I've had fun with it. That sucker is heavy though. I lugged it with me to Ohio in hopes that I'd find a cardinal to photograph and frame. Did I? Nope! I heard them and saw them from a distance, but none close enough to capture. Maybe next year. 

Our property does NOT have a lack of rabbits. They are everywhere. This little guy sat there eating the grass while I took pics of him. 

Several weeks ago I headed to a nearby park before a dentist appointment. I hadn't been there in awhile and someone mentioned it was a great place to photograph wildlife....I didn't see as much as I had hoped, but I did get in a nice walk and it was pretty. Above, I laughed at this great blue heron standing in between some men fishing. I'm sure he was just waiting for his opportunity to grab one of their fish. I waited too, but he just stood there and eventually flew away. 

I spy with my little eye, a duck on a log with some turtles sunbathing. 

I love the hummingbirds that visit my backyard. 

When we were in Central Oregon staying in Sunriver my daughter called me while on a bike ride "mom, you need to come down here by the stables, there's a coyote out with the horses and it looks like he's hunting". So my mother-in-law hopped in their car and off we drove. Apparently the coyote frequent the fields where the horses are and hunt for prairie dogs/ground squirrels. The horses don't seem to care. In the second picture, can you see a couple of blurry rodents? 

He captured his prey! 

Here we have a goose and a swan arguing. I'm guessing one of them had a nest nearby.

I've made a couple of trips to our wildlife refuge since I got my new lens. This red winged blackbird looks like he's yelling at me. 

In Canada, we spotted this HUGE herd of elk. There were more not in the frame. 

Also, in Canada, this raven was really fun to photograph. 

The deer in my backyard. They are a daily sight and don't seem bothered by us at all. 

Every year, around late February, early March, the smelt run in the Columbia and Lewis rivers, the eagles and the sea lions, oh, and the Pacific White Pelicans all make an appearance as well. I hadn't had my lens long (this was one of the main reasons I bought it). I was pretty happy with the images I captured, but also knew I needed to figure out the best manual settings. I also know capturing birds in flight is not easy. Because I didn't want every shot to be blurry, I cheated and used my sport mode on the camera. 

Swans in the wildlife refuge. 

Saw my first moose ever when we were in Colorado. We saw this same guy later in the woods where we were hiking. 

There is just something special about observing wildlife. 

With Joy Unquenchable,

Kirstin