Top 10 of 2017

Top 10 of 2017

Although it started slow, 2017 ended up being a great year for photography. I was able to do a good amount of travel in the UK and Yellowstone, as well as make multiple trips to the Jersey Shore. I also started a bird feeder and doing some setup photography. It was hard to pick a top 10 but here we go:

Bison in Yellowstone

This summer my brother moved to Montana and I helped him drive out. I got to spend a couple of days at Yellowstone in this time. I drove all around looking for bears and wolves with no luck. However, I was happy to get a wide angle shot of these two Bison hanging out next to a small stream.

Ruby Throated Hummingbird in Flight

I spent the Solar Eclipse in upstate New York (far from 'totality!') at a great AirBnb with a number of hummingbirds. I had been sick for the past few days with a stomach bug so I had a great time just hanging in the backyard watching the hummers zoom around the garden. This one posed for just long enough to have the head sharp and wings blurred.

Night Heron Portrait

I spent a few mornings at a rookery in NJ with a number of herons and redwing blackbirds. There were a lot of herons flying in and out making nests, but I got a kick out of this one with a just-woke-up hairdo. I liked how the greenery formed a portrait frame for this shot.

Northern Harrier in Flight

A "nemesis bird" of mine, I'm rarely able to get close enough for a good Northern Harrier frame (barring one unfortunate camera-failed-to-autofocus incident...). However, on an overcast day this one made a pass just close enough for a small in frame shot. Light was quickly fading and I had to push past ISO 5000 for this frame, but I was happy to get one cruising low to wind swept grasses.

Piping Plover Chick

This summer I got to spend a couple of mornings with some Piping Plovers -- watching them go from small fluff balls to respectable juveniles. Here is one in the middle stages mid strut.

Tern in Flight

Another Jersey Shore regular, terns are fun to watch as they dive into the water looking for small bits of prey. I had a blast shooting these guys in flight this summer. I was happy to catch this one against a nice background sporting a sand eel.

Chickadee

Although chickadees are common backyard birds, I realized I had no photos of them. I set up some perches near my feeder and waited...and waited...and waited. Finally, some birds found the free food and started posing. I was thrilled with this frame as the two toned background matched the perch and the bird landed just where I wanted.

Bluebird on Berries

Another setup shot, I had noticed bluebirds around my yard so I put out some berries and waited. It didn't take as long as with the chickadee and sure enough they came in numbers. I was happy here to have a simple shot with a nice setting of a species I had wanted to photograph for a while.

Puffin in Flight

In July I went to Seahouses, UK, a northern town that's famous for a large puffin colony on the nearby Farne Islands. I had blast with the puffins (and not so friendly terns) for a couple days while enjoying the area (lots of fish!). This one had quite a few more sand eels than the previous tern.

Snowy Owl Sunrise

It was hard to pick a favorite frame for 2017, but I couldn't resist using my first Snowy Owl sighting. The end of 2017 saw the start of an irruption year for Snowys with a number of visitors at the Jersey Shore. I found this owl before sunrise one day and wanted to capture it in the great purple hour light. It was a great setting in which to see my first Snowy.

That's all for 2017! I'm hoping 2018 will bring some warbler frames, some foxes, and a couple more owls. Thanks for looking!