July and August were exciting months for me! There were lots of great opportunities for photo excursions including a trip to Alaska and several shorter local excursions. During my outings and trip, I've learned a ton about my equipment and how to make the most out of it. I've also learned that some of the best photo opportunities can come from anywhere, not just where you're expecting them to.
This picture above is from my trip to Alaska. This mountain stands over the capitol city of Juneau. Out of all the edits I made on the original, I loved the contrast provided by this black and white the most.
This picture is arguably one of my favorites. This was captured on an excursion to a local river park. I had come to this park to look for water birds, specifically cormorants, anhingas, and herons to try and photograph feeding or diving behaviors. I spotted this cluster of yellow leaves on the side of the path and took a few "practice shots" to get warmed up.
While not one of my most technically great photos this one still stands out to me. After a long and hot walk through a local heritage preserve I entered into a part of the trail that went through a swamp. The trail wasn't well maintained here and I would actually end up falling off a dislodged footbridge later in the hike. I identified a group of Red Winged Blackbirds pretty quickly, and spent about half an hour photographing them. Out of all the photos, this one turned out the best in post, and I'm excited to get back out to this location for more photos, albeit when it cools down a bit :)
I love this photo because not only is this one of my favorite birds, it's a reminder to take a risk and be adventurous sometimes. And while I can't exactly recommend trekking through a southeastern US swamp in the dead of summer, I do encourage you to get out there and explore. You might be surprised where it could lead.