Sometimes the subject matter of the day lends itself to reflections in impressionistic images from the water or very stark modern geometric art. Here are a couple of images of both from last weeks bird sanctuary outing.

Redbud

Birches

Reeds

Reeds2

We took a rather circuitous (think lost) – but scenic – route to get to the bird sanctuary last week. Deciding to enjoy the moment, we stopped and took some pictures on the way. The red-bud and dogwood were in full bloom and seemingly everywhere. Here is some of what we saw on the way and a scenic shot from the bird sanctuary.

The blue bird of happiness greeted us.

Two Shores

Dogwood

Red Blossoms

This stick was seemingly floating in mid air. I never saw any support for it. Can you?

At the Sanctuary,

Cascades Park in Jackson, Michigan has a very beautiful walking path around an area with both beautiful plant life and animal life. My friend Pat (back from her summer estate in Florida) and I recently traveled much of the path. We saw a crane, a hawk, and a heron (all without pictures) and more. Some of what we saw, and captured in photos, is sampled below.

Those that have followed my photo blog for some time know that I am partial to zoom lenses that can frame the picture in a variety of ways. Zoom lenses have some disadvantages (like more difficulty in low light situations and their weight) but I have preferred them for nearly 40 years for their ability to help frame the shot. They are especially valuable for wildlife photography.

The images that follow are taken from a stop Pat and I made on the way back from Naple’s Botanical Gardens. Pat had noticed a shack on the way to the gardens and pulled into an empty lot to get a better look. The first four images are taken from the same general spot, but with different size zoom settings from my 55-300 zoom lens. The last picture adds a bit of human interest from a different angle. (Go to the link below to see all pictures.)

If you missed a post ( like my recent water lilies post), or want to see some earlier posts, you can always find them at https://juliemariepics.com .

A 62mm shot; slightly tighter than a standard 55mm fixed lens.

Same spot with a 86mm lens.

With a 110mm lens from the same spot.

240mm from the same spot.

Different spot with a little bit of human interest included/

The Naples Botanical Gardens in Naples, Florida has a vast variety of plant life. This trip I was especially taken by the water lilies. These are my top 10 favorites.

A traditional look in the midst of dark green lily pads.

Pinkish flower bud in the midst of reddish pads.

One brilliant flower with muted background.

One with sunspot and shadows from the shore.

One with lily pad and shore shadows.

Purple with shadows from shore and clouds.

Lily and pad in the clouds.

Duo.

Plethora.

Flower, bud, and bee.