Fall is the best time to photograph mornings in the marshes. The sunlight is low on the horizon, neither photographer or subjects are freezing, and birds flocking for food can still be found.
Above, a group of Roseate Spoonbill with the rising sun on their back. An Ibis snuck in there too.
Typical fall sunrise, with a passing Wood Stork.
Technically it is a sunset photograph. The soft glow from the setting sun is on the swamp daisies and grass. Of course the sun was at my back.
The Alligator was deep asleep getting the last rays.
Charleston, South Carolina.
Taking a short cut back towards our car we passed a pond, light coming through the moss and trees, and… a Great Blue being dramatic.
We were there a while.
I did a double take when I saw them up there.
I rarely walk back where these were taken, it’s a dike and small stretch between two big marshes. It’s a place to pass when going somewhere else.
It’s a hike, but for now on the ‘go to’ list.
A lot of noise and splashes… then nothing.
So I just lean way back and point up… not the first time he has screwed up a shot out here.
Bald Eagle overhead.
Birds were actively flying around the marsh, yet it was too dark to photograph anything. At some point they began to move just above the dark horizon that was hiding them. Once backlit I was able to see them.
Most photographs were deleted but I found a few that I really liked. If I panned along with their flight I was able to catch them even using a very slow speed to use what little light there was.
Roseate Spoonbill take on a different look when they are ready for breeding. A bit, well, different than other birds.
In spring they also will have orange tail feathers.
Kind of like a ‘Legos’ made bird.
