Blue Flag Iris (wild Iris): Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2025 — This is, of course, a digital composition…or, as I like to call them, digital confection. The close up Iris is added, to simulate (or perhaps stimulate) the way our attention works when we encounter this in nature. We see the clump of Iris in all its glory next to the old birch trunk…a riot to color and texture and form, but that does not take our full attention…because we also, in our mind’s eye, see the intricate detail off the Iris flower. Much ado about nothing maybe, but maybe not. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 75mm with my marco modifications to Aperture mode (f22 for maximum depth of field) and 600mm at f6.3 for the close up. Processed in Photomator and assembled (confected) in Pixomatic.
Piping Plover chick: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2025 — I have been seeing photos of this piping plover chick since it hatched a week ago, but not seen it myself until Monday. They blend in so well with the sand, and it is, after all, only one tiny puff of feathers and toothpick legs. It is so small and so fuzzy, that the camera still will not focus on it even at a week old. It is pretty much independent now. The parents have even given up trying to keep it corralled to the safe zone behind the nesting area ropes. It is running all over the beach. Which is probably why I finally saw it. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent (and heavily cropped at that). Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Least Tern: Kennebunk, Maine, June 2025 — Sometimes we encounter angels unaware…and sometimes they are intent on pooping on us 🙂 I had to quit when one scored a direct hit on my dot-sight and my lens (not to mention the face behind them). And yes, I have been experimenting with a dot sight…or reflex sight…to better target the angels. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm. Program mode with my birds-in-flight and action modifications (trying minimum shutter speed 1/4000th). Processed in Photomator and assembled in FrameMagic.
Blue Flag Iris: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2025 — There is a little pond formed where the road crosses one of the meandering streams that runs down through the marshes behind the dunes to the sea, where a clump of wild iris has been blooming every June for as long as I can remember. I photograph it every year. Sony a5100. Sony 10-18 f4 at 15mm equivalent. Intelligent Auto with Landscape Mode. Processed in Photomator.
Least Tern: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2025 — I am still very much “practicing” to be a Tern photographer…at least a terns-in-flight photographer. They are way faster and more agile than either I or my camera. Still persistence sometimes almost pays off. 🙂 This is almost a satisfying shot. Almost, if I don’t look too close. I will try a slightly faster shutter speed next time out. I remind myself it is not about perfection. It is only about catching a hint of the grace and beauty of the living tern. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Piping Plover: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2025 — There are probably more Piping Plover pairs on our local beach than I have seen. They tend to be illusive and blend in well with the environment. Which is a good thing, all things considered. It is how they have survived this long, though as the density of humans, and their dogs and litter, has increased along the coast-line, survival has become harder. Which is why they are now protected, and why the upper edgers of the beach, above high tide line and up against the beach rose, where they nest, is roped off on most beaches in Southern Maine right now. I ask, as always, that you give them space. This is a long telephoto shot, and cropped to fill the frame. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Wild Turkey: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2025 — The past few days we have had Turkeys in our yard in the morning and sometimes in the afternoon. I am sure they live in the patch of forest across the street, but come out to hunt insects and invertebrates in the relatively short grass of the neighborhood yards. That’s okay by me. I like to see them, and as far as I can see they are doing no harm. Adds a bit of wild to the neighborhood. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Bobolink: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2025 — The Boboliks are back, nesting in the hayfields along the road in to our local beach, singing from the tops of the saplings. This was taken on a day when the air was full of Canadian wildfire smoke. The smoke did not dampen the song, but it definitely dimmed the photo. Bobolinks are close to invisible most of the year, but during nesting they certainly put on a show. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. (From the seat of my trike). Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Groundhog sunning. It seems to be woodchuck season in southern Maine. This is my second encounter in less than a week. This specimen was obviously sunning itself on a log in an overgrown damp pasture on a warm June day in Kennebunk, Maine. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm. Program with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator. Assembled in VDIT.
Least Tern: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2025 — The Least Terns on our local beach have gotten serious about defending nesting territories. Though I stay well away from the strings set out by Fish and Game for their protection, they are still intent on using me for target practice. Two can play that game and I use the opportunity to practice my birds-in-flight…I was going to say “skills” but that implies that there is skill involved when mostly it is just a matter of taking your chances often enough so that you come home with some results that are worth processing…with a few “keepers”. Mostly I find that after their initial alarm and half a dozen passes at me, they settle back down to their nest sites…there are no eggs yet…and if they do not then I move on. I do have a growing collection of white spots on my hat. If I count my keepers and the spots I think the Terns and I are coming out about even. I should point out that this is all taking place on a popular tourist beach, with folks in beach chairs and on blankets all around me, so the Terns do not lack for targets. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.