While hiking a trail near Arcata, CA, I found a little opening in the forest brush where I could see the little waterfall featured in this photograph. This waterfall was on a hillside so the shot was actually at eye level which is a fairly unique sight. The water spilled into a tiny pool and then cascaded down toward me, continuing into a stream that flowed near my feet and down into the forest below.

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The Masked Flowerpiercer is a very cool looking bird. You can see why its markings are referred to as a mask and its red eye helps accentuate it.

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I try to capture creatures in unique poses alongside more standard profile shots. I’m curious which ones people like more.

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I really like this photograph. This is a style that I try really hard to duplicate, but those photographs are pretty rare because they require the subject to be in a certain spot during a very brief period of the day. In addition, I must find that exact spot at that exact time. Despite what some people think, photography is very hard work. Most people just take pictures but I'm trying my best to create beautiful photographs that feature my favorite thing: Nature.

For those interested in my progress on this journey please keep reading. If you only like the pretty photos then don't worry about the rest of this post. I tried very hard to launch my new website today, which features exciting new products, but it won't happen. I set an arbitrary deadline in my head which was motivating, however, creating something special takes a lot of time. I work very hard at the craft of photography and want to share my photographs in ways that are just as creative and unique.  

I'm very proud of the products I've created and I look forward to sharing them with you. My dilemma is photographing my photographs. That is very challenging, just like capturing the photograph Western Bluebird 01. I'm using my own house as the photo studio and it has very poor lighting. Well, I actually like the lighting in my house, but it does not particularly make my photographs shine. But I need the photographs to stand out in the images I share on my website. I needed to get studio lights and figure out how to photograph my work in my tricky house. I'm happy to say that things are going well, I just need a bit more time before you see the fruits of my labor. I would recommend checking back often, but I'm sure you already check frequently for fresh Nature Content.

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This is another shot taken at Ojai Meadows.

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This is the same Frog as Pacific Chorus Frog 01. I watched it for a little while until it started to climb up a rock and decided to take some shots after it paused for a moment.

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I took so many photos of this particular Hillstar. It seemed to be the only one in the area. This was high up on a mountain at a brisk elevation. There were no Hummingbird feeders in sight.

Hummingbirds, and some other bird species, often perch on the same exact spots. That makes planning shots a bit easier. I was able to position myself in many different areas awaiting its return to the perches it liked most. I feel like I got quite a few shots that I’m proud of. My goal was to capture many photos with movement because it's more challenging; therefore, I'm sharing those photographs. Though, I also have some pretty portrait photos of this Hillstar just perched too.

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This is a friendly reminder that we are well into Spring and you should try and get outside if you haven’t in a while. So many wildflowers are blooming right now, like this small blue one with a funny name. To make it more interesting, you can download an app called Seek or iNaturalist. Both apps use the same datasets by iNaturalist but I happen to like Seek a little better. With these apps, you can identify thousands of species. Not just plants but animals too. It’s very fun and free.

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