What a journey! From zebras to butterflies, fish to lizards, flowers to fungi, an ant to a giraffe, woodpeckers to pelicans…and everything in between. It’s hard to believe this was all from one day, one morning, one short 3 Hour Photo Trip, but that is exactly the point of my blog. There’s so much to see all around us.
The Sardis Lake boardwalk has never once disappointed Monica and I, but this day was just spectacular. Even the picture of the winding boardwalk is wonderful. It seems to draw me back to that morning: the smell of fall slightly in the air, the leaves on the walkway smelling with the damp morning dew, and all of the sounds from wind to wildlife.
On our way in one of the first pictures we took was of this gar minnow. At least that’s what I’m calling him, if you know exactly what it is please comment and let me know. Monica took this picture free hand, and even through the water she captured a great and clear photo.
The next set of photos were of, what I described in previous posts as what had to be the worlds smallest butterfly. This little guy was literally super tiny. The leaf that we finally caught him on long enough to focus and get a shot off, was about 1.5 inches in diameter and he is about 1/4 of that leaf. Again, super small – but look at the detail. You can’t beat this D7200 and Nikon 200 to 500 mm lens.
Two of the somewhat unusual pictures we got were of the ant and the over exposed dragonfly. The ant was on purpose. Monica saw him just walking along on the handrail and I quickly took a free hand shot. I know he is probably carrying a larvae to some new home, but if you look closely…it looks like he is carrying a little rubber ducky. Who knows, maybe he’s heading to the local bathing spot.
The over exposed dragonfly was an accident. He was on the sunny side of the walkway and without thinking, I do that often Monica says, I snapped off a couple of shots without compensating for the bright sunlight. The result, an almost transparent or platinum like dragonfly. I know, I lost the color, the detail, and it’s really not a “proper” photo, but as Bob Ross would say: it’s my world and I like it, there’s no mistakes.”
The flowers and fungi shots again just continue to draw me back to that morning. Those beautiful flowers had a wonderful sweet aroma and the feel and texture of the white fungus was like touching air. You could see your finger touching the underside with the fan like design, but couldn’t feel it at all. Just a few yards away was a stump with what I think was just a older version of the first fungus, but the difference in looks matched the feel. It was hard and crusty. Completely opposite of it’s former self just 3 yards away.
Well, believe me, there are so many more photos of egrets, pelicans, cormorants, butterflies, birds, etc., than time and internet space would permit me to post and discuss. Simply said, it was a very successful 3 Hour Photo Trip.
If you’ve enjoyed this Sardis Lake series, then by all means please leave me a comment or two about what you liked most. What picture was your favorite? Don’t forget to hit the thumbs up button at the bottom and as always if you would like to own any of the photos, just leave me a message.
In a couple of weeks we will be going on our first cruise ever and we are really excited about all of the photo opportunities. The people, the places, and the wildlife. On our way back home we hope to stop by some hot birding spots in Louisiana and our goal is to get some shots of the Roseate Spoonbill. If you don’t know what that bird looks like, take a moment and Google it and you’ll see why we want to add that one to our collection. So until next time, Enjoy Our Wonderful World!
RM Goldsmith Photography 