I went and met Danny Brown in Forest Park, and spent a contented morning. There were no new birds, but I was trying out shots in different light settings.

The early morning sunshine was something I had to get from Danny’s running car:

The rising sun on the Cooper’s Hawk gave me another opportunity to shoot against the sun:

This, to me, provided more drama than the conventional sunlight-on-the-bird shot. There was the light on grass seeds: The long shadows, and the arch of the bridge made an interesting composition: I thought the sepia generalized the bird and accentuated the lines and curves. The mist rising off the water made a good capture. Even the common Mallard looked lovely in the golden light. I enjoyed the various poses! Greenery against the light was lovely, too. Then we came across a Wood Duck couple, partially in the light, and partially out of it. This was quite a challenge, getting the birds and their reflections without too much of washout. Getting details with the zoom was important. Of course, Danny clicked away like the pro that he is; it was I who was struggling! I got the male Wood Duck alone: Getting macro shots against the morning light was also tough. Another common bird, the Starling: I got a Cormorant in mid-flight: In the twilight, I went again to Forest Park, and got the Great Horned Owls that Mark and Brenda were showing some people:

I may not be producing earth-shaking shots, but I’m quite happy with my experiments with light at various times of the day.