My Story Timeline
I write about the true stories behind my images and share them on my site. One day, I might write about birds; the next, about an insect; and the following day, I might focus on a specific location. Each of these stories revolves around nature, my connection to it, or my concerns about preserving our natural world. This journal primarily serves as a collection of factual accounts from my journeys in the field.
While my primary passion is for birds, since everything in nature is interconnected, I photograph everything and write about it all. My life has always been intertwined with nature, and I hope it always will be.
Best wishes,
Mia
If Only…
Taking the time to review my "bad images" strengthens me as a photographer.
Northern & Loggerhead Shrikes
Today was a good day, I finally took some images of a Northern Shrike (Lanius excubitor) that weren't taken from too far away.
Ring-necked Pheasant
Male Ring-necked Pheasants are very colorful and sport red face wattles, iridescent ear tufts, the white neck ring and bronze colored chest and back with barring. I remember my grandfather using the pheasant feathers for the flies that he tied.
Bald Eagle and Depth of Field
I believe these two eagle pictures illustrate what changes the depth of field settings can have on the appearance of an image.
Northern Harrier Expelling A Pellet
This Northern Harrier took about a minute to expel the pellet and I filled my buffer several times trying to catch all the action. The harrier appeared to be concentrating so hard on regurgitating the pellet that it nearly fell off of the fence.
Northern Harrier Wingtip Repair
There are times when I think an image might be worth a little extra work in post processing and this young male Northern Harrier image seemed worth the effort to repair a clipped wingtip.
Hidden Treasures
As a bird photographer I often strive for images where the subjects are out in the open, without distractions in the fore or background, but as with any photographic "rule", they are made to be broken.
Ghostly Coyote
This Coyote standing on a hillside in the dense fog in particular looked more ghostly to me than the others I found.
Black-headed Grosbeaks In Montana
This male Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus) sure caught my eye with its beautiful orange, black and white plumage.
Roseate Spoonbills
Cotton candy pink... are the descriptive words I thought of when I saw my first Roseate Spoonbill.
Laughing Gulls
Laughing Gulls are quite common on the east and Gulf coastlines of the US, during breeding season they are usually found near saltwater but in nonbreeding season they are known to wander widely.
Lazuli Bunting Males
Male Lazuli Buntings resemble bluebirds but they are smaller and the blues are a different hue than the Mountain, Eastern and Western Bluebirds.
Eared Grebe – Gray Day
Eared Grebes are the most abundant grebe in North America, there are times I see huge flocks of them on the Great Salt Lake numbering in the tens of thousands.
Short-eared Owl In A Fog
I hope to find some Short-eared Owls this winter in Utah, I think that some snow would make for a lovely setting for these delightful & enchanting birds.
Adult Burrowing Owl Blur
This blur was not intentional, but I do like the effect caused by the head of the Burrowing Owl spinning. Makes me dizzy just viewing the photo!
Western Meadowlark On A Cold Utah Morning
Not too long after I had gotten to my location I spotted a Western Meadowlark hunkered down on a rock trying to warm up with the rays of the rising sun.
Song Sparrow – Small In Frame
What I like about this image is the pose of the Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia), the warm tones of the background, the detail and colors
Wilson’s Plover
There are times that I open an image on my computer screen and I can't help but laugh. This is one of those images for me because of the tilt of the head of the Wilson's Plover.
Great Egret – Light on White
Great Egret (Ardea alba) in flight, a balance of whites and light
White-crowned Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrows are one of the many birds that I see often during the cold winters of northern Utah.
Black-bellied Plover
I love watching Black-bellied Plovers hunting. They take a few steps, stop, look and listen, then do it all over again.
Song Sparrow
Sometimes life gets so busy that it takes me quite awhile to edit some of the images I take, this Song Sparrow photo is one of those.
Atlantic Ghost Crab
This Atlantic Ghost Crab image was taken on the Gulf coast of Florida while I still lived there.
Wood Stork Portrait
It is my opinion that Wood Storks do not get nearly the same exposure as other big white wading birds.
Reddish Egret – White Morph
Breeding plumage white morph Reddish Egret while it hunted and danced in the waves on the Gulf coast of Florida.
Northern Harrier – Gray Ghost
I will have more opportunities with northern harriers in better light this winter and while I wouldn't consider this image perfect, I am happy with the results I obtained while photographing this "Gray Ghost".
Adult Burrowing Owls
I felt it was time to put the beauty of the adult Burrowing Owls in the limelight.
Nesting Black-billed Magpies
If I had not been paying attention to the first magpie's activity and behavior I would have missed the opportunity to photograph these birds and their nesting habits over the next several weeks.
Big Snow Today!
I knew that when I woke up this morning there was a very good chance the ground would be covered with snow.
Utah Rocks – Really!
The Fremont and Barrier Canyon cultures created this rock art on the face of the rock wall at Buckhorn Wash in the San Rafael Swell area of Utah