Avian Symphony

Hello Everyone,

This weeks blog is going to be a bit short as I been really busy finishing the final bird print drop. This drop will be completely digital and will also feature the last 2 bird print drops. Is a massive drop so it’s been a lot to try to set up. I’m doing this drop fully digital to have full control of the prints and also get 100% of the earnings. I hope this drop does well as I been wanting to upgrade my camera. Last week, as I was shooting the final pictures for this last drop my camera started giving me issues. I thought it was nothing to be worried about but this weekend I decided to go and test out my camera again and it’s still giving me this issue. I will do more research on this and hope to fix it as this is my only camera at the moment and I don’t have money for another. I know in last weeks post I said I would take a break but I obviously can’t do that. I am not sure why I am like that but I have a drive to get things done and keep working until my goals are reach. I believe is a good and bad thing. Good because I have a drive to get things done and won’t be contempt until is done. Bad because I sometimes don’t know when to relax I put my body through hell sometimes.

This week though on top of finishing this bird drop I been feeling a bit lonely. As I have aged I started to look at others around my age and how many friendships they have and I look at myself and I don’t really have that. I had a couple friends back in school but as time past I have lost contact with them. One of my best friends back in the day past away a couple years ago. And another friend I trusted betrayed me and created a cycle of mistrust. I have been in this weird state of mind which has effected friendships and my life in general. How do you trust someone when you been betrayed before is what I always ask myself. I been making strides in trying to get past it but there’s a constant reminder in the back of my head. Now that I am older I don’t really have a best friend per say and I guess is starting to get to me. That’s another reason why I owe photography so much. Because, not only has it been rewarding for me it has also helped me get away from the reality that is my life. Maybe that’s why I am also so driven to get things done since that’s all I know now and don’t have distractions to get in my way. Maybe that’s what I need in order to relax and get back to reality.

This week I am planning a second blog post for Friday’s bird print drop. I have been working really hard on this drop and I am very excited to show some of my best shots yet. And share a little behind the scenes on some of the shots in this drop. I have become very proficient and I feel like this drop will show just how much I have learned. You may have noticed I have taken the shop down. I need to work on uploading and setting up everything. You may not know but I don’t have anyone working with me I do everything on my own. I have set up this website to my liking it’s taken so long to get it where it is today but thanks to squarespace I have been able to set everything up very easily. If you’re a photographer I highly recommend using them to make your website as they make it easy to get everything set up. I have been editing and choosing the pictures I want for this drop and I have found a couple of gems that I had no idea I had. I am very excited about this drop so far is coming together very well. With this drop when you purchase it you will have a link that will take you to the print and all you have to do is download it but please make sure you do it within 24 hours. All prints will have my watermark which is just may name. If you do buy a print and are at the Chicago exhibition in July I would love to sign a couple of them. Thank you always for the support.

The Red-tailed Hawk a bird of prey that looks very intimidating in person. I actually am very lucky to have had such close encounter with this hawk. I was walking down the trail and it was just sitting in the branch about 10 feet away from the trail. It let me take a couple photos and this is definitely one of my favorites. This shot was also taken handheld I started getting more accurate with shooting handheld and I attribute it to the fact that I have been feeling more comfortable with my camera. As with the majority of raptors females are always larger then male. This wonderful hawks can live up to 21 years in the wild and 29 in captivity. They are about 2 ft in length, they weigh about 2 lb, and have a wingspan of 4ft long. There diet consist of small rodents, other birds, and reptiles. They are monogamous they usually stay with the same mate for the rest of there life. When soaring or flapping there wings they can reach speeds of 20-40mph and when diving they can reach speeds of 120mph. This bird of prey is truly scary that’s why they have such negative interactions with other birds. Red-tailed hawks and owls often feud over nesting spots and both occasionally destroy each other nest if given the chance. A truly fascinating fact about this hawk is that they can spot prey from 100 feet up in the air as there eyesight is 8 times better then humans. Did you know that Hollywood uses red-tailed hawk vocalizations for calls of other birds like eagles and vultures. This bird of prey are experts at co-parenting. They build there nest together and share duties incubating their eggs for 28-35 days but females usually are the ones incubating the eggs while the males hunt. Once their chicks are born the division of labor continues. The male hawks usually hunt and bring food to the female which she goes ahead cuts it into pieces and feeds it to her young. They are very territorial and will screech in flight to stake out their space during mating season. They often defend their turf within 2 square miles radius but in urban areas they often nest very close to each other. In New York for example they have been seen nesting mere blocks from each other. A truly stunning bird of prey nature is truly beautiful. I am very thankful of how much i’ve had the chance to learn about this wonderful creatures all thanks to bird photography.

Stay tune for Friday if you would like to learn about the barred owl. A truly gorgeous bird of prey they are truly formidable. Barred owl will be the main headliner of this final bird print. I am truly excited to share with you this stunning beautiful owl.

Thank you all,