DATES ANNOUNCED FOR MY NEXT EXHIBITION!

MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD

April 7, 2018

THE DAY WAS COLD and the wind was blowing hard from the southeast. At Point Wilson, a narrow strip of land at the entrance to Puget Sound, the gusts slammed my open car door shut. Head down, I walked to the southeast side of the beach. I could barely hold my ground, let alone focus the camera, and I felt a little silly being out there. In this wind, birds would be hunkered down. What did I imagine I would find? Still, I pushed on to the other side of the beach, which was slightly protected from the gusts. There, I saw four small birds clinging to driftwood logs. They resembled the Eastern bluebirds I’d known as a boy, but I wasn’t sure. I balanced my camera against the wind and got off a series of shots before retreating to the warmth of my car. Using pictures on an app, I identified the four as Mountain bluebirds.

AN HOUR LATER, I happened to run into a naturalist who I revere—he’d skillfully led an intensive course on peninsula ecology that I’d taken the year before—and showed him the pictures on the app. “I think I just saw four of these guys at the beach,” I said. He gave me a pitying look and said, with kind dubiousness, “Well, maybe.” In Washington, Mountain bluebirds are seen in the eastern Cascades, not on a western shore. But the next morning, I emailed him some of my pictures from the beach. He wrote back immediately. “Dude!” his message began. I was happy.

Nikon D500, 420mm, 1/250th second @ f8, ISO 500

April 21, 2018

ALOFT WITH my little triumph, I returned to Point Wilson several times over the next few weeks. The wind calmed down, the birds moved to the southeast side, where there was more vegetation, and I was able to make better photographs.

Nikon D500, 420mm, 1/640th second @ f9, ISO 450

March 28, 2019

A YEAR LATER, I again found the bluebirds at Point Wilson. One in particular kept hopping down from a wooden perch to snag grub worms. To approach him, I hid behind a row of driftwood on the beach and crawled on my belly for several minutes, stopping periodically to shoot, and then inching forward again. I got to within a dozen feet, still hidden behind a log on the ground. The sun had just come up. I started composing and shooting, particularly when he faced the light. I took ten pictures, reshuffled my position and settled in, hoping to spend a happy hour or so with the bird as the warming sun rose further. Just then, a teenager came bounding down the path, complaining to a friend about her date the night before. The bluebird flew off.

Nikon D500, 500mm, 1/320th second @ f8, ISO 1200

April 10, 2022

LAST YEAR, I got a tip that the Mountain bluebirds had returned to a different location, on a farm in the countryside. I found the small group of birds darting back and forth across a large pasture. The distances across the field and the presence of fellow photographers made it difficult to approach them. Then, as I was about to leave, a male bluebird spread its wings while landing on a post just ten feet away and I had a clear shot. Perhaps it’s a bit obvious to call this one “Bluebird Angel.”

Nikon Z9, 500mm, 1/500th second @ f6.3, ISO 320

Announcing

My new exhibition with Brian Goodman, Outside In, will open at the Jeanette Best Gallery in Port Townsend on June 29 and run through August 27. Hope you can come!

BLUEBIRD ANGEL appears in my new book, Aves: Photographs of Birds. As a subscriber to Bird of the Week you are entitled to a ten percent discount on the book, which is also offered with an archival print of Neah Bay Doves. To activate your discount, use the code BOTW23 at checkout.

REVIEWS OF AVES

“There is sensual magic flying near.” –Larry Fink, photographer and author of Social Graces

“Beautiful, evocative, mysterious. A true master.” – Bill Curtsinger, veteran photographer for National Geographic

“A jewel in the world of art.” –Steve Brodner, artist and instructor, School of Visual Arts

“A sophisticated contemporary interpretation.” –Renee Dreyfus, Senior Curator, San Francisco Fine Arts Museums

“Stunningly elegant. Truly a work of fine art.” –Ray Troll, artist

“Beguiling photographs” – LensCulture

You are welcome to forward this to anyone you think might like it. To subscribe, click here.