Animalia Allure

Photography has become a passion. We are all born with some kind of natural talent. I was born with creative talent and a creative eye. Drawing and painting no longer excite me. Snapping photos does. As does writing. This is a challenge I relish. Hello to you, my name is Darren and I hope you will enjoy the read and pictures.

I would say I take my camera with me on 50% of my walks and hikes. Some days I feel like not stopping 100 times to compose a shot or run into a shot that composes itself. I just want to walk 100% unfettered and have to be okay with storing nice shots in my memory banks and not booking in visual reference.

No exotic locations or exotic animals will be found among my collection of animal photos here, but hopefully some fun and interesting back stories to correspond with hopefully dynamic and well composed shots. Also included are some in the moment action shots that if I am fast enough, compose themselves. Some of these photos would just be non-exotic animal shots (thus maybe boring) without the dynamics my eye saw that led me to snap the shot...

My last set of photos will be comprised of a series of shots containing one right before my bedtime that I patiently waited over an hour to capture. The shots actually continued into the next day with a fawn and the return of the mother that both literally ran (as I chased them around the house) into a lucky in action dynamic shot to quickly compose before it was gone forever...

Again, I hope you enjoy and be well ~

Photos from Potter's Forest ~ Hales Corners, Wisconsin

I love how the bird's silhouettes blend into the branches of the trees and are popped by the powder blue sky. The blackbird on the left has a jagged feather silhouette that mimics the branches very nicely.

I love the shape of this tree and I waited until there was just one bird occupying it to snap the shot... I was very happy where it decided to perch... See if you can feel the slanting weight, from left to right, starting with the perched bird, as if the moment the bird perched, he or she tilted the tree...

The setting sun catches the branches as the bird's gaze is directly opposite. Do you see the shape of frog feet in the branches?

I wish this insect was in the sunlight to show its brilliant metallic green and yellow color off, half in half out would have been grand! Oh well. I thought about giving it a bump with my finger to try and coax it into the sunlight, but I decided to let it be. Plus it offered modeling free of charge. I was more than happy to have it on the berries of a plant that mimics its shape. There are circle patterns on the insect that mimic the berries as well. The leaves of the berries also mimic the antenna of the insect. Dynamics, dynamics, dynamics... Snap, snap, snap away...

This Cardinal was constantly flying back and forth to a grove of these trees and I caught that flight. I wish I could say it was pure skill, but I was lucky to have such a crisp in-flight shot. I love composing shots and taking photos, but I am very, very green yet when it comes to any technical aspects of photography. One day, one day. This shot did make me feel like a professional photographer with a very expensive wildlife lense (is that even a thing? Haha). The branches enclose the bird and add dynamic. There is a pop of setting sun on the very top branch.

A photo from Whitnall Park ~ Hales Corner, Wisconsin

I was halfway through a wonderful winter day snow shoeing with my niece Ellie (sledding, snow fort fun, mac n cheese, hot cocoa and a sleepover yet to come) when we happened upon this giant snowball. As she lay on the ground after letting herself slide off the snowball having some simple winter fun, a group of seven deer went down the hill at what I would say was 3/4 speed. The first four contained two bucks and were gone before I could snap a shot.

As I shot this I was proclaiming to Ellie, "Check out the deer!" I like that I catch her looking at the deer that had gone by, unaware that more are coming... I explain that context whenever I show this moment as it adds dynamic weight to the shot. This is a very old and large tree here and seeing this long, strong branch that parallels the fleet of foot deer as the trunk remains hidden adds a wonderful and pleasant sense of speed and forward movement to me...

A photo from my front yard ~ Greenfield, Wisconsin

It was a hot and dry day in a very long stretch of such days that has the grass dead and tan as this beautiful fox decides to take a quick shaded rest. I find the color of the grass and the color of the shaded fox dynamic here. A much less dynamic shot in plush green grass.

Photos from my backyard ~ Greenfield, WI

Ever curious as always. I think the pop of red adds dynamic.

Photos from a random stop ~ Muskego, Wisconsin

Driving to a nature trail for a fall walk, I stopped to snap a shot of fall color just off to the left of this shot and noticed a hawk on a post - the 6th post in from the right... I tried cropping this photo to have this bird of prey better seen but then the dynamic of being forced to notice the hawk (well, hopefully anyways) amongst the posts was then lost...

Photos from Lake Michigan ~ Racine, Wisconsin

This photo is much less dynamic if the sunlight does not catch just the top of this seemingly very inquisitive bird's head. The log has a pattern that mimics the water.

I find the light and shadow along with the juxtaposition of metal and wood very dynamic here, with the bird completely dark in shadow...

Random Animal Photos ~ Wisconsin

Photos from my backyard ~ Greenfield, Wisconsin

I spy, 1...2...3...4...5 critters. Did you spot the dragonfly out of focus on the table? I find this backyard zoo shot much more dynamic with the rabbit's eye between the slats of the chair which mimic the slats of the table and said dragonfly wanting in on the fun and the shot... I enjoy the animals in my backyard rather much. I wish it was like Narnia and they could talk...

One of my old neighborhood friend's mom, Sharon, worked for a zoo and she adored animals. They had a sweet dog named Holly and a feisty and animated parakeet whose name now escapes me many, many years later. Holly let everyone pet her, but the parakeet only let my friend's mom and myself pet its head. I enjoyed and relished in that fact.

This Blue Jay never spends more than I would say, seven seconds at the bird feeder. When it does fly away before coming back for another seven seconds, it flies off away from the house 99.9% of the time, so I was thrilled to get this shot of it on the deck chair without scaring it off first...

The shadows from the evergreen needles can be seen on the butterfly's wings and mimic the shape of the beautiful patterns found there. The yellow plays off of the purple of the flower... Yellow and purple are contrasting colors on the color wheel which adds pop. Pop!

This pretty Woodpecker stays at the feeder just a tad longer than my Blue Jay friend. I was happy to get a shot of it at the end of the feeder (much better dynamic with it perched there) with a seed in its mouth. The round shape of the seed lines up and mimics the two screw heads (pure luck and my eye notices and enjoys it). The red of the Woodpecker's head plays off of the red fall leaves.

Photos from Potter's Forest ~ Hales Corners, Wisconsin

I had a heck of a time being able to have this dragonfly stay still for a shot. It was flying back and forth in a clearing, then pausing just for a moment in the vegetation before repeating that pattern. I was quite happy with where it settled as the textures and colors play very nicely together. I wish you could see the golden color of this dragonfly's wings more clearly here. Flying back and forth in the sun filled clearing had it looking like a bedazzled insect emerging from a pirate's treasure chest. I had never seen one like this before and I was intent and very patient on tracking it down to see it and hopefully get a shot...

I love how this branch so perfectly well mimics the shape of this awesome powder blue eyed damselfly. I love this delicate little guy or gal.

Last set of photos and back to photos from my backyard ~ Greenfield, WI

These last photos are of a fawn and its mother. I go to bed early in the morning as I am a late 2nd shifter. This was the weekend and I was easily up until sunrise just relaxing. As I walked by the deck window I thought I saw something amongst the garden fauna. I stopped to look and saw movement. It was a beautiful fawn and I quickly went to retrieve my camera and zoom lense. Turns out there was absolutely no need to be in any kind of a rush...

I snapped this shot while being silent on the deck. Does the fawn see or hear me? Maybe.

I very much wanted a shot with the fawn standing up in the fauna. So I waited... The dawn came and went as day broke and I grew tired but alert. I propped myself up on my grill, zoom lense on the ready...

It took about one hour and twenty minutes but the fawn finally stood up...

Cute soft white tail up! I now head off to slumber happy I got a nice shot of the beautifully cute and innocent fawn in the almost as tall, interesting and varied fauna. I very much enjoy the purple and pink flowers being there. This all is why I wanted that fawn to stand up. The fawn was up for only a mere moment, I suppose to stretch or maybe say hello to me. Time for bed.

I wake up seven hours later and what do I see outside? That fawn is still there in the fauna... Oh no, has the mom forgotten about it? Forgotten where she left it? I do know that mother deer will leave the fawn by itself for periods of time and the fawn does just what this fawn did (well for the most part anyways), stay still and wait for mom. But seven hours? I was worried. Not fifteen minutes later I saw the mom sneak into the yard. I was not looking for the mom at that moment but off to the kitchen to make breakfast. A lucky break.

Did this fawn know it was posing for a great shot?

Mom and baby reunited.

Mom and baby off... So was I as I was in a rush to the front of the house to catch this shot...

Off to the decorative lawn stag? Turns out, nope, They ran right by...but I love this shot as if they are all being reunited. The back story makes this one of my favorite shots. Ah, photo dynamics...

It was fun to share my personal photos and revisit them, thanks for viewing and hopefully enjoying them.