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These were primarily taken at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in NJ, except for two taken near my home bird feeder.

I did both of these based on photos I took.

This winter I have shot hundreds upon hundreds (okay, into the thousands) of birds and outdoor nature images.  Some of my images I used as references for paintings and drawings, which I am truly enjoying.  While my goal today was to finish weeding my winter photos before starting a new season, that didn’t happen.  Instead, with yesterday’s snowstorm and this morning’s beautiful lighting, I was outside shooting more.  Here’s a favorite of the day.

A couple weekend ago, Rich and I went to an antique car show, something he use to do with my dad on a regular basis. Sadly dad is long gone, and Rich hasn’t gone to many shows since. However, I agreed to go with him to a show in southern NJ. While he enjoyed all of the beautifully restored cars, I was far more interested in the rusted relics strewn along the property edges. They, along with the late afternoon glowing sunlight, had me climbing through all kinds of weeds and trees to take shots. I found it all peaceful and beautiful, the way the autumn coloring so complemented the decay of the cars.  In that junkyard of sorts, I found beauty and even some hope.

On the Friday before my birthday, Rich, my mom, and I wen to the NJ Pine Barrens for a cranberry harvest tour.  We did this one in a privately-owned, working farm along Route 563 in the Chatsworth, Burlington County, NJ area.  First we heard an excellent talk by Brenda Conner.  She explained that cranberries were American’s first super-fruit, used in 1550 by Native Americans.  Then we went onto a special bus and went out to the narrow sandy dams surrounding the cranberry bogs.  Joe Darlington, her husband (and co-owner of the farm) was at the mic giving us more information. She and Joe are fifth generation cranberry farmers! I was surprised to learn that Ocean Spray is a co-op, owned by some 700 farmers, with Brenda and Joe being two of them.

The entire tour was excellent! The only downside was early in the morning it was a bit overcast.  Additionally, for insurance purposes, no one was allowed off the bus, but could go onto the bottom step for taking pictures.  We capped the tour off by returning and tasting a lot of excellent Pine Barrens Native Fruits, my favorites being the cranberry and walnut jam and the tru-blueberry jam.

This was taken later in the day, and you can see how much the sky brightened up.

We also returned to nearby Whitesbog Village in Brendon T. Byrne State Forest, home of Elizabeth White’s blurberries — the first place in the world where blueberries were cultivated — and did a walking tour.  Rich and I have been to Whitesbog Village many, many times this year, and every time is a treat!

I just love the area, and I’m so glad that we finally was able to see an actual wet harvest!  I’ll be posting more pictures, as Rich and I returned the following evening and the weather was even more lovely!

I took a lot of photos this past Saturday of some cranberry bogs.  It was a beautiful late afternoon and evening, with crisp weather, clear skies, and a gorgeous sunset.  I’ve been having a great time this year photographing many scenic locations, visiting various parks, wildlife sanctuaries, bogs, and salt marshes on a regular basis.  My eventual goal is to add a section for photos on my website.  Some people have written expressing an interest in buying prints.  Let me know your thoughts on the idea.

I love getting out during the summer to photograph nature, especially butterflies, birds, and landscapes.  I keep meaning to post more images, instead I’m out shooting!  Here are a few favorites.

This summer has been glorious, and I have been out every weekend exploring different parks, especially in the Pine Barrens region in Burlington and Atlantic Counties.  We’ve also gone to various reserves in Cape May County. I have taken hundreds massive amounts of photos,  including landscapes, birds, trees, salt marshes.  However, I still look for butterflies. While I didn’t get any butterfly pictures in June, the later part of July was better, and August thus far seems great.  I will post more pictures from various parks, but thought I’d share some butterflies from yesterday in a nearby park.