Kip’s Comments - July 18, 2025 — LadagePhotography.com

Five Challenges Completed

After I had photographed a green heron this morning - a bird I see frequently but do not necessarily document - I then photographed a rough-winged swallow in an unusual pose. I sensed a pattern of “difficult compositions” being recorded. I wondered if my morning would be two and done or would there be more.

Then I had not one, but two eastern kingbirds that allowed me to approach within feet of them. For me getting a nice composition of a kingbird has been a struggle. They are either too high in a tree, on a power line, or too skittish to approach close. Not these birds today. I was afforded plenty of nice options for framing the rather drab looking birds.

Imaging challenge number four was a great blue heron that may have let me drift up and touch it… I think. My camera was taking picture after picture as I drifted closer and closer. The end result was a nice assortment of great blue heron images to choose from. This was important for this year since I have not seen many great blue herons in 2025.

Finally, I had photo challenge five. Can I make nice pictures of a northern water snake? Since I saw many I had a number of options. What you see here were some of my preferred. I really like the image of the snake in the water, with rings around its tongue. Which do you like?