Kip’s Comments - July 23, 2025
My Favorite Was Something Different and 1,000,000 Images Milestone (A Long Time in the Making)
As I explored several bodies of water today many nature photography opportunities were recognized. First and a couple more times were spotted sandpipers. This species bobs almost continuously as they work along the water’s edge. Photographing them involves watching for their brief pauses to press the shutter release button. Then, if I am lucky, I have an acceptable image.
Spotted Sandpiper - Image 999921
Spotted Sandpiper - Image 999926
Spotted Sandpiper - Image 1000043
Even more numerous were the bullfrogs. The frogs made no attempt to conceal themselves and most allowed me to approach close enough for frame-filling photos.
Bullfrog - Image 999668
Bullfrog - Image 999667
Bullfrog - Image 999756
Bullfrog - Image 999826
Moving around among the bullfrogs were a couple of large snapping turtles. In fact, had I not been familiar with the area I may have thought I was looking at a floating log or cattail mat that was really the shell of a snapper. Every minute or so the turtle would stick its aquatic-vegetation covered head out of the water before going back under.
Snapping Turtle - Image 999903
Snapping Turtle - Image 999907 (Notice the eye on the turtle)
Even with many wildlife photography opportunities today, my favorite picture of the day was a simple view of bright Virginia creeper leaves against a dark background. When I first noticed this I knew I had to capture an image.
Virginia Creeper on Tree - Image 1000128
Today’s photo outing marked a milestone for me. After forty=some years of entering image information in my photo database, today my collection of “saved” images exceeded the 1,000,000 mark. Of those million images, the first 18,000 or so were recorded on slide film. The rest are digital images. The film pictures were shot with Minolta equipment. Since then I have used Nikon gear for the majority of the images (along with a drone and GoPro). That I have only retired camera bodies due to water damage speaks volumes for Nikon. They make good stuff! I owe Bob Sassman a “Thank You!” since I switched to Nikon on his recommendation. Thanks Bob!
By the way, I have two copies of each digital image file. In other words, I have many external hard drives.
