I found these sunglasses while I was out on McDade Trail the other day. I was a bit torn. On one hand I don't like to leave litter if I can remove it. On the other hand we are all in the Covid-19 social distancing era and I kind of didn't want to touch them.  

I stood there circling them and pondering things when I noticed my reflection. In the end, I shot the image above and left them there. I'll pick them up and throw them away another day when I'm more secure in the idea that some time has passed and if they have any virons on them they will no longer be infectious. 

The resulting image inspired me though. Found objects are a simple means to a creative photo.

They are things that happened to be there when you happened to wander by and see them. How you photograph them depends on: what camera equipment you happen to have with you, and, how you happen to 'see' it in your head. ​It's all very random and I love that. 

Macro photography is a very easy way to get creative with your photos. Certainly you can do all sorts of setup shots, and that's wonderful, but even just walking around looking in the grasses will inspire you. It's a weird little world down there. Walk slowly and you'll see it. 

I have kind of a Do No Harm philosophy. I don't cause excess stress to animals and I never kill insects just to photograph them. My results then tend to be often less 'technical' but more unexpected, and I'm OK with that. 

​Bees do what bees do. Not necessarily what humans think bees should be doing. I think it's more fun to photograph them that way. 

Where I roam, dead things are not uncommon. Fish, dogs, deer, muskrats - all sorts of things. My dead animal collection is a blog in itself.

Mostly they are unpleasant to find, but, often they are certainly things that you do not see everyday and usually not things that most people time much to look at. 

​Is it 'creative' to photograph dead animals? I don't know. I guess it depends on how your photograph it. 

Often you can extend the creative limits of your equipment with software.

​The image below was shot with a 24mm lens but to get wider I shot two images and stitched them together. Doing this is a great way to get more creative with your landscape photography without the need to buy or rent new lenses. 

Let your imagination run wild. Don't be shy. Make mistakes. But most of all, create! 

10 Tips To Get More Creative Photos

1. Slow down - look at things a little longer, find the odd things in the scene 
2. Take a new angle - go high, go low, look for new ways to look at the subject
3. Get close - get REAL close if you can, and then get real far away
4. Use prime lenses - they make you move your body so it throws you out of your comfort zone
5. Don't use auto settings - learn your camera controls so it sees what you want it to see
​6. Be the Bee - let animals/insects be themselves, they will do more interesting things that way
7. Try pinhole photography - it breaks all the rules
8. Use whatever equipment you have - it's not technically right or wrong, it's creative 
9. Bokeh - make the blur count, play with the blur, be the blur
10. Use reflections - water and windows are great for this 

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Be well my friends. 

The upper Delaware River is a treasure trove of wild animals and abundant fish species. I do not go out to pursue wildlife photography on purpose but I do happen upon some of our beautiful creatures when I wander the river areas. This week I'm featuring my collection of animals that swim. 

A bird's eye view of fish in the Delaware River. The sunfish nest on the shallow warm waters on the banks. Those areas will serve as fish nurseries to protect from the larger predatory fish. The big carp was just passing through.  

A crayfish and some fish fry enjoy a sunny day. 

Beavers, turtles, and toads all live at least part of their lives in the water.  Wildlife photography tips:

• Beavers are generally pretty territorial if you get to close to their home. If they are splashing at you, you are to close and need to move. 
• Turtles are smarter and stealthier than you think. They don't look real smart but they know their environment and can spot differences (as in a photographer trying to hide behind a tree) in it.
• Toads call to each other pretty predictably so they tend to be easy to locate. The video is a toad calling to the other toads on the bank.
• ​Their eggs don't last long along the banks so don't hesitate to photograph them when you see them. ​

Animal Photography isn't something I have a tremendous amount of patience for so I rarely go out to photograph animals on purpose. 

​Generally I go on a photo adventure to a specific area to explore nature photography in that area. If there happens to be animals there (alive or dead) I'll photograph them. If not, so be it. 

​I never realized that I had amassed so many animal photos until I started looking to put things together for this blog post. There are hundreds!  

​So this will be Animal Photography Blog Part 1 about Animals That Fly. Featuring: birds, ducks, eagles, butterflies, dragonflies, and a variety of insects from the Kingdom Animalia​.

The subsequent blogs will feature other animal related themes. I hope you enjoy them!