I can’t think of much that is more gratifying than an up-close and personal encounter with one of the scores of amazing creatures with which we share this planet. I use hashtags to identify themes in my photography, so go online and search for #CreatureEncounters. You’ll find more of my fave works.

Recognize, of course, that when I say “up close,” I am speaking relatively. I never was very close to the osprey and its prey in Angel of Death. But our encounter extended for a 15 to 20 minute period as I followed the bird clutching its prey from power pole to power pole for several miles. Every time the bird perched, I stopped, got out of my car and clicked off a few frames before trying to slowly walk closer. And every time I took no more than a step or two when the bird flew again! I finally gave up when the osprey turned its head and glared directly at me. Eye contact with a wild creature is a powerful thing. I backed off.

Angel of Death has been in several shows, won a “Best Photograph” in a multi-media show in Denver, and is currently in an online show called “Wings 2024,” hosted by gallerium. You can see the show here for a few more days.

In contrast, my encounter with the ‘gator in Boudoir for a Beast was quite brief and we did not make eye contact! Indeed, I was in a swamp tour boat down on Lake Martin when we sort of turned the corner and there she was–“she” in my imagination, of course, as I have no idea. The ‘gators in Lake Martin are pretty used to visitors, so she didn’t move a muscle, but I had to shoot quickly. The guides always try to help out photographers by slowing or turning the boat, but I basically had ONE SHOT at this perfect framing, with the sun filtering so seductively through the curtains of Spanish moss. And in this case, I was shooting with a “normal” lens, so the apparent distance is, in fact, close to the actual distance.

Boudoir has also won a couple of awards, both in competitions where members of organizations determine winners by voting. One group was the Louisiana Master Naturalists, who voted it “Best” in the “Wildlife” category. The other was the membership of Wild Ones, a national native plant focused organization. The category was “It’s alive!” and the images had to depict wildlife among native plant habitats. There’s not much more native to Louisiana that a Spanish moss-festooned cypress & tupelo swamp!

Boudoir is in an online show called “Kingdom Animalia 2024,” hosted by Exhibizone, that will run from September 1 through October 31, 2024. A link to the show will be posted on Facebook as soon as I get it.