Creature Encounters

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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…

2 Fave Things

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Dragonflies and cypress trees! I did not know either until I moved to Louisiana some 20+ years ago. I’m sure we had dragonflies in Iowa, but I paid them no attention. Cypress trees? Nope. Of course not. Learning to appreciate the beauty of a swamp was one big adjustment for this yankee, and cypress trees sure helped. This exquisitely beautiful spot is at Black Bayou Lake NWR on the north side of Monroe, La. Slide your kayak (or canoe) between the cypress trees, get to this open area in the middle, lean back (carefully), and drink in the peace and…

That’s a wrap…

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A show I had two works in closed yesterday and I never got around to writing about it! Such is life. (Sigh.) “Whispering Colors” was a show theme that captured my attention, just as the muted, gentler tones of earth, sky and water often attract my camera. Consider, for example, sand, which both of the images invited into the show featured. The sand in the background of Things Unspoken is the rather typical tan color we associate with sand and expect to see when the word “sand” is used as a color name. If that soft turquoise in the upper…

Local: Happiness!

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Another local event I enjoy participating in is the Mayor of West Monroe’s art show. Her name is Staci Albritton Mitchell and the lobby outside her office in city hall makes a great art gallery. Every year since elected she has hosted a year-long show in that space. This year’s theme is “Happiness,” and I am delighted to have been selected to participate. I didn’t have any trouble finding images to submit! What says happiness better than butterflies and wildflowers, my fave subjects? Dance of the Butterfly won first place in the “Artistic” category of Louisiana Master Naturalist Association’s 2022…

“Blend” is almost here!

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Local friends, here’s your opportunity to get your “Bette Kauffman original” and help out a good cause in the process! Now, who can resist that? “Blend on the Bayou” is the Northeast Louisiana Arts Council’s annual fundraiser. This year I have put four pieces on the silent auction. Scouts Clean Up Black Bayou Lake is one of them. The scene is a scout troupe paddling out onto the lake to participate in one of Ouachita Green’s “water clean-up” days by picking trash out of our lakes, bayous and river. Thanks, scouts! This pigment print, framed 20×16 in a black wood…