I can’t remember when Damon began to do the writing for his book ‘Flights of Fantasy Photographing North American Birds’. The book was published by my company in 2006. Oh, my goodness, that’s already eleven years ago!
I always tried to instill in Damon the challenges of trying to get several ‘elements’ into a single bird photograph. So many bird photographers (since it’s now pretty much politically incorrect to photograph birds at the nest) seem to be satisfied with a shot of an adult bird in a tree, on the ground or in flight with a pleasing out-of-focus backdrop. To me, these photographs, even though the bird might be entirely in sharp focus, are boring. I bet that comment is going to hit the nerve with many ‘opportunist’ bird photographers.
Below are just a smattering of images taken from his book.
In this photograph a perfectly camouflaged male Golden Plover broods three newly hatched chicks and incubates a remaining egg as he snaps at an annoying gnat.
A brooding female Common Redpoll flutters her wings in anticipation of a feeding from her more colourful mate.
A White-crowned Sparrow exits its rootlet nest.
A pair of Hermit Thrush do an over and under full flight manoeuvre near the nest.
A female Semi-palmated Plover broods one young while another explores the tundra.
These newly hatched Artic Tern chicks have a warm downy coat to protect them from the cold northern winds.
A pair of Lincoln’s Sparrows enter and exit the nest simultaneously.
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