WILD WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE: WILDLIFE

The challenge this week in Let’s Be Wild is Wildlife.

In the place where I live, which is an urban area, the only wild things I see are the squirrels, mole, and rabbits that hide in the secret recesses of our backyard. They only appear when I am indoors and could not bother them with my camera. There was only one place I could think of where I had some chance of taking wildlife photos: the pond nearby. I know, I know. I have shown you a lot of pictures from THAT pond already and they can get tiring. But I figured that with the hundreds of winged creatures inhabiting the area, I could have a nice capture of a flying seagull or duck or swan. The swans were gone – but there were mallards, and crested ducks, and geese. The gulls were all over the place too.

But taking a picture of them flying was more difficult than I had hoped. A little change in angle in camera required a change in settings. Before I could manage to get the right setting, my prey had flown away. I had a lot of empty sky shots, and washed out shots. Needless to say, it was frustrating.

So, I decided to get up close and personal with them. I liked the green mallards. But they escaped as soon as they heard me take a step closer to where they were.

Left with not much choice, I used the limited zoom that my little camera had.

I was ready to give up and move to some other part of the city when I noticed that the lowering sun cast a golden glow in the pond. Hmmm, it might not be a futile trip after all. Maybe, I could manage to snap some photos that I have not had before and fulfill the challenge too.

I took a lot of semi-silhouette shots. A lot of them. They are in a gallery at the bottom of this post.

The sun was getting lower, the ducks were by the reflection in the water, the gulls were flying. I just had to stand still and wait for that time when the gulls got inside the frame.