What a bear it was sifting through the wildlife challenge in this week’s Kitsap Frames Photo Challenge.
And some eagles. Couple frogs. Ducks. Seagulls. Deer. Grouse. Salmon. Osprey. Owls. Turtles. Raccoons. Sadly, no slugs.
This photo challenge definitely hit a nerve with you guys. You sent a LOT of entries. (This is a good thing.) As in, way more entries than we’ve ever received before. Maybe it speaks to the abundance of nature around us here on the Kitsap Peninsula. Maybe you guys all cheated and took a field trip to Northwest Trek. Either way, thanks for sharing.
Dozens of photos were worth of showcasing at the conclusion of the challenge, but Meegan and I tried our best to pick five of our faves. If any of the five overlap, so be it.
Derek’s choices:
Frog by StephenC
I think it’s the expression (Can you call it an expression on a frog?) the hard light and the colors. For whatever reason, I couldn’t stop going back to this one. Maybe these guys are related?
Greenlake by JenDupre
Admittedly, not the most exotic beast here, but there’s a good technique at work. Much like photographing children, small wildlife can look more interesting if you get the camera right down at their eye level.
That will be a Couple of Bucks … by rgdimages
Rgdimages gives us a couple of bucks, and I wouldn’t change a thing……..Now that you’ve gotten your groans out for my bad joke, here’s why I chose this one. Deadlines. You see, the caption says this one was taken June 6, 2010 – ACTUALLY within the duration of the challenge! – so it gets special props from me. (Me, the guy who didn’t enter this challenge.) And yes, I checked the photo’s EXIF data. It was taken June 6.
Buckey & Gimpy by LucyJoy
Simple reason here. Color. Great way to fill the frame with those fall colors.
Spawning Manchester by jndkimble
I liked this spawning salmon shot because of context. It’s easy to grab a few frames OF an animal. But having an animal in the frame doesn’t tell a story of the creature or its life. It lacks context. This shot does have context, which is why I liked it. The salmon migrates upstream – stock video footage of which we often see that was shot in the middle of nowhere – but at least this part of the journey is right in the middle of a domain that different creatures also call home. Us. The houses in the distance prove that point.
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Meegan’s Picks
So a few of my “picks” overlapped Derek’s (the salmon run with it’s overall context was grand as well as the Greenlake critter which just made me giggle) but I thought I should pick 5 different ones to showcase because like he said, we had a ton of fantastic entries for this challenge!!
“Seabeck Wildlife” by gmercogliano
Who wouldn’t love a picture of a coyote in their archives?!? The shot is clean with a direct emphasis on the beautiful sleek creature with great eye contact from it.
“Big Buck” by LucyJoy
Gorgeous color of the buck and he’s got the perfect buck stance
going on (you can just tell he’s striking a pose and giving a wink
to the does hanging out to his right). I also like how he’s framed
by the various trees making his gorgeous color “pop” even more
among the varying textures of them.
“Look Out Below!!!!!” by Noelle Morris
We had a ton of bald eagle entries and all were pretty fantastic
but I picked this shot because of its unique view and angle of the
bird. Sure we see and take pictures of them head on and from the
side all the time, but I don’t know about you but I have never
thought to shoot one flying away after it has dive bombed me. Also
the fact that the bird is off kilter and askew in the frame just
adds the feeling of the birds motion as it swoops down and
away.
“Young Downy Woodpecker” by Rusty Platz
I have never seen a little itty bitty wood pecker, and the fact
that this little beauty seems to blend in with the bark and
the background shows that the photographer had a great eye for
spotting it clinging there.
“Seabeck Blue Heron” by Rick Bartoli
Second to our bald eagle entries were our numerous heron entries. I picked this one because of the beautiful colors of the bird being showcased by the light of that day and the clean background. I also enjoy the rocks or shore scattered about at the bottom of the frame because it gives me something else to look at and ponder besides just a heron over the endless water.
Again fantastic photos everyone and thank you for sharing them with us! We’ll definitely be doing another wildlife challenge in the months to come so keep staking out those creatures in your backyard.
If you want to see all the entries you can find them here.
We’ll post our next weekly challenge tomorrow so stay tuned!!
~Meegan M. Reid
Wonderful captures !