Recently, I decided that a smartphone was not adequate for taking bird photos, so I decided to buy a DSLR (Canon) with an extender lens (until I can afford a real telephoto). I then became a bird stalker. Specifically, I began stalking one of the egrets who stays around a nearby marsh.
Day by day, as I drove by, camera at the ready, I tried to get close to this egret, who I fondly named “Henry”. I would see him on the marshland, staring at me, as if begging me to take his photo. But like most egrets, Henry is quite shy, and merely stopping my car was enough to make him (and his friends) take off. He had a large “bubble” around himself, and resented any attempts to catch him.
Finally, though, one day I caught him unawares. I was able to catch a poor-quality photo of him, but good enough to put his portrait to canvas.
Henry happened to be looking away, in pursuit of something interesting on the marsh, so I grabbed the opportunity.
I love painting marshes and wetlands, which is one reason I enjoy painting waterbirds. Here in North Michigan, egrets, herons and Canadian Geese abound, so I will probably be painting quite a few over the summer.