My Favorite Shots of the Year (January-March)
Being the last month of the year, I decided that I would do something a little different for the month of December. Starting with this post, I will pick my favorite picture from each trimester of this year. This first post will be my favorite picture from January-March, and then I will do April-June, July-September, and October-December! Call it a little countdown if you will. This will culminate in my final post of the month in which I'll make something a little extra special to cap off the year (no spoilers though). So, without further adieu, my favorite picture from the first trimester of this year: Profile.
Profile (taken with a nikon z6 & nikon 200-500 mm f/5.6 @ 270 mm, 1/640 sec, f/5.6)
As you can clearly tell, this picture was taken in some serious snow. It had been a very cold stretch here in Michigan, and snow had piled up. As I recall, the day that I took this picture, the temperature was around 20o Farenheit. Not the worst, but definitely chilly! It had been a goal of mine to take some good pictures in the snow, though, so I bundled up in four or five layers and ventured out to Lake St. Clair Metropark. It was a slow day at the park, with the cold and the fact that it was about two or three in the afternoon. You can be very flexible with your time when you're playing junior hockey! There is a nice network of nature trails in the park, so I began my walk through there.
Early on, the wildlife was slim. On top of that, there wasn't any vegitation in the dead of winter. Eventually, I did find a cardinal and some other smaller birds to take pictures of. Had that been all, I would have been happy. After a while, I was honestly ready to leave. However, I ran into a lovely couple that told me that they were at the park to look for a great horned owl that had been spotted there. So, I decided to stay and see if I could find that great horned owl (spoiler alert: we did! Unfortunately, it was so far away that I didn't get a great picture). As we wandered deeper into the nature trails, we crossed over a creek that had a wide trail running alongside it. We were quietly strolling along this path when I heard a rustling in the brush on the other side of the creek. I glanced back and didn't see anything at first. After a second scan, though, I saw one deer, then another, then one more. A group of three deer was slowly making their way out of the woods on the other side of the creek. Two of the deer continued grazing in the woods (to questionable success), while one wandered onto the creek and continued onto our path. It had its head down, sniffing around, but then its head darted up and slowly turned to face me. Then, I got the shot: a profile (kinda like the name!) shot of the deer, with its head turned toward me. As quickly as I took the shot, the deer wandered on into the more woods. I continued walking down the nature paths and captured some more good pictures, but nothing compared to this one.
Deer are pretty common in this part of the US, but capturing one in the snow so clearly was an accomplishment for me. This picture just seems serene to me. I look at it and it brings me a sense of calm. It reminds me of cozy winter days and a warm, fuzzy jacket. It's also one of, if not the best pictures I've ever taken of a deer. A great shot, and a great memory. I'll be back with my favorite shot from April-June next week!
