Dusk reflected in the pond at the nature preserve through Fall reeds lets through some warm color.

September 26, 2014. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), 70–300mm Nikon zoom lens at 70mm (35mm equivalent: 105mm), f/11, 1/2,000, ISO 1,250.

Catching the full wingspan of this heron made me very happy, especially as its legs and feet continued the gentle curve.

April 1, 2017. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), 70–300mm Nikon zoom lens at 300mm (35mm equivalent: 450mm), f/5.6, 1/3,000, ISO 800.

I was surprised to see that I’ve published only two kestrel photos so far, the cute one last May and the couple in November. They show up occasionally at the nature preserve, but since they aren’t that much bigger than robins, they can be hard to find when there’s foliage around.

Kestrels are the smallest of falcons, and their markings — the stripes on their head and the dots on their orange plumage — make them look pretty tough, as petite as they are. I have photographs of them being pretty tough and someday I’ll post one. But even just sitting on a branch scanning for their next meal, they have a presence.

March 10, 2019. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), Tamron 100–400mm lens at 400mm (35mm equivalent: 600mm), f/6.7, 1/500, ISO 560.

One day in Spring of 2019, an oriole landed on a nearby branch with its next snack, a tiny caterpillar. As the oriole pondered how to fit this horizontal treat into its vertical beak, it moved its little head around, giving me a few angles that showed off the crawlie this way and that, and this was the best of them.

June 2, 2019. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), Tamron 100–400mm lens at 400mm (35mm equivalent: 600mm), f/8, 1/500, ISO 560.

I love this photo because I spent a moment focusing on and composing and setting the shot of that butterfly that’s in good focus in the back, and just as I was pressing the shutter button, another monarch landed on that nearer milkweed flower and got in the way. Thanks to my aperture setting and lens choice, the nearby butterfly was defocused really nicely and it turned out to be a perfect accident.

July 25, 2020. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), Tamron 100–400mm lens at 400mm (35mm equivalent: 600mm), f/8, 1/500, ISO 400.

A carpenter bee pauses for a moment in the Summer afternoon sun for a sip of nectar from a milkweed flower. Along with being a good capture of a moment in nature, the photo has a nice mix of colors and the depth of field is sharp across everything that matters and still pushes the nearby foliage into the background.

August 11, 2019. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), Tamron 100–400mm lens at 400mm (35mm equivalent: 600mm), f/13, 1/180, ISO 1,100.

“Hey, George.”

“Hi, Sam. How ya doing?”

“OK, OK — you know how it is. What’s going on over there?”

“Y’got me, Sam. Probably nothing that makes life better, though.”

“Amen, my friend. Well, I gotta run. I’ll see you later.”

“Yup. Say hi to the wife and kids for me.”

“Will do, buddy.”

June 12, 2011. Nikon D90 (DX sensor), 105mm Nikon macro lens (35mm equivalent: 155mm), f/5, 1/640, ISO 400.

Or maybe “Here’s what I think of your happiness for me, bub.” Either way, sometimes “It’s the thought that counts” is clearly stretching it.

September 5, 2018. Samsung Galaxy S8+, focal length 4.25mm (35mm equivalent: 26mm), f/1.7, 1/60, ISO 200.

Sometimes nature brings us unending beauty in the Fall and sometimes it quickly reminds us that the season is a transition to a long, cold Winter. Kudos to the three or four trees that hung on to their color as long as they did.

November 18, 2012. Nikon D90 (DX sensor), 70–300mm Nikon zoom lens at 70mm (35mm equivalent: 105mm), f/9.5, 1/250, ISO 500.

Three of Chicago’s El lines — the Red, Yellow, and Purple — converge at Howard Station on the city’s Far North Side. It’s full of siding to store out-of-service trains, loops to move trains from one track to another, tunnels to get trains past each other, and other necessities to keep connections open and trains moving. On the left side just above the center, you can see a six-car Purple Line train approaching the station platforms that are on the lower right, and an eight-car Red Line train has just left the right platform, where it discharged northbound passengers, to loop around so it can go back into southbound service on the other platform.

December 16, 2025. OnePlus 12 cell phone, 13.3mm focal length (35mm equivalent: 140mm), f/2.6, 1/350, ISO 50.

I personally think that some of the methods used to complete the attachment of this light to this pole may not follow common standards, but I acknowledge that I’m not a professional when it comes to this stuff.

September 5, 2009. Nikon D90 (DX sensor), DX 18–105mm lens at 105mm (35mm equivalent: 155mm), f/13, 1/1,250, ISO 1,250.

“Hey,” thought the red-bellied woodpecker. “There are no insects in these shingles, and come to think of it, am I not surrounded by trees here in this nature preserve?”

It looked around for a moment, confirmed that there were trees very close to this shelter that met none of its needs, and flew off.

October 9, 2021. Nikon D850 (FX sensor), Tamron 100–400mm at 400mm, f/6.7, 1/45, ISO 400.

The nature preserve I’ve been photographing at for many years has some shelters here and there, mostly with informational signs. One afternoon, a bored or desperately hungry red-bellied woodpecker really hoped that it might be able to score some tasty insects in those shingles. I was impressed with how it squeezed itself in there. Delicate yet determined.

October 9, 2021. Nikon D850 (FX sensor), Tamron 100–400mm at 400mm, f/6.7, 1/45, ISO 400.

Shortly after splashing about the nature preserve’s pond in the photo shown in “Breach” last May, that great blue heron preened some to make sure it was showing off all its finest Spring fashion.

April 15, 2023. Nikon D850 (FX sensor), Tamron 100–400mm at 400mm, f/8, 1/1,000, ISO 560.

A nearby station shared by Amtrak and Chicago’s regional commuter train is in something of an industrial area; when I was headed out to the suburbs one weekend afternoon last Fall to spend some time with a friend, I brought the Nikon F5 along so I could finish a roll of film. I really wanted a composition that took in the industrial features as a train came in, and was pretty happy with this one. I also like how Tri-X rendered the clouds on a day that was slowly becoming more overcast and still kept some shadow detail.

October 10, 2025. Nikon F5, Kodak Tri-X 200, Tamron 100–400mm at 100mm, ISO 200, other exposure information unavailable.