Beautiful Bald Eagles!!

Soaring Eagle

What a wonderful experience I was able to have this weekend, thanks to some awesome friends and my new Master Maine Guide friend!  Anyone who knows me, knows how much I respect wildlife.  For that reason, I'm not listing the names of folks who led me to this wonderful new location, or where it is.  Whenever someone trusts me enough to share a proven wildlife location or especially a nesting or den location with me, I vow to keep the location private and not compromise the privacy or safety of the animals or birds.

With that said, I'd like to share a bit of my experience with you.  One of my Maine Guide friends got me in contact with his Master Maine Guide friend, who impressed me immensely with her knowledge of wildlife & birding locations in her area & beyond.  Her enthusiasm was contagious!  A friend & I met her at the location and even before the car had stopped, I saw the most gorgeous bald eagle soaring overhead!   Most eagle nests I've seen have been rather cluttered and hidden with branches, trees & sticks blocking a clear view for photography.  This location was about as perfect as it gets!  A clearing allowed me to setup my tripod & lens a good distance away & have a clear view of the nest and an even better view of the eagles as they soared overhead.

Bald Eagle in Nest

Lori photographed by KTGAW


Saturday was an extremely windy day, gusts were estimated to be around 40mph.  I was on my way back from visiting family & friends in Connecticut and I'd been hit with spring fever. I didn't even have hat, gloves or a warm coat in the truck... how unlike me!  The conditions were so windy, that for over an hour & a half, we watched as two, and sometimes FOUR bald eagles soared directly overhead.  The pair kept trying to get back into the nest, but the wind had definitely compromised their steering abilities.  It was exhilarating and frustrating at the same time!  I found myself cheering out loud for the eagle each time they came at the nest... imagining they must be getting exhausted from all the failed attempts to land.  Finally, we went back to the house for a hot cup of tea & homemade cookies, leaving the eagles to continue their struggle.  I felt guilty... not that me staying there cheering them on would have made a difference.

Eagle fighting the winds

Determined Eagle

On the way by the nest later that afternoon, I was relieved to see a white head peeking over the edge of the nest.  Thankfully, one of them was able to make it back.  The next morning, my Maine Guide friend & I (with hot coffee cups loaded & peanut butter on toast) headed back to the nest.  It was 23 degrees sometime after 7am and the wind was just starting to pick up.  Rather chilly, but thankfully, with borrowed warm clothes, I was more prepared.  There was one eagle in the nest and within an hour, the second one appeared.  Soon, they were both up in the air again!  We weren't sure if there is an egg (or eggs) currently on the nest, but judging by their behavior, I'd say not yet.  Both eagles were bringing nesting materials to add.  I'm guessing that they're preforming last minute prep work. Incubation for bald eagle eggs is 35 days. My Master Maine Guide friend says they are nesting late and should have eggs already, but they are a young couple.  Perhaps something happened to their first clutch and they are preparing to lay a second. 

Eagle bringing nesting materials

Eagle bringing nesting materials

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lori & her lens   Photo by "Bad Jimmy"

I will try to check back on the progress of this nesting couple and will keep in touch with my Master Maine Guide friend, who I know will also be keeping an eye on their progress as well.  All I can say, is I wish them luck!  The top of that tall tree, on the hillside overlooking the water doesn't seem like a very warm, dry place where I'd be wanting to sit for 35 days this spring in Maine! 


Thanks everyone for checking in!  I'll be adding some of the eagle shots to my website over the next few days.  As always, I welcome feedback!

Thanks for the input!

Well, it's pretty much unanimous.  Folks like the first Acadia image from my last post much better than the second.  The blue sky and contrast seems to be much more appealing. Thank you everyone who took time out of their busy schedules to share their thoughts with me!  That is the image I printed large and framed for my upcoming show season.  And if I may say so myself, it looks pretty good!

I would LOVE your input!

Hi folks!

Perhaps spring really is on its way?  Its been raining here in Maine for the past day and a half.  The snow in my back yard is now only knee deep!  What a nice change.  I may feel differently as "mud season" approaches...

I've been plugging away in indoor work much of the winter but have gotten out photographing a bit.  Last week, I took a ride to Acadia National Park and Mt Desert Island early, early on some very chilly mornings, in search of some nice lighting and sea smoke. 

WELL!  The first morning I was out the door before 5am, but that wasn't quite early enough.  By the time I got to Ocean Drive, the sun was peeking over the horizon already.  Of course, it didn't help that the roads were very messy from the snow the night before and the folks ahead of me on the roads didn't seem to care that I was racing against the sunrise!  It was 5 degrees when I captured this image that morning.

A)

It didn't feel too cold and would have been nice to just sit, take in the view & sip on a hot cup o'coffee.  Unfortunately, my coffee was long gone and would have been pretty darn cold at that point anyway!  Still, couldn't think of a more beautiful spot to start a morning of "work"!

The next morning I was up & out even earlier.  Out the door before 4:30 AM!  You'll notice the difference in lighting on these two images.  The image below, I had to wait for things to brighten up, since I was there way before sunrise.  I did make some images prior to sunrise, but they were so flat compared to the natural light and glow on the red rocks!

B)

The second morning, the temperature was 9 BELOW zero!  I was pleasantly surprised that once I was out there & busy photographing, I hardly noticed the cold.  I was disappointed that even though the temperature & lack of wind seemed ideal for sea smoke, there really wasn't any.  Perhaps next time, conditions will cooperate a bit more.  Looking at these results and the beautiful location, the first light of the morning and the sounds of gulls & crashing waves, I wouldn't dare complain!

So, here's the question.  Which image do you like better and WHY?  I find there are attributes to each image that I like and I do like one slightly more than the other.  But before I influence your decision, I'd love some feedback.

Thanks!

Digging out...

You would think, coming into another Maine winter, I'd be talking about snow!  But I'm not.  I have started the rather daunting task of digging out my workshop space, now that my busiest season yet has slowed down to a crawl.  Yes, it was a busy season.  You have no idea how grateful I am to be able to say that, after struggling through all this "poor economy" fearing for my financial security and desperately hoping to be able to continue to do what I love so much.  I have watched so many of my fellow artists & crafters struggle with poor sales, bad shows and the stress of it all.  Trust me, I've experienced my share as well.  I am just so very relieved to have made it through another season!  With the economical situation starting to sound a bit more positive, I'd like to think the hardest times are behind me now.  We'll see.  I have never taken my situation for granted and hope that as we enter a new year, my good fortune will continue.

In case you haven't noticed, the old website hosted through Hostway is no longer.  Thankfully, my site has been transferred over to PhotoShelter and I must say, I've been quite impressed with their capabilities.  If you go to www.LoriDavisPhotography.Com it will now bring you to the new site.  Some pages of the old website may still be found on the web floating around as saved pages or bookmarks.  However, if you attempt to make a purchase on that old site, I expect you will get an error.  If you have time, check  out the new website format and let me know what you think.  I still have to do some cropping on images, add file names and do some tweaking, but that will all get sorted out this winter.  Both positive and negative feedback are welcome.

The Maine Crafts Association Holiday Store at the Bangor Mall was a huge success!  I had more sales than I had expected and with my show season winding down, the extra money was a welcomed addition heading into another long, Maine winter.  Too bad it was probably only a one time thing, since the mall had a store front that they wanted to fill during the holiday season.  NICE JOB MCA.  Thank you!

Now, the 6x10 enclosed trailer that hauls all of my product to shows is protecting my lawnmower from snow.  All of the show merchandise, racks & tables that  filled my 10x10 craft tent now clutter my one car garage "workshop".  That clutter accompanies the merchandise I've taken back from shops & galleries that have closed for the season.  Add this, MORE clutter I've left behind while rushing to get out the door after working all night preparing for a show and I've got quite the cluster going on!  If there was room for a backhoe, that would probably be the most effective way to clear a path!  However, there certainly is not enough room for that!  One of my many winter projects, is to organize my workspace.  Its a much bigger task that you'd think.  Once I have found table tops again, I can then take on the next daunting task of taxes.  After that, mat cutting, printing and production getting ready for another season of art shows.  I certainly hope I can produce enough merchandise in the off season, so I can get out & "play" a bit more this upcoming season.  With shows every weekend and producing more merchandise during the weeks in between, there hasn't been much time to get out & photograph.  That needs to change this year.

Amongst the winter projects, I plan to enjoy a bit of quiet time unwinding in front of the cozy wood stove.  I've been on the go so much, its nice to have some quiet time to  myself to regroup and recharge for the upcoming season!

Belated Happy New Year to all!  Thanks for checking back!

New website...

Just packaged my first order from the NEW website!  All seemed to process quite smoothly!  Yay!

One show to go...

But, who's counting, right?  ME!  Twenty shows in a five month period feels like a lot to me.  .The production work in between is what's keeping me the busiest.  Printing, matting, framing, the new website...  I didn't get out photographing nearly as much as I would have liked this past season.  I'm hoping to get ahead on some of the production work over the winter and allow myself more time to get out and "play" next season. 

I am not complaining.  Every day I am grateful to be self employed.  Grateful to be able to make a living doing what I enjoy most.  It is worth every ounce of hard work and I know that there are many people out there struggling to find work, to keep their homes and worse.  I am grateful (just a little tired!).

The new website is up and running pretty smoothly.  www.LoriDavisPhotography.Com   There are still many images to be added, which I hope to work on over the next couple of weeks.  The old website will remain online through the holidays or at least until I get all of the images transferred to the new site.  To access the "old" website, follow this link: http://store.valueweb.com/servlet/loridsp/StoreFront  The shopping cart feature is still safe, secure & ready for holiday shoppers!

It's embarrassing, but its been a year since my last newsletter.  I didn't get one out this spring, due to the Florida trip and other time commitments.  This evening, I sent out my holiday newsletter.  It went out later than I would have liked, but still in time to hopefully encourage some holiday shopping.  Gotta pump up that savings account for the winter!  No shows until June 2011 and the winters here in Maine are long & cold.


I'll be in Hartford, CT this coming weekend (December 3,4 & 5) for the Castleberry Christmas Craft Expo.  Visit this link for more a list of exhibitors, directions, times and a coupon off admission.  Castleberry Fairs
I hope to see you there!


Let me know what you think of the new website.  Thanks for checking back.

Sorry for my absence...

I can't believe its been almost a month and a half since my last post.  Thank you for those who have taken the time to check back. I apologize for not keeping up.  I've had shows every weekend and have been going crazy w/ production of prints, matting, framing, note cards, filling orders, etc...  You'd think I'd be RICH by now!

Another project that has been taking up much of my time is the new website.  The site I've had for a few years now, has really been very disappointing for tech support. In a desperate rush to get a new site up before the holiday rush, I've been working on that most of the past two weeks, when I'm not at or preparing for shows.   Those of you familiar with my collection of images will notice some changes.  The old site had over 800 images, the new site, at this time, only has 235 or so.  Once this is up & running, I will be able to add more images, however, I didn't want to invest lots of time adding images until I was sure the new site could do what I wanted.  The design of this site will be very different.  You will hopefully be happy to see much larger thumbnails and there will be much less clicking required.  I welcome feedback, both positive and negative. 

This afternoon, I've made the attempt to transfer my domain name of www.LoriDavisPhotography.Com to the new site.  It can take up to two days, but hopefully all will go smoothly.  You may have to update your bookmarks, since the new site will actually be LoriDavisPhotography.Com and not the shopping cart site that you were directed to before.  I'd like to thank my friend Gene Thompson for all of his hard work helping me figure out the new site.  He's been a huge help!

I've only got two shows left for the 2010 season.  My body & mind are both looking forward to a break!  I'll be in Northport, Maine this weekend.  Then the first weekend in December, I'll be in Hartford, CT for a three day show.  After that, I'll be working on adding more images to the website... even scanning some slides from trips that no one has seen yet!  I'm kinda looking forward to that.

Thanks again for checking back.  I appreciate your support!