When people ask me where I most want to photograph wildlife, without hesitation I say that I would like to return to East Africa. However, my clear second choice is one of the local parks and wildlife refuges within a short drive from my home.
As a kid growing up, I started playing with a small Kodak Brownie film camera around age 8. I would take countless pictures of bugs and flowers in my back yard (and I still do). With dreams of becoming a National Geographic photographer, I would spend hours stalking squirrels in the woods near my home. When the film was done, off it went to the drug store for processing and then I waited days to see the results of my great photographic expeditions. I was getting eight small prints to the roll. Later I learned how to develop my own film and make prints in a tiny basement darkroom while breathing all sorts of not-so-healthy chemicals. I survived, photography has come a long way, and I was never published in Nat Geo.
One thing that hasn’t changed is the enjoyment I have when walking in the woods with a camera. For me it is a continuing learning exercise about slowing down and noticing the variety of natural world around me. Photographs record split seconds in time that will never be repeated. It’s about noticing what I missed the last time and what might appear the next time. This is true for filming wildlife in Africa or birds on the Maryland Eastern shore. In many ways, the experience feels the same.
The photos in this essay were all taken within a 200-yard radius in the woods of a local park just 10 minutes from my house. All were taken within the last 60 days. Within that small tract of woodlands, nature is always changing.
I hope you enjoy these images and my very best wishes to you for the holidays and the coming new year. Thank you for supporting my photo essays.
