MDM Wildlife Photography

02/11/2026

Three beautiful birds: Northern Cardinal, American Robin, and Belted Kingfisher.

The Cardinal and Robin were captured while spending time with family. They were having a great time eating on the berry bush! The red of this cardinal was out of this world. He was so vibrant, a lot more than others I've seen.

The King Fisher was taken while I was taking pictures of the Common Mergansers. I beyond excited in that moment. My favorite bird plus a bird I had not seen before all at once! It was quite a day!

02/11/2026

Something to keep in mind!

Indiana DNR is closely monitoring a rise in reports of sick and dead crows in Terre Haute, IN. Following a surge of reports in early December, DNR collected samples for diagnostic testing and confirmed that crows in the area were positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).

Reports are once again picking up this February, and DNR has collected new samples for diagnostic testing to confirm HPAI is still the primary cause.

Here’s what you need to know:
• HPAI is a viral disease that affects wild birds and mammals. This virus is more active in the winter than during other times of the year.
• Some animals can catch the virus and not develop any illness, while others develop severe illness from the virus, which can lead to death.
• Common signs of illness include disorientation, odd behaviors, tremors, or inability to fly.
• Avoid handling sick or dead birds. If you must dispose of a bird on your property, use gloves, double-bag it, and place it in a closable outdoor trash receptacle. Wash your hands immediately after with soap and warm water.

You can help DNR monitor wild birds for HPAI. If you see any wildlife acting strange, or if you find any wildlife dead, please report it online at on.IN.gov/sickwildlife. DNR wildlife health biologists monitor these reports daily.

For more information about HPAI, visit on.IN.gov/avian-flu.

02/10/2026

These pictures are some of the first I took with my newly acquired Nikon D2X camera. It was release in 2005/6, has a 12 MP DX sensor, and was a Nikon Flagship camera at the time, so has amazing weather sealing and construction. Although this camera represents a step back in terms of camera capabilities from my d7200, I picked this up for a few reasons:

1) This camera is near legendary for how it captures color. I was so happy when I saw these pictures, because the colors were exactly how I was seeing them. These pictures are not edited in any way! I love that, as sitting at my computer moving sliders to try and correct color really gets to me.
2) I got this camera with less than 4,000 shutter count! Basically brand new. For a fully weather sealed camera that still gives me the reach of my D7200, that's a steal. Even if it's older tech, it was still a flagship camera in its time, and I know it can still produce beautiful pictures.
3) The look of the pictures at high ISO. Although I haven't been able to find a reason as to why, the "noise" this camera produces looks so much like film grain to my eyes. More so than my D7200 and previous cameras. I love that. It also feels a little more like shooting film, as the rear LCD is not as easy to use as the D7200, so I spent less time on the back screen, and more time looking through the view finder. This will likely change as I get used to the camera, but I still find that a plus. The best time to review images is during pauses in activity, not during it - a lesson I'm constantly relearning!

What about my D7200 then? Well, I'll save that for another post. I have some exciting plans coming up that I hope you all will enjoy.

02/09/2026

I was down by the river the other day when I spotted something that I had no clue what it was. I ended up spooking the geese again (ugh), which spooked these beautiful creatures further down stream. I did some more scouting while letting the area settle back down, then came back to the spot where I saw them, found a good, concealed waiting place, and waited. It didn't take all that long for the Geese to come back. Once they did, these Common Mergansers were not far behind them.

I was stunned. I'm in the phase of wildlife photography where I have not seen a great many birds in person, so every time I see something new, I really do get beyond excited. Although I thought I was concealed well, these guys didn't have any problem spotting me, and kept their distance. Pictured is a female Merganser who wandered close enough for me to grab some beautiful photos. There were 4 others, and 1 male, which I unfortunately did not manage any decent pictures of. The males are mostly white on bottom with a black/green head. They're stunning birds!

While out scouting, I managed to once again spot some Hooded Mergansers! I know now where they like to hang around, so one morning soon I'll be there before the sun rises with some warm soup waiting for some photos. I'd love to spend some time with those beautiful birds, and I would love it more if I could get another visit from the Common Mergansers!

02/08/2026

I was elated to get to see these Pileated Woodpeckers while I was staying with family. I had never seen one before, so when I heard it, then saw it, I got pretty enthusiastic!

The lessons I learned while taking pictures of the White Breasted Nuthatch came in to play here, and I overall got more keepers with these amazing birds than before, but the composition was quite difficult. Even though these are not technically good photos, I'm so happy with them because they show the time I got to share with these incredible birds as they went about finding food. What a moment!

02/07/2026

This White Breasted Nuthatch gave me some amazing photo opportunities that really challenged me, but gave me some small lessons that I got to apply the very next day! This guy was high up in a tree, and at the time I was photographing an American Robin when I noticed him working his way up and down one of its branches. The best angle was for me to be on my back, looking directly up as he worked his way down, creating the same feel of getting eye level with the bird, though much much more uncomfortable and strenuous than laying down flat. This required me to hold up my camera setup and support it (about 12 pounds) while focusing and adjusting settings at the same time. I missed focus quite a lot to say the least, so I was glad I got two good images of this wonderfully quirky bird!

02/06/2026

I had a lot of fun photographing this squirrel. At first, it was pretty cautious of me, but once I sat down and started doing my thing, he settled down into his normal rhythm. Running up trees, coming back down, pausing to look at me some more, and skillfully moving across very thing branches.

His colors were so nice against the stark cold and snowy background. What a beauty!

02/06/2026

This little American Tree Sparrow really was a brilliant subject. On a recent stay with family, I noticed them looking for food around the edge of the road. I knew I had to try and get a good photo, and this little guy gave plenty of material. He was quite friendly, and did't mind me at all.

When a bird is feeding, I try to time shots for when its head comes up. This usually entails pre-focusing to how I think the head comes up (learned form watching the bird for just a short while), then watching closely for any sign that he's going to look up. When I think I see it, I take anywhere form 5-10 pictures, depending on how early or late I anticipate the movement. I usually do this 4 - 5 times, then check pictures to see if they turned out, and adjust if needed. During this, I'm also keeping an eye out for other opportunities.

It really is a very fun thing to stop, get low with the bird, and just watch them, capturing as I go. When I do this, it's like nothing else matters in that moment. Cold goes away, wind doesn't bother me. Any worrisome thoughts tend to disappear as I fully concentrate on spending time with the creature. It's the best therapy I could ask for!

02/03/2026

Looking at pictures from some wonderful time with the family last week. They live in some beautiful, classic Indiana farm land - dotted woods with creeks around here and there, large open fields that were snow swept. I’m so excited to share some of the pictures I got! I’ll get to post processing tomorrow. Stay tuned!

02/02/2026

A recent outing didn't yield any wildlife photos, but boy did it yield some great views. Getting these shots was a fun change of pace from my normal type of photography. I enjoyed it, and it presented new challenges, too! I'll be bringing my 55-200mm out with me more. Getting these with the 500mm was fun but probably more difficult than it needed to be.

02/01/2026

More Dark Eyed Juncos, but from my feeders! I love watching these little guys hop and fly around the yard. They bring much joy, and always give great poses for pictures!

01/31/2026

These gorgeous European Starlings gifted my feeders a visit recently, and in number! In total I counted around 8 of them. I have seen them around our neighborhood, but have not seen them near my feeders, so this was a lovely surprise. I got my camera out and started taking pictures. If you've never seen the incredible feathers of this bird, now's your chance! I hope to see more of these guys in the future.