American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
On our way out of Yosemite National Park, my husband and I pulled over at a popular vista point. Taking photos here is like child’s play. There is beauty in every direction, all perfectly composed by nature. I point and shoot in one direction and I got this:
I shift a little to the right and I got this:
The magnificence got overwhelming at times and I wondered whether the photos would convey the grandness of the scenery. At the last vista point we chatted with a man who just took a photo workshop offered by the Ansel Adams Gallery. He said that the teacher told the students that all the big stuff’s been done and that they should focus on the little stuff. When I first heard this, I was resentful because it sounded like the most dispiriting advice I’d ever heard. Should I not take have taken the photos above because it’s already been done? How could I not? It would be like trying to stop gravity. On the other hand, I began to understand the teacher’s point. Nature is beautiful in its vastness, its minuteness, and everything in between. It is easy to be seduced by the grandeur of Yosemite because it is so imposing; it takes resolve to look at things up close here.
So I began to zoom in:
Ah, there are two crows in that tree:
My husband decided to nosh on some wheat crackers as he waited for me to finish snapping away. Within seconds, the crows descended from the tree and began hovering around his feet. These crows were not aggressive like the seagulls in Sausalito, but they patiently waited for some morsels to fall their way. This one found a crumb in the snow:
He was perched perfectly still as he hoped for another. What a great opportunity for Macro Monday. For other Macro Monday posts, please visit
Lisa’s Chaos. It's good to shoot the small stuff.
