Orcas – Wandering Dawgs

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #409 – Best Ever Images

August 22, 2026Posted in Birds, Butterflies, Photography, WildlifeTagged Best Ever Images, Egret, Landscapes, Lens-Artists, Monarch Butterfly, Orcas, Photo Challenge, St. Lucia, wood stork, World Photography Week42 Comments

We are happy to welcome Steve Hyde as our guest host for this week’s challenge. In honor of World Photography Week he is challenging us to share five pictures that show our love of photography – Our Best Ever Images.

Choosing five images from thousands of photos was not an easy task. I finally narrowed it down to the following images.

This is one of my favorite bird images of all time. There is a tree in our neighborhood next to a small pond where I often see birds hanging out. Several years ago I captured this Wood Stork and Egret perched on one of the limbs of the tree.

I have many Butterfly images that I have posted in the past. I dug through my archives and found this image of a Monarch Butterfly on a pink flower with a Black-Eyed Susans in the background.

Monarch Butterfly with Black Eyed Susans in the background

Up until a couple of years ago we always had a boat. We spent many happy hours with our children and grandchildren riding through the salt marsh in the saltwater rivers and creeks exploring the uninhabited islands and sandbars. One of of favorite places to go was through the narrow, winding creeks that the locals call the Mosquito Ditch.

I love to take wildlife photos. This pod of Orcas in Alaska is one of my favorites because we almost didn’t see any Oracas on our trip. We had taken two other wildlife cruises in other parts of Alaska and saw many different kinds of wildlife but we still hadn’t seen any Orcas. Our last opportunity to take another wildlife cruise was in Valdez. The scenery and wildlife was spectacular. All of a sudden this pod of Orcas surfaced right beside the boat. I was ready with my camera and was able to capture a few photos before they went on their way. This is one of my all time favorites because it almost didn’t happen.

My final image is my favorite landscape. I chose it because it brings back happy memories of our trip to St. Lucia to celebrate our 30th anniversary many years ago. Seeing this view each day from our villa was magical.

I enjoyed seeing all of your wonderful Over the Top responses to Egidio’s challenge last week. Thank you to everyone who joined the challenge.

Many thanks to guest hose Steve Hyde for this week’s fun challenge. If you would like to join the challenge please be sure to tag your post with Lens-Artists and include a link back to his post Lens-Artists #408: Best Ever Images.

Be sure to check back on Saturday, August 22 at noon eastern time when Ritva will be hosting the challenge.

You can keep up with all of our challenges by subscribing to the Lens-Artists team members websites: Tina, Patti, Ann-Christine, John, Sofia, Anne, Egidio, Ritva, Beth.

For information on how to join the Lens-Artists challenge please click here.

Every Day is a Gift

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #268 – Tell Me Why

September 30, 2023October 1, 2023Posted in Birds, Photography, WildlifeTagged favorite images, Great Egret Breeding Plumage, Lens-Artists, Orcas, Photo Challenge, Tell me why21 Comments

Our host Tina has asked us to choose up to 10 of our favorite photos and to explain why they are favorites. If we choose one for sentimental value they should still be strong from a technical perspective.

All of my photos have sentimental value. They bring back fond memories of a good experience. All have been featured on my blog before. The hardest part of this challenge was limiting it to 10 favorites!

My header image is my favorite sunset photo. I pass by this tree to get to my house and I’ve watched many beautiful sunsets there. This is my favorite sunset image because of the dramatic orange sky, the bird on one tree, and the sun framed between two trees just before sinking below the horizon.

This next image of a pair of Orcas in Alaska is one of my all time favorite wildlife photos. We saw plenty of wildlife on our RV trip to Alaska ten years ago but when we reached Valdez, our last coastal town before starting for home, we still had not seen any Orcas. We took a wildlife and glacier cruise on a fairly small vessel and witnessed many whales, seals, puffins and other wildlife before a pod of Orcas surfaced near the boat. I was able to stand by the railing of the boat with my telephoto lens and take a few shots. This is one of my favorites because I captured a moment I will never forget.

Another favorite wildlife photo is this one of a Green Sea Turtle on Oahu’s North Shore in Hawaii. We were surprised when we spotted the turtle as we were taking a walk along the beach after doing some snorkeling.

*Green sea turtle on the beach at Turtle Cove, Oahu*

I love taking bird pictures and I have many photos of Great Egrets. This is one of my favorites because he is showing off his breeding plumage and it shows the green color around his eyes.

*Great Egret in breeding plumage, St. Augustine Alligator Farm, Florida*

This is my favorite hummingbird image. I was looking down on the garden when I captured this hummingbird drinking from a Mexican Sunflowers. I like the way the background is blurred and that the wings are in motion.

The next image just makes me happy. We were walking along Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island on a beautiful July day when I spotted the beach chairs set up underneath the colorful umbrellas in the middle of the driftwood.

*Driftwood Beach, Jekyll Island, Georgia*

One of the most memorable experiences of my life was taking a flight seeing trip to see Mt. Denali in Denali National Park from the air. This is one of my favorites from that exciting flight.

*Mount Denali in Denali National Park, Alaska*

The next image is one of my favorite landscape images. On my morning walk in a campground in Colorado I spotted this fisherman beside the lake with storm clouds over the mountains.

*Storm over Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Colorado*

I chose my final two favorites for the reflections and fog. Both of these were featured in past challenges and based on the number of comments I received they were favorites of readers of my blog.

*Foggy morning on West Point Lake, Georgia*

Many thanks to our guest host Tina for the challenge Lens-Artists Challenge #268 – Tell Me Why

Lens Artists Photo Challenge # 210 – Picking Favorites

August 3, 2022Posted in Birds, Flowers, Nature, PhotographyTagged coneflowers, garden, Lens-Artists, Orcas, Photo Challenge, Picking Favorites, ruby throated hummingbird24 Comments

In this challenge guest host Sarah asks us to pick three favorite photos and describe why they are favorites. I had a difficult time coming up with just three images but here they are.

My first image is one one I took earlier this summer while I was sitting in my back yard. I was hoping to capture birds at the feeder or butterflies on the flowers. The birds and butterflies didn’t cooperate so instead I took a few shots of the coneflowers using my telephoto lens. I’m happy with the effect and like the purplecone flower in the background.

I couldn’t pick three favorites without including a bird image. This next image is my favorite hummingbird image. I captured him from above as I was sitting on my deck above the flowers.

My final image is of two Orcas I captured on a wildlife cruise from Valdez, Alaska. Valdez was near the end of our nearly two months of traveling by RV through Alaska. We saw plenty of humpback whales on two other wildlife cruises but we had not yet seen any Orcas. This wildlife cruise would be our last chance to see them before we headed south for home. I was thrilled when a pod surfaced close to our boat and I was finally able to capture a few shots. This one is one of my favorite photos from the trip.

A pair of Orcas on Columbia Glacier tour from Valdez

Many thanks to guest host Sarah for this Lens-Artists Challenge #210 – Picking Favorites

Day 81: Wildlife and Glacier Cruise from Valdez

August 6, 2013June 17, 2026Posted in Alaska, Birds, Glaciers, Waterfalls, WildlifeTagged Bald Eagle, Columbia Glacier, Killer Whales, Orcas, Puffins, Sea Otters, Stan Stevens Cruises, Stellar Sea Lions2 Comments

Day 81: Sunday, August 4, 2013

The day was overcast with a chance of rain but it was our last opportunity to take a cruise so off we went on the Glacier Spirit with Stan Stephens Cruises. The boat had a nice, warm comfortable cabin and plenty of viewing areas outside. We left the Valdez Harbor about noon for our 6 hour cruise.

The scenery was breathtaking and there was plenty of wildlife. As we cruised close to shore we saw too many eagles to keep count. A pod of Dall Porpoise bow surfed for a while. They’re too fast to get a picture but beautiful to watch.