Hip Art

Posted by dkrashb on April 5, 2013

We arrived after the yoga class had already started

One of the unintended consequences of playing more with my iPhone photo capabilities is that I sometimes lose track of what photos I’ve taken. Take today’s selection, for example. When I shoot with my DSLR, I have to pull out my CF card, put it into a card reader, and plug it into the computer to download the images. By comparison, photos on my iPhone just magically appear on my computer without me doing anything. It’s so magical that I don’t always remember to go look for the photos.

Not everyone participated in yoga–or maybe they did?

So, today, when I discovered these Hipstomatic images from two weekends ago when my brother and sister-in-law were visiting, it was like finding a gift hidden in the back of a closet.

The continuation of the sculptures down the hillside

The continuation of the garden down the hillside

The Bluff View Art District is a lovely little area on top of the bluff across the Tennessee River. It’s a collection of historical houses turned into bed and breakfasts, restaurants, and a bakery and coffee roasting company. The entire district is rumored to be owned by one person. Although, the district is only one small square, we’re talking at least 6 or so large mansions that have been renovated and turned into successful businesses.

View down the hillside overlooking Veteran’s Bridge

The first time Pat and I came to Chattanooga, we stayed in one of the bed and breakfasts. The one we were in looks over the cliff and offers spectacular views from the patio and bocci courts.

It’s a good thing this hang glider can never take off–that wing won’t get him very far

However, it was January, so we didn’t really spend a lot of time on the courtyard. The other part of the Bluff View Art District we missed was the sculpture garden. It’s a beautiful garden that’s deceptive in size–from the street, you assume it is only a strip of grass. But once you enter the garden, you see that it rolls down the hill further than is visible from the road.

The sculpture of fish normally has water flowing over it, but it was cool looking with the water off, too

While I probably wouldn’t drive hours out of my way to see the sculpture garden, I thought it was worth taking my brother and sister-in-law across the bridge to check it out before they headed home. Given the weather was rainy and dreary, we decided to drive over.

Another view of the physics-challenged hang glider–if this is Icarus, it explains a lot

We made our way slowly through the garden, me exercising my Histamatic app thoroughly along the way. Many sculptures had been added since the last time I’d been in the sculpture garden. It was really nice.

Sometimes, Hipstamatic randomly changes the lens/film on me–I kind of liked this though

As we turned a corner to enter a stone patio area, a smiling young woman looked at us and said, “I just got engaged!!!” She was so excited, I almost laughed out loud. I realized she probably wouldn’t understand the humor. I don’t mean to sound jaded, but let’s face it, getting engaged is the easiest part of being married.

My brother and sister-in-law–looking as happy as ever

We got caught in her enthusiasm and took pictures of the two of them together with their camera. The boyfriend had managed to pull off the engagement as a big surprise. It seemed like they were going to get off to a great start.

Tisen doesn’t quite fit in the frame when I attempt an aerial view

Another Turn for Cayce

Posted by dkrashb on April 4, 2013

A split second of stillness while Cayce nibbles at the glove

The last, but not least, bird we exercised on Saturday was Cayce. Cayce the wonder vulture. I got to witness a new side to Cayce. Cayce’s next door neighbors, a pair of Peregrine Falcons, are currently nesting. Wings to Soar is hoping to have their first fledglings to release to the wild as a result. This is an exciting extension of their program from education to restoration. Peregrine Falcons were a critically endangered species that has, through captive breeding and release programs, been removed from the endangered list.

However, during nesting, the falcons are fed through a hatch in the side of their enclosure that opens into a shelf up where the birds nest. To reach the hatch, John and Dale have a ladder set up outside the enclosure. When we took Cayce around the Peregrine Falcon’s enclosure, Cayce clearly thought that ladder was the boogie man. Or whatever Black Vultures might be terrified of. She jumped straight up in the air when she saw the ladder and refused to go past it.

Checking out the surroundings, Cayce is still nervous about where the ladder was

Checking out the surroundings, Cayce seems more relaxed with all her neck feathers fluffed

I tried taking Cayce back around the corner while Dale moved the ladder. Then we tried to come back around. I thought Cayce was following me, but as soon as I got passed the corner, she jumped straight up in the air again and made an attempt to land on a tree.

Fortunately, as soon as Dale came back into sight, she hopped back down and seemed a little more relaxed. We ended up not being able to fly Cayce, but she did hop up and down from our gloves and run along the ground between us. She just wasn’t up for flying.

One of the challenges of shooting Cayce in flight is the length of her wings. She has such a long wingspan that the tips of her wings are always a blur in flying shots. While I don’t mind having some motion showing in the photos, I’d like to have more of her wings still. Regardless of what I want, on this day I don’t have the opportunity to try.

Shooting Cayce on the glove is a lot like trying to take portraits of a 2 year old. She squirms and wiggles and moves her head. She flaps and jumps and basically makes it almost impossible to get a good shot. This is complicated by her black feathers and black face, which suck up light and often leave her as a dark shadow.

In spite of these challenges, I think at least one image I came home with gives a good idea of Cayce’s personality:

I like to think of this as Cayce’s “Hey, what are you doing?” look

I don’t know if vultures have a sense of humor, but when I look at Cayce, I have to think they do. There’s just something about the way she tilts her head like she really wants to know if you’re paying attention. I suppose she could just be looking for food, but it makes me happier to think she at least find us entertaining.

Tisen via Hipstamatic–he’s all up for lounging on the couch these days

Eskimo Kisses

Posted by dkrashb on April 3, 2013

Theo shows off his impressive wing span

Each of the birds at Wings to Soar has a distinct personality. Yet, all of them seem to have a special bond with Dale. I don’t know exactly how to describe what a bond looks like when it comes to these mighty hunters, but there’s a level of trust and calm that the birds have with Dale.

Using his ridiculously long wings, Theo looks like he could glide forever

I suspect the birds would be far more agitated being handled by me if Dale weren’t nearby.

Whatever the effect Dale has on the birds and vise versa, there are times when I’ve noticed her expressing what can only be described as a motherly affection for the birds. For example, once during an educational program in an open field, a train came through blowing its whistle and scaring the bejesus out of Theo. Theo was flying with a light line hooked to his jesses to prevent him from flying far, but he did take off and fly as far towards the trees as possible.

Theo with arced wings mid-flap

Dale had to go retrieve him from the middle of the field. I swung the camera around and followed Dale for a bit. When she retrieved Theo, the two of them bent their heads towards one another in some form of secret greeting. It was like they were reconnecting after a fright. Theo immediately appeared to relax.

Theo reaching for the glove

On Saturday, when it was Theo’s turn to fly, that affection came through loud and clear. Theo didn’t seem particularly motivated to fly. After flying to me a couple of times, he wasn’t into modeling for my camera, probably because he had a full belly.

Theo making a mid-flight adjustment in response to Dale moving

To coax him into flying, Dale stood close to his perch and then backed away so Theo would get a longer flight in. This didn’t work so well the first attempt–Theo was obviously confused as to why Dale was running away and tried to land on her glove at her side. The only thing to do when a raptor is trying to land on you is to give them the glove–you sure don’t want them to land anywhere else!

Theo gets lined up with the glove an come in for the approach

The second time Dale tried this approach, she started running away sooner and ran faster. As she approached the distance Theo normally flies, she turned back towards Theo, but kept backing away. Theo performed some impressive maneuvers in his attempts to avoid colliding with Dale as she changed speed and direction. I wish I’d been set on video–I swear I saw Theo fly backwards at least twice.

Theo looks like he’s all set for a landing, but Dale is still in motion

In the end, they did a graceful mid-air eskimo kiss just before Theo readjusted one more time to land on Dale’s glove. The amount of effort Theo made to get to Dale’s glove spoke volumes about what this owl feels about his momma. The smile (just visible through the feathers of Theo’s wings) on Dale’s face as she nearly collides beak-to-beak with a Barn Owl speaks volumes about Dale’s own feelings.

Theo and Dale rub noses before Theo manages to back up and land safely on the glove

It’s hard not to smile when you see Dale working with these magnificent birds.

Back home, Tisen hung out with Twiggy, making themselves comfortable on the couch

That Hawk Don’t Hunt

Posted by dkrashb on April 2, 2013

Screeching to a mid-air halt, Cody prepares to land gently on the glove

While training Cody on Saturday, one of the things I realized was that I had lost my healthy respect for the fierceness of his talons. I was holding Cody on my glove when it suddenly struck me, “Oh yeah! He has incredibly strong grip strength and really sharp talons on those feet!” It was as if I had completely forgotten that raptors can accidentally injure their handlers pretty easily if said handler isn’t paying attention.

Mid-air ascent–after riding the ground effect, Cody rises to the height of the glove

Fortunately for me, Cody and the other raptors I get to work with are accommodating and don’t intentionally try to harm people. Perhaps even more fortunately, the realization struck me as Cody was working his way up my arm, but in time for me to adjust so he headed back out toward my hand and away from the end of my glove. I can’t imagine what it would feel like to have one stray talon sink into the soft part of my arm–I’d like to keep it that way.

Ground effect–Cody floats on the bubble of air close to the ground

Having recalled the inherent danger in handling raptors, I stayed a bit more on my toes as we flew Cody. Cody is about as sweet as it gets for a Red-tailed Hawk. He ended up in captivity after being found starving. He was taken to a falconer for rehabilitation. The falconer attempted to teach him to hunt, but no matter what prey he encountered, he wasn’t interested in hunting.

Coming in for a landing–Cody touches down

Cody’s story reminds me of a story from my childhood about a bull named Ferdinand. Ferdinand wanted to sit in the pasture enjoying butterflies and flowers rather than fight with bull fighters. I don’t remember how the story ended exactly, but given that it was a favorite of mine, I would guess Ferdinand ended up happily wiling away the days in a pasture where he could be his gentle self.

Another float into the finish–I love the way Cody flares to a stop before landing on the glove

This also parallels Cody’s story. While Cody may not be interested in killing rodents, he’s happy to hang with the people who care for him. He watches attentively as we work with him. He seems curious–he clearly knows his usual training routine has been changed. I suspect he remembers me, but I can’t offer any evidence that this is true. He looks at me like he finds me interesting, but he doesn’t seem upset by my participation in the training process.

This is a back-view of Cody flaring to a stop

We fly Cody for a while and then Dale flies him without me so I can see if I can get some good shots of Cody in flight. Cody is naturally photogenic. Of all the birds, he’s the one I always end up with a bunch of great shots each time I shoot the birds. However, he’s looking slightly less well groomed on this particular day. He seems to have molted one of his tail feathers. Almost like a missing tooth in the middle of a bright white, well cared for smile, the gap is hard to miss.

After the flare, Cody uses any remaining momentum to float gently to the glove

We try not to stare–no point in making Cody feel self-conscious.

This is Tisen’s idea of “flare”

Spring Lessons

Posted by dkrashb on April 1, 2013

Open Arms–does this not make you smile?

With each passing day, the enthusiasm of the birds increases. The volume and variety of their songs grows in direct proportion to the temperature–or perhaps it’s with the lengthening of the days? Their songs remind me that it’s time to come out of hibernation and sing a song or two myself.

I, however, try to limit my singing to the shower as a favor to the rest of the world.

Besides the desire to sing, spring invariably increases my need to be outdoors. The feeling of bouncing off the walls after too much indoor time has struck home and I am looking for outdoor pursuits. Fortunately for me, my friend Dale is willing to help me pursue my growing interest in raptors. We made a play date.

Periwinkle

This is not really play, it just feels like it. In reality, I’m learning how to train and care for birds of prey. I’m not quite sure where this is going, but I can at least learn how to care for the birds for John and Dale when they are out of town.

So, off I go to the Wings to Soar (new name) facility for some lessons in bird training. I and the birds get to learn together.

Before we get started, Dale has a new project underway. She’s come up with an adorable prototype design that she plans to create in a smaller form as a necklace. It’s called Open Arms–embracing everyone for who and what they are without judgment. If you knew Dale, you would understand just how appropriate it is that she came up with this design. It’s the kind of thing that just makes you smile–this is the effect Dale has on people.

Mystery flowers

I have fun trying to get a few shots of it in front of some Forsythia. The Forsythia–a legendary foreteller of spring in the north–adds to the overall cheerfulness of the day. A colorful character reminding us to be open to each others’ differences, blooming shrubs telling us spring really is here, and a fun friend who makes time to teach me. It really doesn’t get any better than this.

Dale and Billy

John asks me to take a few shots of the Periwinkle in bloom as well. It’s a beautiful color, although it’s one of those plants that’s considered an invasive back home, so I can’t say it’s my favorite. I’ve spend a few too many hours trying to pull out its difficult roots.

While I was on a flower kick, I found this interesting vine with yellow blooms that Dale had never been able to identify. I don’t know what it is either, but it was fascinating to watch the yellow blooms bounce and sway in the wind.

Finally, when Dale got out the Harris’s Hawks to get their daily outdoor time, I switched from flowers to birds and took a few shots of Billy on the glove.

It was a great way to kick off a training session.

Night Time Renaissance

Posted by dkrashb on March 31, 2013

Bright moon, pink clouds, twilight sky–but too much wind

Sometimes at night the clouds lay low over the city and reflect back the light from the street lights below, luminous against the twilight blue sky. Usually, the phenomena of having low-lying clouds with a clear sky above is accompanied by wind.

If there is no wind, the clouds don’t break up. They lie like a blanket, impenetrable, creating only a haze of light that just isn’t as interesting as on windy nights. On this particular night, not only was the wind blowing hard with the clouds breaking up nicely, but the moon was bobbing and weaving amongst the blowing clouds.

For this special effect, the assistance of Tisen was required–a surprise pull on the leash captured Tisen’s own form of art

Who could resist trying to get a photo of that? Of course, Tisen also needed to go out, so being the multi-tasker that I am, I hung my DSLR around my neck and put Tisen’s collar around his.

While I always take my iPhone with me when I wander around Renaissance park, I had no intention of using it tonight. The iPhone is a light hog, like all digital cameras with tiny sensors. Getting a night time image with an iPhone isn’t something I’ve figured out how to do and this wasn’t going to be the night I tried again.

Shot while swaying with a post I was trying to lean on for stability

I’m glad I didn’t bother trying with the iPhone. With my DSLR set on ISO 10,000, I was still shooting at shutter speeds over 3 seconds long. This is because I was being greedy. I wanted lots of depth of field, which meant sacrificing light to get it.

This may not have been the best decision. Armed with my camera and with my tripod tucked neatly in the closet back at home, I was buffeted about in the wind like a human sail. I tried leaning against a light pole and discovered the light pole was also blowing in the wind. We swayed together as I contemplated the hopelessness of getting a good shot in these conditions.

Closer to still, if only the clouds would have paused

I remembered some of the lessons I learned about wind from hang gliding. First and foremost, it cycles. If you stand still and pay attention, you’ll feel it start to ease up until it will suddenly drop and be still. Sometimes this lasts only a split second. Sometimes it lasts several seconds. I needed 3 second windows of calm to get any sharp photos.

To make matters more difficult, the wind tossing the clouds was blowing at a much steadier pace, keeping the clouds blowing across my frame during the exposure. Even the plants in the foreground weren’t settling down when the breeze would briefly die. Everything was in motion. There were to be no sharp shots that night.

This is my favorite–the effect of the wind blowing everything in the long exposure reminds me of an impressionist painting

Tisen was happy to return to the indoors–the wind was cold and Tisen’s leg is sore. He has created yet another hot spot because of his allergies. We are treating it topically for the time being in the hope of avoiding more steroids. The pink self-sticking tape was hard to resist–he looks so cute in pink.

Tisen spent most of the day napping–he managed to wake up long enough to yawn mid-day

I got one pose out of him before he went back to sleep

The Easy Way to Point Park

Posted by dkrashb on March 30, 2013

View from canon in Point Park

My plan was to walk from Cravens House to Sunset Rock to Point Park and then back to Craven’s house. This would be more like a loop vs just an out and back. Since both Sunset Rock and Point Park are 1 1/2 miles from Cravens House, the math in my head indicated we’d be walking 3 miles regardless of whether we did the loop or the out and back.

I forgot about the part between Sunset Rock and Point Park. Turns out that’s something like an extra mile. While I wouldn’t have minded the extra mile, the rest of the crowd turned against me. Pat completely over-ruled any consideration of walking to Point Park.

Making our way back down the trail

When we got to the point in the trail where we had to pick between walking back towards Cravens House or up to Point Park, Pat asked if we were going to Point Park. We were all surprised. Then, he clarified that he was asking if we wanted to drive up to Point Park after we got back to Craven’s House, not if we wanted to walk to Point Park.

Oh well.

On the way back to Craven’s House, the trail did a switch-back near the top of the cliff and then passed below Sunset Rock. When we were at the top, we passed a group of young adults who had hung camping hammocks between some trees that hung over the edge of the cliff.

Two hammocks visible from the trail below the cliff

We took some photos for them with their iPhones as we went by. I attempted to get a shot for me as well, but I had one of my typical moments where I believed I had my camera set on aperture priority and didn’t worry about checking the exposure. Several minutes later, when we were well down the trail, I took a peak and discovered my shot was a giant black rectangle.

When we passed underneath, I managed to get a shot of the two visible hammocks from below. It looked a lot scarier when we were looking down from the top. All I could think to myself was, “I don’t care how strong those hammocks are, how can they know the trees will hold?” After all, the trees were right on the side of the cliff with very little place to grip with their roots. I had visions of them toppling over and dragging the hammocks with the young campers with them.

Tisen making sure I’m coming along

For the record, we have seen nothing on the news about any hikers who fell from Sunset Rock, so I think they were OK.

We made it back down the trail, past the square tree branch, off the cliff, and back to Cravens House.

While we did make it up to Point Park (via automobile), we made only a quick jaunt around the asphalt path and skipped the off-road trail out to the point. I felt like we short-changed my brother and sister-in-law, but they plan to come back.

My brother and sister-in-law posing being the wheel of a canon at Point Park

Walk to Sunset

Posted by dkrashb on March 29, 2013

Sunset Rock Hipstamatic Style

In the effort to entertain my brother and sister-in-law, I came up with the following itinerary:

Have them assist in a birds of prey program at a local festival.
Take them to lunch at a famous barbecue on a hill with goats.
Haul them up to Lookout mountain and take them hiking for a couple of hours.
Drag them out for Mexican-fusion at favorite taco spot.
Give them a tour of husband’s workshop.

We are now on #3. Hauling said brother and sister-in-law up to Lookout Mountain for a relatively short, easy hike.

Sunset Rock via DSLR

One of my favorite short, easy hikes on Lookout is the hike from Craven’s House to Sunset Rock. There are many routes to choose from so it’s easy to make the hike as short as 3 miles or as long as 10, depending on how long you want to be out. Regardless of which route you choose, the scenery on Lookout and the views from the overlooks are always fantastic.

Our fearless hiking crew

The rock formations on Lookout are amazing in and of themselves. The sandstone (or maybe limestone?) splits, drops, careens, and leans in ways that make you feel like you’re doing something really dangerous by walking on stone that might fall off the side of the mountain at any moment. If the trail were along the creek with the same rock formations, it wouldn’t be quite as adventurous, but it would still be beautiful.

Chunks of ice remind us it’s only spring on the calendar

Water runs between the rocks from time to time. We were surprised on this early spring day to discover chunks of ice lingering in one microscopic waterfall. Just another reminder that only the humans around here are convinced it’s supposed to be spring.

Even the mushrooms look like they are winterized

Tisen enjoys this hike, too. He likes to linger behind, sniffing, and then dart back in front. Sometimes, he stops to check on me if I’m hanging back. I’m not sure if he’s worried I’m going to fall off a cliff (a reasonably probable occurrence) or if he thinks I might sneak off and disappear to some new life that doesn’t include him. He really doesn’t have to worry about the latter–I’m not anxious to find out what life will feel like without him.

Tisen checking on Mommy

We made it to Sunset Rock in tact, although Tisen scared me to the point that I yelled at him when he got so close to the edge that I really thought he was going to lift his leg and immediately topple down the cliff. I called him three times and when he ignored me, I panicked and yelled his name at the kind of volume that echoed off the surrounding cliff sides. He looked up at me, surprised and sheepish. I couldn’t remember having ever raised my voice at him before; I felt a little foolish.

View of the valley from Sunset Rock

The view from Sunset Rock is not actually better than the view from Point Park, but making the hike through the woods and up the mountain makes it feel so much better.

Baaa

Posted by dkrashb on March 28, 2013

Seriously–is there anything cuter?

Having spent the morning assisting at a birds of prey program at the Little Owl Festival at Audubon Acres, next on the agenda was lunch. There are certain places that people who come to visit Chattanooga want to go.

Pat’s sister wanted to check out the Hair of the Dog Pub downtown. My original sister-in-law came with a recommendation for Sugar’s Barbecue. We decided on the “Q with a View” location of Sugar’s. Not only does it offer great food and scenery, but there are also goats. It’s a place we like to take visitors.

Mama was unperturbed by my presence and concentrated on what she was chewing

In case you are worried, no goat meat appears on the menu at Sugar’s. I don’t know exactly why they have goats, but I like to think it’s for keeping the grass on the hillside trim.

Sugar’s has good barbecue. We particularly like their brisket. It’s extremely tender, falling apart when we pick at it. I also love their macaroni and cheese. And their mayonnaise-based coleslaw, which barely seems like it has mayo in it at all. And their banana pudding is hard to resist. I suppose it will come as no surprise if I mention I gained a pound or two in the day and a half my brother and sister-in-law visited?

Frolicking kids on the patio

After ordering and getting a tutorial on the various sauces Sugar’s offers (something I can never keep track of, except that there are 3 that are tomato based and 3 that are vinegar based), I slipped out to see the goats while we waited on the food.

The goats are divided into two areas. One is along the hillside and has a series of footpaths that only goats could possibly navigate. It’s like goat heaven. Except perhaps for the poop.

Kids or puppies?

The other area is in the middle of a lovely patio with picnic tables that are undoubtedly occupied during the months when it’s dry, sunny, and pleasantly warm without being too hot. We have never been to Sugar’s during the kind of weather conditions that would encourage people to sit out on the patio.

The center of the patio is fenced in, forming a good-sized yard where several goats are usually hanging out, hoping for a handout. On this day, three kids were hanging out with two moms. They were irresistible.

Naw . . . they’re not related

There really aren’t many things cuter than baby <fill in the blank>. Baby birds, baby people, baby dogs, baby sheep . . . you name it. They’re cute. Goats are particularly cute babies. Perhaps it’s their giant, floppy ears that seem so disproportional to their tiny heads. Or maybe it’s that they look so innocent while their elders always seem to look like they’re up to something.

Front and back

Whatever it is, I enjoyed getting some shots of the goats. So much so, I couldn’t resist taking a few shots with the Hipstamatic app on my iPhone, too. Funny how quickly a modern goat can be transported back in time.

Looking historical

Chatter

Posted by dkrashb on March 27, 2013

Jerry, an Eastern Screech Owl, Hipstamatized

After spending a good hour or so entertaining a small crowd at the Little Owl Festival, the crowd began to thin out. A handful or so hung around, petting Jerry the Screech Owl and asking the questions that didn’t get answered during the program. A few stragglers wandered over in time to get a chance to see the birds.

In this moment of relative quiet, Paul with Artie, I with Gilbert, and Megan with Jerry lined up for a photo op. We lined up in this order because Artie has a way of making Jerry nervous–in the wild, Jerry would be prey for Artie.

Gilbert suddenly started a shrill alarm call, looking around frantically. One of the remaining fans spotted a Coopers Hawk in the woods. It took several minutes of pointing and moving about for the half dozen or so humans hanging about to spot the hawk. Gilbert had spotted his mortal enemy without so much as turning his head. I remain bewildered as to how he noticed the hawk slip into the woods 500 yards away.

At the same time, Gilbert doesn’t have the same reaction to a Barred Owl sitting 3 feet away. With me and Gilbert between Jerry, a tiny Screech Owl, and Artie, all would have been quiet were it not for the Coopers Hawk in the woods.

Lining up so Jerry can’t see Artie

Pat managed to get a series of shots in any case. In the meantime, the last remnants of the crowd faded off to the next act, leaving us to pack up the birds and call it a day. Pat and Dale had a face-off with the cameras before we went our separate ways.

Dale wins in the camera battle with her polka-dotted case

I walked across the field back to our car feeling high. I stopped to visit with the Audubon folks at the tent selling tickets and couldn’t stop smiling about how much fun it had been to share the birds with the audience. I think they might have been jealous.

We loaded into the mini-van and headed down the road talking about where we should have lunch. As we rounded a curve through the wooded neighborhood that surrounds Audubon Acres, we spotted a huge flock of wild turkeys, with what appeared to be a dozen toms strutting about displaying their plumage, competing for the attention of the hens.

I, of course, called to Pat to stop the van as I grabbed the camera, hopped out of the car, and tried my best to get a shot without scaring them off. Wild turkeys are not very cooperative, I’ve found. They look perfectly content to hang out in the open like they own the world and there are no predators they have to worry about until the moment someone shows up with a camera. Then they seem to rapidly disappear.

My 24-70mm lens was no match for the distance the turkeys were able to cover in the time it took me to get lined up. But, we enjoyed their show none-the-less.

Wild turkey toms doing their best to attract a mate

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