I’ve been practicing photography for most of my adult life, sometimes as part of a professional undertaking and other times as a passionate pastime. For the most part, the taking of pictures was of a documentary nature, a visual note-taking of places visited and vistas seen. But this relationship to photography has shifted as I’ve spent more time on California’s Central Coast, trading culture for nature, and bird life has been a central element to that dynamic.
This past December I went out walking just after sunrise and came upon a Great Blue Heron sitting beside the shore, nestled in some reeds. The sun’s rays were making their way slowly across the water, and I could see it would be quite some time before they reached the bird.
The virtue of patience is not a strength of mine. Photographing birds has taught me to take the time to observe and be present. The small birds flit, but the large ones tend to perch and hover before moving on. Unfazed by my presence, the great bird and I settled in and waited for the sun. Twenty minutes is a long time to watch sunlight drift over the landscape. I noticed myself getting uncomfortable with the stillness. But as I watched the heron gazing over the water, I sensed that we were breathing in a slow harmony. The waiting was an intense dive into being present.
Finally, the sun slid out from behind the trees and its light spread onto the breast of the bird, now standing at her full four-foot height. The gray wings transformed with color, and the heron lifted off, flying into the sunlight. I snapped a series of images, freezing the grace of wing feathers pressing against the air. It was a breakthrough moment for me, not only as a photographer, but also as an observer who can wait and see how one’s present circumstance might re-form in the future. This portfolio comprises selections from the past two years of visual wandering, a time when the birds have offered patient company during my coastal rambles.
(Click on each image for a bigger view with more vibrant detail.)
A white kite hovers in the sky over Los Osos, CA
Turkey Vulture ready for her close-up in Morro Bay, CA
An osprey, queen of the hunters, spots a kill at the Sweet Springs Audubon Preserve in Los Osos, CA
It’s feeding time for wood stork juveniles at the Wakodahatchee Wildlife Preserve, Delray Beach, FL
A great blue heron stretching out to greet the first morning light at the Pecho Willows in Los Osos, CA
A common raven giving a red-tailed haw a hard time in the skies above Morro Bay, CA
Great horned owl siblings at the Sweet Springs Audubon Preserve in Los Osos
Great blue herons in an age-old dance at the Wakodahatchee Wildlife Preserve in Delray Beach, FL
Marcie Begleiter is a photographer, screenwriter, and filmmaker. Vasari21 interviewed her soon after the release of her documentary Eva Hesse. You can see more of her work at www.marciebegleiter.com and follow her on Instagram @mbegleiter.
Top: A great white egret contemplates her calm reflection at the Sweet Springs Audubon Preserve in Los Osos, CA
I follow your breath taking images on Instagram though I first met you through your Eva Hesse documentary. Your work is just so strong and capturing of the wondrous unretouched. Thank you.
Thanks so much Millicent! Good to hear the images speak to you 🙂
Marcie, I love your commitment to birds and am so glad to know that bird photography is among your many gifts. I love the photo of the Red-Tailed Hawk and raven and the Great Horned Owl siblings especially.
Veronica, Thank you so much for your kind words about the essay and images. I love that we share a deep appreciation for our bird friends (as well as Eva). Hoping all well in your world 🙂
A joy to read and view! Well done, Marcie!
Thank you Lori! Good to hear you enjoyed the pics and my musings 🙂
Really love what you wrote about being in nature and the patience it takes to observe. As a plein air artist I can really relate. Beautiful work and so important!
Thanks for your comment, Lily. Being in nature has been life-altering. Grateful for the opportunity to share these images and thoughts with you.
Along many hikes along our coast I’ve longed to study the raptors in close detail. Your work brings them to us with their wildness intact.
Thank you Christina! I too find the raptors rapturous 🙂
Marcie, your photos can be as fierce as your subjects and as flowing as silk in a light breeze. I always have a physical reaction when I look, and I love to make up stories about what they are thinking. Thank you for sharing your musings and your feathers. xxx
Thank you Sharyn! I often think of you when peering and musing. Say hi to the Central park hawks for me 🙂 xox
YES! Keep going girl. This is how we connect to our world, each other. Belisima! Grazie!
Thank you Donna! Looking forward to creating more images with you when we connect in this magical place.
You have captured extraordinary beauty especially with the Herons.
Thank you Marcie, I will check out your Eva Hesse documentary.