Seagull Ballet

  It has been my thought for some time now that photography can often help us view things that we overlook with our eyes.  When viewing something, we become obsessed with the "point of view" and can neglect the overall picture.   Whatever catches our eye manages to demand our attention while the whole scene becomes a blur.  For the past twenty years or so, I have been trying to record the astounding variety of flora and fauna that can be found around the Bayou.  My attempts are probably not near professional but at least the grandlittles will be able to see why I love the place.  Since they are never here to just roam the place and explore like I had once hoped, perhaps this is the next best thing.  Then again, maybe not....

  This morning was a perfect day to be on the pier.  The sun refused to get out of bed and stayed snuggled under the blanket of clouds.  This left a lovely grey mood that lingered long into the afternoon when a severe storm broke loose.  Wind, rain, lightning ruled the afternoon but it was that greyness that intrigued me.  As Mark and I fished the morning away, a few seagulls came to dine upon our discarded baits.  The birds would dive after the floating menhaden and it did not matter if the fish were just a few feet from the pier.  This gave me an excellent opportunity to use the camera.

  Between the stillness of the water and the greyness of the skies, each photograph had a bit of a surreal atmosphere.  In some of the photos, the birds almost appear suspended in time and it is difficult to tell if they are high in the clouds or a few feet above the water's surface.  It is times like this that the camera continually clicks.  I became so engrossed in the birds that my fishing reels were forgotten.  Needless to say, the baitless, idle poles caught no fish...but the camera did catch wonderful photographs of the Seagull Ballet!