A while ago I read the words of a photographer. He said he takes photos of flight, not of birds.
Somehow, that statement was intriguing for me. What does it mean to take photos of flight? If there is no flying object, there is no flight. So he is not interested in birds, but in the way they are flying.
White stork and House sparrow
I started to think, what do I want to capture when I press the shutter. Is it the bird? Is it its flight? Is it what?
After a while I realized I am interested in bird’s freedom during its flight.
So, for me it is all about its freedom during each flight.
This year I was very happy to discover a nest of White storks.
I cannot tell you how big was this surprise for me. If you want to read more why I love White storks, you may read this post.
Here you have a few photos.
I noticed this nest one afternoon when I was riding my bike.
The juveniles were very attentive.
Two personal notes.
First one. My camera is not working properly, there are three years since I took the very first photo using it so I don’t take photos anymore. Three years and 100000+ photos are enough for a point and shoot camera, I guess. The zoom button it’s not working and the photos are not sharp as they used to be. Even if I cannot afford a new camera now, I have enough photos to post for more than one year. The camera is working a bit but I prefer to keep it for the most important moments with my family, when these moments come. But, I must confess you something: many times in the past I was a bit sad because so often I was losing some special moments being busy to capture good photos. Now, I am more aware of the beauty, more aware of the greatness of everything surrounding me. I am in awe for the creation of God.
Now I try to fill my soul with gratitude for what I have, for what I see, for what I am.
Second one. I am reading some blogs, and if you read these lines, there is a big chance to be someone important for me, a dear blogger whose posts I read. But I feel such a huge pressure because I don’t leave comments. I would like to master better the English language and to be able to write everything I want. I appologize, until that moment, all I can do is to read your posts and from time to time to write a very short comment.
Thank you for reading this post, thank you for taking your time to pay me a visit.
For me, one of the most beautiful birds will always remain the White Stork even if is a B&W bird, even if it’s mute bird and even if I have the chance to see it close to our house only for a few days per year.
Sometimes, telling stories isn’t an easy thing because there are present some feelings which make you not so objective as you should be.
When I was a kid I was so glad every single time I heard “Look, the white storks are back!” and I was staring for minutes at those beautiful creatures flying above me.
Once, I waited this moment for a few weeks and when that day came, I tried to get as close as I could to them and catch at least one just for a moment, to feel its feathers, to hug it and talk with it. I know, this sounds silly now but then was something so powerful, so exciting, so great and words can’t express those feelings.
Now I ‘catch’ them using my camera but those feelings I had when I was a kid are, somehow, still there in my heart.
Because some of you ( like Jerry Vis who has a lovely blog, quietsolopursuits) live in some areas where White Storks aren’t present, I publish this post.
During past years I published some photos of White Stork, so you may check a post with more information about them here, some storks on fields nearby our house here or here; a juvenile white stork here and another white stork in flight here.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, I mean a flock of white storks ‘begins’ with few storks. March 26, 2015.
White storks rely on the uplift of air thermals, so it’s something usual to watch them spinning again and again. They soar long distances between Europe and Africa during migrations. This photo is taken on Thursday, March 26, 2015.The maximum extent across the wings of a white stork is about 220 cm (85 in) compared to only 70 cm (27 in) wingspan of a dove .
Just to make an idea about its size, lets compare it with a dove. A white stork weights around 3.5 kg (123 oz) and a pigeon weights around 0.4 kg (14 oz).From place to place they rest on fields on their journey back to their nests.Sometimes you may notice a white stork with two heads. Just joking, they take care of their feathers.
In this case, through tall grass, they look for insects, amphibians, reptiles or small mammals. But they love fish, too.
In a large number of villages you will notice many nests on poles.With happy families.And caring parents.Some can be seen standing on poles near their nests.
Cornell's photos and words 