Beautiful Herons at an Exhibition – Not Exactly Wordless Wednesday
Great Blue Heron at Keyhole Tunnel – babsjeheron
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View Through a Tunnel on the Charles River in Autumn – babsjeheron
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Sailboats framed by bridge, in golden hour sunlight – babsjeheron
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Today’s post is prompted by Debbie Smyth’s One Word Sunday – Triangle (https://travelwithintent.com/2023/08/13/triangle/), I.J.’s Bird of the Week, The Lens Artists “Framing Photographs” Challenge, Water Water Everywhere by Jez, and John Steiner’s Cellpic Sunday (some photos were taken with my android mobile – can you tell which?)
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Because of my near-blindness, I’m not able to link in my posts to the various host sites for WP challenges/tags in the way I have always done in the past, but please know that I value the sense of community here, especially among the Lens Artists, Debbie Smyth, Leanne Cole, BeckyB, I.J., Restless Jo, Tofino Photography, Dan Antion, Terri Webster Schrandt, Bush Boy, Jez, Fandango, Journeys With Johnbo, and so many more, who all encourage the entire international network of photographers and writers. Sorry that I cannot link directly at this time – this is the best I can do for now.
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Three Herons Waiting for the Audience at TCAN August 2023 – babsjeheron
TCAN Lobby Wall Herons August 2023 – babsjeheron
My Great Blue Heron photographs are once again on display on the walls of the lobby and theater in a free one-woman show at the Summer Street Gallery, of The Center for Arts in Natick. The Summer Street Gallery provides an opportunity for accomplished visual artists in the region to have their work prominently displayed. Please stop by TCAN to see the wonderful gallery of artworks by many talented visual artists, as well as excellent live music performances and stage plays. The gallery is open whenever the box office is open, so please check hours here.
Who knows? Maybe I’ll see you there. I’d like that!
As always, many of my own photos were taken on the waterways of the Charles River watershed.
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Natick Center Cultural District logo
Folks, now that some areas have opened back up in a new normal, please consider supporting your local Arts communities – whether music, theater, crafts, visual arts venues, and others. All have been impacted over the past THREE years and they still need your love more than ever.
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The Natick Center Cultural District is situated in a friendly, classic New England town hosting a vibrant, contemporary fusion of art, culture and business. Click here and here to learn more!
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My brick & mortar presence in Massachusetts dates back to 2009 in several local venues/galleries.
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Watch this space for my free 2023 one-woman show – LIVE NOW at TCAN!
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TCAN – The Center for Arts Natick:
- August & September 2023 – One-woman photography show
- January thru February 2022 – One-woman photography show
- December 2019 thru January 2020 – One-woman photography show
- May, June, July 2018 – One-woman photography show
- July 2016 – One-woman photography show
- March 2016 – One-woman photography show
- May 2015 – One-woman photography show
Natick Town Hall:
- July 2022 to January 2023 – Group exhibit
- January thru June 2022 – Group exhibit
- September thru october 2018 – One-woman photography show
Five Crows Gallery in Natick – Represented since 2013
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Audubon Sanctuary:
- July 2009 – One-woman photography show
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Be a fly on the wall! Please CLICK HERE to see the Great Blue Herons gracing the gallery walls.
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Remember: Walk softly and carry a long lens.™
May the Muse be with you.™
The Tao of Feathers™
A Patience of Herons™
© 2003-2023 Babsje. (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)
Share the love, but please respect the copyright. No reposting of any photos without permission.
Great Blue Heron, Kayaking, TCAN, Five Crows, Natick Center Cultural District
Posted on August 16, 2023, in # Lens-Artists, ardea herodias, Art, Birds, Mindfulness, Nature, Wildlife Photography and tagged # Lens-Artists, #cellpicsunday, #LAPC, #ows, #wordlesswednesday, bird of the week, WWE. Bookmark the permalink. 100 Comments.
Babsje Heron 
Beautiful photos, Babsje! If I lived nearby I’d visit the gallery to see them in person.
Hi Katherine. Thanks so much, I’m glad you enjoyed these photos. And if you were here, is definitely give you a private tour!
Congratulations 👏 Wonderful photos and I am sure the visitors will love them too.
Many thanks for your kind appreciation of the Great Blue Herons. I was honored when the gallery extended an invitation to the Herons earlier this summer and I’m fortunate to be able to show the local folks the majestic beauty lurking in our lakes and rivers. Thanks again.
Beautiful gallery, Babsje. The heron looks so stately.
Thanks so much for your kind comment. I like your word choice “stately.” Some Herons sure know how to pose for the camera.
It must be so exciting and satisfying to see your work being displayed in public. I can’t even imagine. Love, love, LOVE your framing in that top photo!
Hi Susan. Many thanks for your enthusiastic compliment about the lead photo! And yes. It is very satisfying to see the Heron’s displayed in a public venue. I like being able to give the local communities a taste of the sheer beauty that is out in Nature in our backyard.
Nice photos Babsje!
Many thanks, Denzil, happy to hear that you enjoy the Herons.
Beautiful photographs, Babsje [as always!] and great to see your Great Blue Heron on display again!
Happy Wednesday, my friend! ❤️🙏😘
Dear Marina – thank you – you always say the sweetest things about the Herons! Happy Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to you, too. 🙏 ❤ 🌟
…and to you AND a big hug! xoxo
Aw, thanks for the big. Hmmm no hug emoji on my system. That doesn’t seem right. Well, a hug back to you my friend. 🌞 🌙 🌟
🤗😉😘😘😘
Your emojis are so happy-making, thank you! xoxoxoxo
💗🌸
🌹 🌷 🌻
😘🔆🧡
Excellent natural framing on that first one! I hope you are doing well these days!
Many thanks! That natural framing image was an interesting experience – there was occasional boat traffic passing through that caused my kayak to move up and down and sideways, so keeping the fledgling centered was not effortless. And then suddenly the sky thundered with the screaming of 2 F-16 fighter jets in tandem flying in low circles over the lake. The Heron was startled and stared skyward but didn’t abandon his quest for lunch. Turns out the fighters were part of the show at Foxboro Stadium for a Patriots football game! Hope you are keeping well, too! Thanks.
Wow. Stellar views. Great framing, Babsje.
Many thanks, I’m pleased that you appreciate the framing in these images. That was a fun Lens Artists topic.
It was. I think a favorite for many.
Thanks again. You say the sweetest things.
Congratulations on the show. Love your heron images,
Hi Rebecca – I’m glad you enjoy the Heron’s and many thanks for your congrats!
🐦🩵🩵🩵
Hi Christine – merci, thank you! 🐦 😊
Love that first shot Babsje! I hope the show is well received!
Wishing you well.
Hi Wayne – many thanks for the well wishes. I’m glad you like that lead photo of the fledgling by the tunnel. It’s one of the featured pieces in the gallery. I’m very fortunate to live in a town with such a vibrant community of artists. Our TCAN Center for Arts Natick is a real gem and my deep thanks to the folks who had the vision to create it all those years ago.
I love those photos. I like bridges and the views under them are wonderful.
Many thanks for your kind compliment, Dan. There’s something about bridges to Pittsburgh natives like us. Speaking of Pittsburgh and bridges – if I’m not mistaken, one book in your series takes place around the time our infamous “bridge to nowhere” had its moment in the sun. Does it make a guest appearance in your stories? I have so many fond memories of teenage adventures on that bridge.
The bridge to nowhere doesn’t make an appearance, but the Ft Pitt Bridge does, and the Smithfield Street Bridge is an essential part of the third book, and has a staring role in the 4th book. There is a special connection to rivers and bridges that we bring from Pittsburgh.
I remember both of those bridges, too, and you’re right about the way bridges are embedded in the fabric of life for Pittsburgh folks. Maybe you can squeeze the Bridge to Nowhere in a flashback experienced in book 5? Pretty please? By then I will have been able to read 1 through 4. 📖 🌉
The next book will be outside of this series, but will be set in Pittsburgh and a lot of action happens on the city side of that wharf. I think a throwback mention of the Bridge to Nowhere might just work.
Oooh, that sounds good. Speaking of bridges and evil, a friend from high school went out to buy bread one day and was never seen again. Some time later his car was found abandoned near one of the bridges. Spooky times.
That is spooky.
It gets spookier. My missing classmate always wore a silver ring that had a pair of small red ruby-like stones in the eye sockets. Some time after his disappearance, I noticed a different classmate wearing that same silver ring – and that classmate didn’t have the sort of disposable income needed to buy that ring. Cue scary movie music.
This is a mystery waiting to be solved
Yes, indeed. Perhaps fodder for one of your stories yet to be told?!
You know how much I enjoy your heron photos, but I must say that, in this case, I’m completely taken by the image of the autumn view of one bridge through the opening in another bridge. It’s beautifully composed — and look at all that water! I think, like many in our drought stricken region, we’re naturally inclined to any image that reminds us of the wet stuff.
I appreciate your lovely comment, thank you. And I’m pleased that you singled out the photo of the view of the bridge seen within the framing of the other bridge. It was a lovely autumn day with clear, calm waters and I kayaked as far as the older filigreed bridge before I had to turn back for home. It was then that I thought to compose that photo when I was lucky that it worked out as well as it did. And I certainly understand why you would be drawn to the scenes of water after what folks in your area have endured this year! Thanks again.
You really make these people herons come alive in the photos. I really have to visit gallery with your work 😊
Hi Drexel – what a lovely thing for you to say about the Herons coming alive, thank you. It would be a pleasure to show you the exhibit, which is free, although the airfare? Not so free. There is a link near the bottom of my post that mentions something about being a fly on the wall. If you click that link it will navigate to a slide show where you can see more without incurring any frequent flyer mileage. Thanks again, glad you enjoy the Herons!
I particularly love the heron shot!!
Hi Judy – oh, I’m happy to hear that, thank you. I still think often abiut the special Heron poem you brought to my attention. Thanks again for sharing it.
It was special to me, too, Babsje. So glad you like it, too.
Carolyn Kizer was a treasure. Thank you for getting her on my radar.
I think I told you I met her at a writer’s conference in California long after I taught this poem to my h.s. lit classes.
Yes and what a stroke of good fortune!
Lovely framing Babsje and a slightly different post for you! Nice to see your name pop up in the challenge. Hope all is well.
Many thanks, Tina. This was a fun challenge and after hitting publish of course a handful of other photos came to mind. Take care and I hope the weather there has cooled.
Majestic photos, Babsje! ❤
Hi T.W. Thanks very much for your lovely compliment about the Herons. They are a labor of love. ❤
A stately pose in the first photograph, Babsje. I think they’re all beautiful.
The B & W creates awe inspiring image. I enjoyed viewing them.
Isadora 😎
Hi Isadora – thanks for your generous praise about that lead Heron photo. The Heron was just a baby and basically monochromatic so I thought B&W would work. I converted it to B&W and applied an infrared filter as well. Changing the subject, I’m appreciating your own blog tales of recovery in Florida. I lived in Sarasota for 7 years and left after we had two hurricanes threatening us within 3 or so weeks and I realized evacuation up 75 in a two-seater car with me and two cats wasn’t going to be smooth going at all. Neither Hurricane David nor Frederick hit but I chickened out and moved to California. That meant trading hurricanes for earthquakes. And you know what? You can see a hurricane approaching and take action, but not so with an earthquake. But I digress. I admire your resilience!
Our first thoughts on our return to the destruction of our home was to leave Florida. We were going to repair everything and sell. We decided that a move at our age (mid 70’s) could be much worse then staying here. With the lack of materials and repairman, it took so long we felt it might be best to stay put. It has been said that moving can be as emtionally stressful as a death. We’ve been here 34 years. The change would be too dramatic for me, as I don’t like change. My children, of course, don’t agree. My neighbors are caring and wonderfully helpful. And, with all of the states experiencing some type of weather issues, where would we relocate? I’m sure I’ll have some type of PTSD when another hurricane comes along. But, we have to be strong and accept our fate. 🙏🏻 PS: I am 1/2 away from Sarasota. We enjoy going there for theater, wonderful dockside restaurants and Ringling. No problems with Ian there. Thanks again …❤️
You’re welcome. And I know what you mean about the nature and challenges of change. I think your decision makes perfect sense and wish you continued recovery and peace, and cooler weather!
I sure enjoyed these three tunnel photographs, babsje. Photos are great for framing beauty for us, and here not only have you highlighted the beautiful shapes of these three tunnels, but you have presented stunning images of the day. I really like that first photo a lot, the heron and the light on the log and its reflection, with the background providing silhouette is truly lovely. Also enjoyed seeing the serenity of the gentle arch over the Charles, and the cluster of sailboats. My best to you, babsje.
Many thanks, Jet, im so pleased that you appreciate the Fledgling Heron at our Keynote Tunnel and also the arched bridge over the Charles. Photographing that young Heron was memorable – we were together more than an hour. I never did see what he had for lunch, but I would guess a brown trout since they are abundant near that tunnel entrance. He was endearing. Thanks for your kind comment.
Lovely shots of the heron framed by the tunnel and the foliage and bridge through the other, Babsje. The sailboats look like a regatta is taking place.
I’m guessing the gallery shots were with your phone and possible the sailboats also?
Hi Steve – I input a long reply a few hours ago but WordPress in its infinite wisdom disappeared it. Many thanks for your kind compliments about the photos. You guessed correctly that the cell phone photo shots were the ones inside the theater. The sailboats were near the Hatch Shell on a randomly glorious day. I was pleased myself by the image of the old filigree iron bridge that appears within the foreground tunnel opening – that is the underside of a larger train bridge. The Fledgling Heron was one of my favorite encounters – I watched him fish there for well more than an hour. He had such a laser focus. I was quite a distance away, hidden in a sort of natural hide and so was careful to not interfere with his feeding – that would be a big no-no. I also enjoyed your own recent Heron image! Thanks again.
Hi, Babsje. I did see your earlier reply and it is still below here…at least I see it. WP can be irritating sometimes but I don’t complain much because in my case it is a free service. I got a message from them that I have used 85% of my data storage, in other words ,my image library and posts, so soon will have to decide whether to upgrade to premium or delete several years worth of image files and posts.
I am glad you liked the recent heron image. I believe it is the same individual I photographed a week and a half ago in the same spot. But maybe not. There really is no place to hide and observe them along the rail trail but I think they have become used to people along there and as long as we don’t do anything stupid they just keep on feeding, or trying to, while we watch.
Thanks Steve, so your Heron is near a rail trail? Coincidentally my lead photo of the Fledgling by the Keyhole Tunnel is as well. The rail trail passes directly above the tunnel now. The tunnel is quite old and the rail trail made use of the prior pathway.
So about your media library. I always save my images that get posted online using a level of 9 tops instead of the maximum in Photoshop which may be 12? Doing that creates small jpg sizes but I find that the quality is adequate for web viewing. And it saves a lot of file space in the media library. I’ve only been on WP for 10 years but my library is less than 4% full. It’s a compromize that you might not be comfortable making of course. I only do hi-res for gallery prints, not the web. I have a free WP blog and don’t wish to upgrade to a paid plan. Anyway, thanks again and Good luck!
I am sure smaller file sizes would eliminate the build up but I prefer having the largest quality for the images. I think another reason I am so close to full is the quantity of posts. Although most have one image, occasionally there are one or two more And sometimes two or three posts a day. The numbers add up quickly. I just passed 2700 posts. I’ll figure out how to handle it when the time comes. Thanks again for the ideas, Babsje.
Hi Steve – thanks for your kind comment. You guessed correctly about the cell phone photos – pretty easy to tell the difference. The sailboats were on the water near the Hatch Shell and the wind was perfect that day. It was interesting to photograph that Fledgling Heron – he was very intently fishing away when suddenly the screaming roar of a pair of fighter jets flew low above us and then circled the lake for about half an hour. Afterwards I learned that the jets were part of the show for a Patriots game at Foxboro and their holding pattern involved big lazy circuits of the lake. The Heron stared skyward each time the jets passed overhead but he never budged from his fishing spot. Pretty brave if you ask me. Thanks again.
The herons are waiting for the chairs to be turned a bit by their admiring fans, LOL.
WP issues … I’ve had a number of comments disappeared among different WP blogs. It seems to be part and parcel of the way of life in WP land. I got so disgusted with them, I quit my blog of 15 years. Clearing the cache and deleting cookies only goes so far.
A question, if I may ask. You mentioned a near blindness. Is that a temporary situation, or something more ongoing. You don’t need to answer. In matter of fact, you can delete my comment, and I’ll take it as an off-limits subject.
Thanks for your wonderful comment. I love your observation that the Herons are waiting for the chairs to be turned around! Brought a big smile. I understand about WP and comments – some of my own have vanished. Thanks for asking about my eyesight – it is complicated, a couple of different maladies going on simultaneously. One is incurable leading to more blindness and the other is treatable with laser surgery, looking at the December timeframe. Again I enjoyed your comment about the chairs!
Thank you for answering my question about your vision impairment. I know it is a highly personal topic. It certainly sounds complicated in having two different processes impairing your vision. I certainly hope you won’t have to wait until December to have your laser surgery done, and it can be done sooner.
I love herons
Thank you very much Marylou. You also have beautiful Herons there – Grey Herons!
Wonderful watery shots, Babsje 👏 & your framing is just perfect 😃 Superb to see your work on the TCAN Lobby wall & thank you so much for sharing with my challenge 😊
Hi Jez – I appreciate your kind comment, thank you very much and thanks for letting me join in for Water Water Everywhere!
The heroin is stunning. It gives me chills!
Hi Julie – oh I’m pleased that you appreciate that Heron, thanks for your lovely compliment. That Heron is a baby, fairly recently out of the nest and was working diligently at mastering the art of fishing for its next meal. The area near that tunnel entrance attracts lots of Brown Trout and even humans like to fish there.
You’ve done so much beautiful work with your herons, Babsje. I hope you can continue to do so. Any progress with your eyes?
Aw, Jo, you say the nicest and kindest things about the Great Blue Herons, many thanks! I had the eye injections last Friday, another round in 4 weeks, surgery pushed out, December-ish. Patience is the word of the day. 😊
Nice
Thank you.
So amazing image. Anita
Thanks for your generous compliment, Anita!
I’m sure your photos will be a hit. They’re always beautiful, as are these.
janet
Thanks Janet! I was pleased when the gallery reached out a couple of months ago and said “Think it’s time to have the Herons back.” Lovely venue and great people!
Magnificent
Thank you very much Marylou. I’m happy that you appreciate the Great Blue Herons. You have many beautiful Grey Herons on your own blog!
I agree with he others, beautiful photos.
The heron in the first photo looks like he is riding a wave, or boat’s wake, on a large tree limb.
I like taking photos from under the bridge. There are adventures on the other side. ;0)
Hi Phyllis. Thanks for your kind comment. I really like your characterization of the Fledgling Heron as riding a wave or a boat’s wake. You have an active imagination!
Thanks. It helps my creativity. Ha.
You are definitely creative! Thanks for reminding me, and the Herons.
Totally delightful babsje! Completely exciting! Great photography
Many thanks for your generous comment, Eddie. I’m happy that you enjoy the Heron photos. They are a labor of love.
I bet they were but completely worth it!
Yes those moments with the Herons brought real-time then and now more joy in being able to view them anew. Thanks again!
Great seeing your photos and talking with
you Babsje
Fantastic photo’s of the heron
I’m so glad you appreciate the Herons. Many thanks for your lovely comment.
Amazing clicks!
Great Blue Heron at Keyhole Tunnel, my favourite.
I’m happy to hear that you appreciate the photo of the Heron at the Keyhole Tunnel – it is one of my own favorites. Many thanks for your kind compliments.
You are welcome Babsje.