Brown Bears at Brooks Falls, Polar Bears at Churchhill, Migrant Birds at Point Pelee, Penguins of Antarctica, Tigers in Africa, Amphibians in Costa Rica....; we all dream of the exotic destinations to visit and record on photographic medium. I usually avail myself of the opportunity to travel to an out-of-state site one weekend every month. Assuming I am out-of-state 4 days a month, that leaves roughly 26 days of the month in my local area that I can photograph my local birds and fauna.

I live in west central Florida (Tampa Bay, the Mecca of wading birds, migrant birds, a few raptors, a few mammals and some reptiles; my home is 10 minutes from Ft. Desoto. I usually take pictures three times a week in the afternoons and every weekend. During my first year (2003) of wildlife photography, I visited Ft. DeSoto at least a hundred times. Some days, the beaches and dunes are practically empty of birds but I have never visited and not found a Great Blue Heron available to photograph. I am a driven person; having loaded the truck, driven to the site, carried my equipment to the shooting location; I am going to shoot something. Therefore, I have literally thousands of pictures of Great Blue Herons (GBH). However, honestly, how many gigabytes of digital data or file cabinets of transparences do we really need of our favorite local "bird on a stick"?

Sure, there are a myriad of ways to show your typical GBH. GBH in the marsh, GBH on the beach, GBH standing on the left leg, GBH on the right leg, GBH in the surf, head shots, body feather textures, etc., etc., etc. Honestly, after a couple hundred shots of GBH, I yearned for a purpose. As a scientist, I decided my ultimate goal for each species I photograph is to document the "species life cycle". As an artist, I wanted to capture each photograph in the best light, with a pleasing background, and with dynamic appeal.

"Species life cycle", what does that mean? The goal is to document the typical behaviors and activities of the animal from birth until death. This includes daily activities such as feeding, preening, and sleeping. Also, "no man is an island" and an animal does not exist alone; so the "species life cycle" also includes the interactions of the animal with other animals. Mating, nest building, sitting on eggs, raising the youngsters and general parenting can be documented. Documenting all this could take years; documenting it artistically could take a lifetime.

In addition to Ft. Desoto, Venice Rookery is a one hour drive from my residence. I have been able to visit the rookery at least ten weekends during each of the past three breeding seasons. I have not completed my quest to completely document the life cycle of the Great Blue Heron, but I have made progress. The following photos show how I have attempted to document the life cycle and they also show how I have attempted to document this artistically.

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