One of the things I like about Flickr (a photo sharing Web site) is the community feel of things. A while back, when planning our Alaska trip, and searching for Alaska images on Flickr, I sort of befriended a guy named Alaska Dave. He’s from Soldotna. He had to make his images private (long story) so I can’t share. But trust me when I say they’re awesome. Especially his eagle and other wildlife images.
One day I asked Dave to tell me about some folks on Flickr he shares with regularly. One of those folks was Jon, aka Nikographer. He also takes amazing eagle and other wildlife pics. The video below was taken by Jon and posted on his Flickr site.
The funny thing about this whole connection? Dave lives in Alaska. So, while I can admire Dave’s photos and wish I were closer and could check out some of the spots where he shoots, chances are I won’t get there for a long time.
Jon, on the other hand, lives in the Northern Virginia area. He has posted lots of truly inspirational images from places like Great Falls National Park (straddles the MD/VA border near Washington, DC), Conowingo Dam (northeastern MD, just south of the PA border), the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge (on MD’s eastern shore) and the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware. I’ve been to all of those places except Bombay Hook. But that’ll change soon. And all of these places are within driving distance for me.
Not that I’ll ever get the same quality wildlife shots Jon has captured, but at least I’ll get to see the places for myself. I’m going to try really hard to get to Bombay Hook before late February, early March, which is when I think the snow geese leave. Until then, I’ll just watch this cool video. And look at Jon’s Flickr pics. And be thankful I’ve become pen pals of sorts with a core group of folks on Flickr — AK Dave and Jon are just two of them — that regularly create magic with their cameras.
UPDATE: I forgot to mention that Jon has a Blog, too.