Fall at Meadowlark Gardens

Few days ago I mentioned about the Raptor Photo Shoot that was a part of the Photographers’ Field Day at the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens. This was my second Photographers’ Field Day at Meadowlark; I went to the same event last year. This year’s event was held a bit earlier in October (last year it was the last weekend of October). As such, the fall foliage was not quite at its peak yet (it didn’t help that this year it seems to be a bit warmer than last year). In comparison, last year’s event was held on a great day for taking photograph. The foliage colors were close to peak, it was sunny but with some clouds in the sky that helped soften the light a bit. I got several good shots, and not long ago I received message on flickr from a company that wanted to use one of my Meadowlark Gardens photos for the cover of a phone book for Vienna/Oakton, VA, area. After they reviewed the whole set, they selected the photo below, and this was my first ever paid photograph for commercial usage.

Fall at Meadowlark Gardens

Raptor Photo Shoot

As part of the Fall 2011 Photographers’ Field Day at the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, Vienna, VA, I participated in the Raptor Photo Shoot. The birds were the ones that had been injured or cannot be released safely into the wild, so they’re now under the care of The Raptor Conservancy of Virginia and serve as ambassadors for education programs. Since the organization is funded solely through private donations, one way they raise funds is through photo shoots like this one where photographers can come and take close up photos of these magnificent birds that otherwise are difficult to find and photograph.

Red-tailed hawk