This gallery contains 17 photos.
I finally got out! I haven’t been out in over a week. It’s been cloudy and that spoils any photography. I stayed off for the holiday to avoid the crowds. I saw 2 Bucks first thing, They were disturbed by … Continue reading
Do you have a website? A question that sunk in because I had no website at the time. I have always had websites to share my work, but they kept raising prices and limiting data. So, like with so many others, I relied on social media to share my work, which would be great if the images weren’t crushed and if the algorithms didn’t mess with posts.
If you post a photo for photographer friends to see, you don’t expect they will keep your images hidden and only show them if you jump through enough hoops. Hooks like having to spend an enormous amount of time in the platform, putting likes on other people’s photos, comments and shares. You don’t add enough key words? Oh we will hide all your posts for that. Post too much or too little and we will punish you. Do this do that and maybe they will let others see your posts, maybe not, it’s up to them.
There used to be a forum for photographers, but it was too much work and too expensive to host that many high quality photos so he closed it down. Now we have social media where we can post all we want to share with fellow photographers, but the images are severely compressed with colors flattened.
Building a new website is exactly what I needed. It gets me away from endless scrolling on social media (those cute puppy videos are addicting), but it keeps me working for myself and that feels good. It keeps my mind sharp and keeps me busy learning new things all the time.
Some social media sites show one row of medium size photos, taking an incredible amount of time to scroll down to the first image. Meta isn’t much better, you show a full page of small pics but even then the scrolling can take a far too long to keep an interest and forget trying to find something again. My new website should be organized in a manner where you can find a photo again. You can do easy accurate navigation (if I don’t make mistakes) to view every image I post, everything easy to search to return to a photo on a page. Each link in the drop down menu above goes to a directory for that year.
This gallery contains 13 photos.
I went out this morning finally and it was a decent day, worth the trouble. I made 2 drifts. It was a bright sunny day, not much for a golden hour with such clear smokeless air. That will change soon … Continue reading
This gallery contains 18 photos.
I did better today doing one drift, but it didn’t start out well with boats running around, but I started over and it went ok. I just missed getting a repeat of yesterdays Eagle dive but I was just one … Continue reading
They said sunny at first, clouds moving in later. But it was cloudy early and sunny later. I didn’t see much, but you never know, I usually see something to make it worth it. I had one last chance before I called it quits with nothing to show for my troubles, the Eagle’s nest.
I saw a perched Eagle up from the nest looking down. I moved out to give some distance and then she took off and before I could get focus, she dove straight down and grabbed a fish! I couldn’t catch until she was flying away. Then she did a fly-around to show off the catch and then landed in the nest and started to feed her young. That’s when I got this photo. She has 3 chicks again as usual.
perched eagle in nest area took off, then did a quick dive and I lost him, and he grabbed a fish and I may have caught up with him then. So that was it, about the only photos for the day. It was a quiet day on the river, I could hear songbirds, but they stayed hidden nest building. I am still trying to get used to my new R5II and I am missing some shots, but I think it will pay off at some point.
Bald Eagle feeding chicks
The Rock River is dropping pretty fast, it’s at about 7′ where 4′ is normal. Normal makes it hard to get around in this area and drifting is much better then. With high water I drift too fast, can’t stop and no shore for birds and critters. There is a thick layer of mud everywhere from the flood. The water was clear, not muddy like last time out.
Perched eagle looking for fish
I had a huge Asian Carp try to jump in my boat, hitting me in the leg and splashing water all over me. It bounced back in. Those are invasive species and bad news for the most part as they take over. But their fry do feed other fish and it gives pelicans something to eat besides bass. They can be dangerous if you get hit while running the river and they mess the balance up for other fish.
Eagle Feeding Chicks
My little dog Herbie went this morning. He is getting old and doesn’t go with me as much now. He does great in the boat and I think it helps having him with me, wildlife doesn’t feel threatened by him.
A few more photos from last time out on the Rock River. A Whitetail Deer buck, a scenic pic and a goose with her chicks:
This is a slideshow, click on one image to start it. This was from 5/4/26. I drift by this nest to check on them, staying far away. This eagle must be getting old because she sleeps a lot. She did this last year too.
This gallery contains 6 photos.
Bald Eagles from 5/4/26 along the Rock River near Sterling Rock Falls Illinois. I believe this female is getting old because I find her eyes closed a lot. It happened last year too. They had 3 chicks again, these 2 … Continue reading
I am back under a new name. This is Dave Tackett, from Dave Tackett Photography, Fishead Cartoons and Fishead Tackle. This new website is to share my Rock River Photos and much more, like Fishing Cartoons and river stories. I will also share insight to wildlife and birds.
