My brother called me two times back-to-back the other day at an odd time. Assuming there was some kind of emergency, I peeled away from what i was doing to answer. It turns out he had impulsively rented two log cabins in the middle of nowhere, North Carolina, and wanted to invite us along for a little family weekend. We happily obliged.

The cabin was situated along a river, and there was plenty of nature to explore. The highlight of the trip, photographically speaking, had to be Hermie, the Hermit Thrush that gave us all sorts of photography opportunities.

We had our first snow of 2025, and I was eager to test out the Nikon 600 PF lens. Mechayla and I headed out to the bird blind where we enjoyed all of the fun snow birding. The highlight had to be when a flock of 10+ Cedar Waxwings invaded my blue berry bush.

This year was my third visit to Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is home to the highest concentration of wild Black Bears on the east coast of the United States as well as the last remaining 19 Red Wolves in the wild.

It was Mechayla’s first visit to the refuge and I was eager to see a Red Wolf to show her what the excitement was all about. Here’s a video documenting the whole experience as well as some amazing photos.

It’s the time of year again! As I’ve posted about before, each year the Cape May Warblers come to us like clockwork and visit “the Magic Tree” for a few weeks in October before their long migration journey. This was Mechayla’s first year photographing them and we both came away with some shots that we love.

For years now, I have been hearing from other photographer friends that I should book a tour with Captain Mike from Discover the James. He runs a boat tour along the James River, and has done so for decades. He has gotten to know all of the eagle territories along the river and the eagles recognize his boat. As he sails along, he will toss fish into the water. The eagles and osprey in the area respond by barreling down into the water for a free meal. It is quite the spectacle and for Mechayla and I - a great photographic opportunity.

Historic Tuckahoe is best known as the place where founding father Thomas Jefferson attended school. I know it for a different reason, though. The grounds are home to a lovely garden that is teeming with moths, butterflies, and hummingbirds.

Despite it’s lewd sounding name, Pleasure House Point is actually a fun spot for bird photography in Virginia Beach. I headed down there with Mechayla in August. It was our first date - and also her first time trying bird photography.

I don’t normally write about camera gear on the blog, but I wanted to share that I’ve recently been testing an amazing super telephoto lens by Nikon. This is an 800mm with PF lens element inside. It’s truly a marvel of engineering.

Hey everyone! Spring Migration 2024 has been an exciting one! I’ve headed out with Joelle several times, and I thought it would be fun to share a little compilation of some of my photos from the past month or so. Enjoy!

Well, it has been an interesting start to the year, for sure! On Jan 20, I tested positive for Covid-19, and by Jan 21, I was admitted into the hospital. The virus attacked my heart and sent me into ventricular tachycardia, which is life-threatening. Were it not for my defibrillator implant I may not be sitting here typing this right now. A week later, on Jan 28 - it happened again. Admittedly I was pretty scared. Thankfully I have a great support system and my family was here to support me.

My dad and I set out to Northern Virginia this weekend, with the intention of trying bird photography at Huntley Meadows. If you’ve never heard of it, Huntley Meadows is one of the birding Meccas for the Mid-Atlantic. Comprised of a long boardwalk over a marsh, Huntley Meadows is always crawling with photographers and telephoto lenses. Naturally, I wanted my dad to experience it too.

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of visiting Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge with my daughter. We had a great time on the wildlife drive, and were fortunate enough to photograph several wild blacks bears. The highlight of the excursion, though, was our encounter with the rare Red Wolf. There are less than 25 Red Wolves left in the wild, and they live exclusively on this refuge.

Every year in October, Cape May Warblers make a stop over during their migration to my hometown. Locals here know exactly when and where they will stop, too. There is a Russian Elm in one of our local parks that we call “the Magic Tree” and this is where the Cape Mays visit. The tree is covered with thousands of gnats in October, and these clever birds feast for a week or two to fatten up for the rest of their flight.

Something exciting happened in my hometown this weekend. As part of a “Limpkin Explosion” that is being reported on across the country, a Limpkin has arrived. These birds are not normally native to Virginia, and they have been spotted in new, temporary locations this year all over the east coast. The theory is that they are overpopulated in the south and have started to expand into northern places.

This summer, I headed up the Eastern Shore to visit Assateague Island, home to world-famous wild horses. As a nature photographer, I was excited to see what kind of wildlife that I would photograph.

Joelle graduated from elementary school this year, so we decided to celebrate with a Father-Daughter adventure.

We packed our stuff and headed up to do some camping at Sherando Lake in the George Washington National Forest. In between camping, swimming, and sitting by the fire, we also found time to explore the Blue Ridge Parkway, one of the most scenic roads in America - and we got a little photography in, too.

In this week’s video, I talk a bit about the different types of light and how I adapt my photography based on the conditions. Joelle and I were camping with family for the second half of the video, which is filled with my favorite photographs from the trip.

This video aims to provide information on the necessary gear for bird photography, regardless of budget, for both beginners and photographers looking to try a new subject.

In the final video for my “Migration” series, I encounter a rare Northern Bobwhite, photograph several lifers, and reflect on the series as a whole

In this week’s video, I show you a trick for photographing birds at canopy-level. I also visit northern Virginia to photograph Prothonotary Warblers.