A few days ago my friend Byron Jorjorian who blogs at http://byronjorjorian.wordpress.com/ posted a photo with the following quote: “In every landscape should reside jewels of abstract art waiting to be discovered.” – Melissa Brown

Byron and I have had conversation about abstract art and I found his photo and the quote to be stimulating of my own reflection. Last month as I escaped the cold by being in Florida, Judy and I went one day to Venice, Florida. Many wildlife photographers know about the rookery that is there. Often there is a collection of photographers and tripods and long lenses. That day was no exception and I met several others who were there to photograph the birds. I don't consider myself to specialize in birds although I find them a fascinating subject and a challenge to capture visually. As we stood there, a young Great Blue Heron flew over and landed right next to me. He was too close to even get a picture of him with my 400mm lens. So Judy handed me the other camera with the 70-200 lens and I got several shots.

But what caught my eye about the photo later was the detail of the young bird's feathers as I processed the image when I got back home. I thought that my moment of "seeing" was when I focused the lens and pushed the shutter button. I admit I was thrilled at the moment, but as I looked later and saw the detail in the abstract, I was filled with even more wonder. Thanks Byron for the reminder.