Category Archives: photos

Photos by mark justice hinton.

Ah, Wilderness!, photos

The Builder (from the Photo Archive)

nesting material

I watched this robin gather grass for nesting material in our small sideyard a few years ago. It was a windy day and the robin kept dropping what it already had in its beak as it tried for more. (Called to mind Aesop.) After numerous attempts, the robin gathered up a good bundle. It took off from the grass and paused just long enough in a gap in the fence. Click. Thank you. With all the wind, I didn’t expect this photo to be in focus.

Robins love to bathe, perhaps moreso than any other birds I’ve seen in our yard.

robin bathes

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mjhinton/tags/robins

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mjhinton/tags/birds

[From the Photo Archive is an irregular series of photos I’ve taken some time ago but want to revisit.]

www.flickr.com

mjhinton's Birds (Random) photoset mjhinton’s Birds (Random) photoset

The Builder (from the Photo Archive) is a post from: Ah, Wilderness!. Thank you for subscribing. Let me know what you think. peace, mjh

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Flickr

I have posted just under 1,000 photos on Flickr over the past few years. According to Flickr’ stats, my photos have been viewed just under 35,000. If that seems like a lot, consider that isn’t 35,000 people, that’s 35,000 views (average = 35 views per photo). Odds are that no more than two dozen people have seen most or all of my photos. (And anyone who hasn’t seen them all never will at this point – can you imaging how long it would take.) I consider a good ‘audience’ around 50 people. One hundred views is a lot.

flickr_topsHowever, I have a few photos that have been seen by a much higher than average number of people. For the longest time, my most-seen photo was one I half-jokingly call Albuquerque Wetlands: lush greenery in the bottom of a concrete arroyo near the Big-I. I attribute most of those viewers to John Fleck, because he highlighted that photo.

Two photos have started moving up this year. A photo of a pasque flower started climbing this spring and surpassed Abq Wetlands handily. Then, even more surprising, a photo of a big brown spider jumped in the past month or two, each day gaining more than a dozen views. Spider has now eclipsed pasque flower and all others as my most seen photo. (For the record, I have far better photos of spiders and flowers.) I don’t know if someone has linked to each of these photos, but I can’t imagine people are searching every day for these images.

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What People Are Looking For

image

This is the current ranking of my flickr photos in terms of number of times viewed. Just in the last week, pasque flower shot ahead of the long-time leader, Albuquerque Wetlands. Strangely, I don’t know why people are suddenly interested in pasque flowers (other than the recent occurrence of Easter). It is not my favorite pasque flower photo. (My favorite sightings of pasque flowers have all occurred above 11,000 feet.)

It is more than likely that Albuquerque wetlands was the leader thanks to John Fleck, my virtual and physical neighbor. (Well, stretching physically, but not in the least, virtually.)

Ironically, two of my most widely viewed photos aren’t even mine, except as subject. (I’m not sure who took The Big Day; Merri took After the Kiss.) I like the others, but don’t love them as I do most of these and many others.

What do you think?

peace,
mjh

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Park Hawks

The hawks reappeared in my neighborhood park this weekend. I hadn’t seen them in months. Just after I arrived at the park, I heard that parrot-like call I associate with the hawks. As I was looking up, unsuccessfully, for the source of the call, a second hawk landed just above me and began to chatter. I talked back to him, absorbed in the moment, letting my camera hang at my side. (I don’t want the camera to distract me from the most ephemeral moments.) The late-comer and the hidden hawk both took off in the same direction across the park, landing in trees above another dog-walker, who didn’t see them. Over the next half hour, as I walked around the park, I saw and heard the hawks more than any other time this year.

As Lucky and I returned to our starting point in the park, he marched on. I heard that call again and, feeling “now or never,” I held Lucky back (good dog!) and got my camera ready. One hawk soared out across the street and back towards the trees as I swung the camera and clicked with no time to frame or focus. I said to Lucky, “If I’m really lucky, that will turn out.” mjh

Lucky Hawk Photo

Cropped hawk photo

PS: The next day, a dozen turkey vultures (aka, southwestern condors) soared and circled over our playing field. (No comments about being near death, please.) They may have been on their way to Mexico for the winter, returning in March. A short time later, one of the flock circled back for a closer pass. It was magnificent.

PPS: Remember, I am *NOT* the Bird Man of Albuquerque.

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Random Flickr Photos

Someone created a tool that generates a random set of flickr photos that changes daily. I look at my random set each day — perhaps you’ll enjoy it, too. mjh

www.flickr.com

mjhinton's random set photoset mjhinton’s random set photoset

random set – a photoset on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mjhinton/sets/72157601322709182/