December 2013 was a slow month photographically, but I was able to get a couple of nice images on a short trip to visit my parents on the Mississippi Gulf Coast during Christmas week. One day, my wife and I had accompanied my dad on one of his runs to Wal-Mart to pick up a few last minute items. As we were making our way back to my parents’ house, my dad gave us a little tour of the area.
One of the locations he took us to was a small harbor/marina across from Inner Harbor Park in Ocean Springs. Given it was quite cool, it was a couple of days before Christmas, and it was a weekday, the boats were moored, and there were no people around. A very pleasant experience, I must say.
As we drove by, I noticed a number of pelicans swimming and floating in the water. I had my gear with me, so we stopped, and I jumped out, grabbed my camera and 400mm lens. When I turned around, I spotted this wonderful white egret standing beside the remains of a burnt piling. I thought the contrast was quite striking.
As I was heading back to the car, I looked behind me one last time, and that’s when I noticed a pelican sitting atop a piling looking completely unconcerned. I quickly focused on him (or her), pressed the shutter speed, and captured this image. I thought the yellow and blue coloring on the head and around the eye were stunning.
Well, that’s my look back to this month 10 years ago. I hope you enjoyed it.