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Major Graham

@majorgraham41

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Landscape, Wildlife and nature
Photographer and Writer
All pics are © MW Graham

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by @majorgraham41

269

123

4 months ago

The shutter clicked at precisely the right moment. Two Brown Pelicans and one American White Pelican, suspended perfectly against the blurred sapphire of Kemah Bay, Texas. It's the kind of photograph that makes you pause, not just because of its beauty, but because of what it whispers about the way we move through our own lives.The Brown Pelicans can completely empty their lungs before diving, allowing them to plummet from heights of up to 60 feet without injury. The American White Pelican, meanwhile, has one of the longest bills of any bird, up to 18 inches and can hold up to three gallons of water in its pouch. Not for storage, as many believe, but as a fishing net.The blurred background of Kemah Bay in my photograph creates something cinematographers call "isolation" as it forces our attention to what matters. And isn't that what we all need sometimes? To blur out the noise and focus on the essential.#brownpelican #americanwhitepelican #shorebirds #birdphotography #birds #raw_birds #nuts_about_birds #eye_spy_birds #audobonsociety #best_birds_of_ig #your_best_birds #birdfreaks #planetbirds #bird_lovers #bestbirdshots #canonusa #naturelovers #bird_captures #yourbestbirds #canon_photos #canonphotographer #canonusa #nationalgeographic #natgeo #natgeoyourshot #natgeoyourshot #canonwildlife #canonphotography #birdwatching by @majorgraham41

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6 months ago

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6 months ago

I was out by the water when I spotted an American White Pelican on a pier post with wings fully extended, delivering a quiet, powerful message.These birds are giants among North American waterfowl, wingspans pushing nine feet, yet they weigh surprisingly little, around 10-20 pounds. #Americanwhitepelican #Waterbirds #birdphotography #birds #raw_birds #nuts_about_birds #eye_spy_birds #audobonsociety #best_birds_of_ig #your_best_birds #birdfreaks #planetbirds #bird_lovers #bestbirdshots #canonusa #canon #bird_captures #yourbestbirds #canon_photos #canonphotographer #canonusa #nationalgeographic #natgeo #natgeoyourshot #natgeoyourshot by @majorgraham41

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7 months ago

What strikes me most is his expression, that determined look I saw through my viewfinder.And there, blazing like twin embers on his shoulders, are those iconic scarlet epaulets that make this species both unmistakable and unforgettable.To the Blackfoot people of Montana, red-winged blackbirds were considered messengers between seasons, their arrival signaling spring's definitive victory over winter.The blackbird didn't announce his intentions. He simply acted, and I was ready. How much of life's richness do we miss because we're not quite ready, not quite paying attention?#redwingblackbird #blackbird #birdphotography #birds #raw_birds #nuts_about_birds #eye_spy_birds #audobonsociety #best_birds_of_ig #your_best_birds #birdfreaks #planetbirds #bird_lovers #bestbirdshots #canonusa #canon #bird_captures #yourbestbirds #canon_photos #canonphotographer #canonusa #nationalgeographic #natgeo #natgeoyourshot #natgeoyourshot #canonwildlife #canonphotography #bestbirdshots #best_birds_of_ig #birdsinflight by @majorgraham41

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7 months ago

I took this photo a few miles away from Shiprock through autumn colors. Shiprock, located in northwestern New Mexico is known to the Navajo as, "Rock with Wings." It dominates the horizon and is a hardened throat of a volcano that erupted millions of years ago. It’s a subterranean plug of resilient, dark rock called minette which is harder, more restistant to erosion, which over eons, the softer earth and ancient seafloor that once covered it simply blowing and washed away.This landscape demands nothing of my effort, yet freely grants a profound respect for resilience, and an unwavering belief that what is forged from the heart and anchored deep down, as our commitment to Integrity and Compassion, will steady us. This core belief ensures our truest selves and stands unmoving against the relentless, swirling winds of the time.#newmexico #adventures #nm #usaroadtrip #landscape_captures #keepexploring #canon_photos #landscape_lovers #ig_masterpiece #canonphotographer #beautifuldestinations #canonusa #nationalgeographic #natgeo #natgeotravel #natgeoyourshot #wander #roamtheplanet #earthfocus #canonphotography #ourplanetdaily #autumn #southwest #landofenchantment #thegreatoutdoors #natgeoyourshot #canonusa #canonphotography #canon_photos #southwest #raw_landscape #eye_spy_nature #nuts_about_nature #canon by @majorgraham41

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7 months ago

In the background, a formation of a left hand, stands with all its fingers reaching straight upward, the thumb set slightly apart. At its feet, a dry wash cuts through the land, pale and quiet on the day I was there. Trees line its edges, dressed in autumn’s full honesty. Above, soft clouds drift lazily across a gentle sky.In the center of the scene, a wash runs like a pale ribbon between the trees. On this day, it’s dry, just stones, sand, and the patterns left behind by earlier flows. There’s no water to impress anyone. No drama. Just a quiet pathway shaped by storms most people never saw.The wash may look empty, but it remembers every storm that shaped it. The wash reminded me that what shapes us most deeply rarely makes headlines.Lining the wash, the trees stand in full autumn color, and they’ll do it with grace and brilliance. These trees don’t cling to every leaf forever. They teach me that letting go can be just as beautiful as holding on.Above it all, the sky was simple, soft blue, scattered floating clouds and no drama. There’s a quiet strength in being the background. Sometimes, the friend who listens more than speaks, the one who holds space for others instead of rushing to fill it. The sky over my scene didn’t demand attention, but the moment would have been incomplete without it.#visitutah #utah #adventures #usaroadtrip #landscape_captures #keepexploring #canon_photos #landscape_lovers #ig_masterpiece #canonphotographer #beautifuldestinations #canonusa #nationalgeographic #natgeo #natgeotravel #natgeoyourshot #wander #roamtheplanet #earthfocus #canonphotography #ourplanetdaily #springtime #thegreatoutdoors #natgeoyourshot #canonusa #canonphotography #canon_photos #southwest #raw_landscape #eye_spy_nature #nuts_about_nature #utah #canon by @majorgraham41

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8 months ago

by @majorgraham41

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8 months ago

A white bird spinning on skinny legs looks like pure theater, but it’s one of the rarest herons in North America doing exactly what it was built to do. The Reddish Egret is already the least studied of our herons, and the white morph is the scarcer face of an already scarce bird, only about 1 in 5 reddish egrets are white. So, if you’ve photographed a white-morph Reddish Egret doing the full canopy-shade, wing-over, stop-start routine, here’s what you actually caught:White like an egret, moving like nothing else, that’s how rare hides in plain sight. Some birds survive by blending in; this one survives by being unforgettable.#reddishegret #egrets #shorebirds #birdphotography #birds #raw_birds #nuts_about_birds #eye_spy_birds #audobonsociety #best_birds_of_ig #your_best_birds #birdfreaks #planetbirds #bird_lovers #bestbirdshots #canonusa #naturelovers #bird_captures #yourbestbirds #canon_photos #canonphotographer #canonusa #nationalgeographic #natgeo #natgeoyourshot #natgeoyourshot #canonwildlife #canonphotography #birdwatching by @majorgraham41

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8 months ago

A majestic Red-tailed Hawk flies by with its powerful wings outstretched, its sharp eyes revealing a flicker of concern as a tenacious Red-winged blackbird gives chase, a nature’s unyielding spirit.The Red-tailed Hawk, with a wingspan that commands respect, glides with authority. It’s keen eyes, usually locked on distant prey, now shows a moment of unease, sensing the blackbird's relentless determination. The Red-winged Blackbird, with its black plumage and red and yellow shoulders, is a hero. These birds are fierce guardians, especially during nesting season, diving at intruders many times their size to shield their nests. This image is a personal emblem of resilience, showing how life's pursuits, no matter how daunting and demanding, we face them head-on. This bravery blossoms when we protect what's ours, no matter the odds.It inspires me to embrace the chases in my own life, turning moments of concern into triumphs of will.#redtailedhawk #redwingedblackbird #birdphotography #birds #raw_birds #nuts_about_birds #eye_spy_birds #audobonsociety #best_birds_of_ig #your_best_birds #birdfreaks #planetbirds #bird_lovers #bestbirdshots #canonusa #canon #bird_captures #yourbestbirds #canon_photos #canonphotographer #canonusa #nationalgeographic #natgeo #natgeoyourshot #natgeoyourshot #canonwildlife #canonphotography #blackbird #hawk #elite_raptors by @majorgraham41

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9 months ago

The light backlit a burrowing owl, balanced on the top of a desert bush like it was made for it. The sunlight was behind it turning every feather into a rim of light. Backlit, it didn’t look small at all.I’ve always liked birds that don’t try to be impressive, but end up being impressive anyway. That applies to people as well. Some creatures shout their presence; others simply stand in the light and let you discover them. Burrowing owls live in prairie holes and old burrows, of flatlands and open fields. They live in tunnels dug by prairie dogs and ground squirrels. Burrowing owls like to sit up just high enough to scan for insects, lizards, and trouble. And when the sun is behind them, it tells you something else: this bird knows where the light is.They’re unusually day-active. Unlike many owls, burrowing owls hunt and move around in daylight, especially mornings and evenings. That’s why photographers get chances like this.That’s the burrowing owl for me: humble habitat, unusual habits, and in the right light, pure majesty.#burrowingowl #owl #birdphotography #birds_adored #birds #birds_perfection #raw_birds #nuts_about_birds #eye_spy_birds #bird_perfection #audobonsociety #best_birds_of_ig #your_best_birds #birdfreaks #planetbirds #bird_lovers #bestbirdshots #canonusa #canon #bird_captures #yourbestbirds #canon_photos #canonphotographer #canonusa #nationalgeographic #natgeo #natgeoyourshot #natgeoyourshot #canon #canonphotography #canon_photos by @majorgraham41

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9 months ago

I arrived where the cliff folds its cool breath around hidden villages, and the first thing I noticed, after visiting several sites, smoke-kissed ceilings that remember the warmth of meals and stories. Some places don’t ask to be admired; they ask to be understood. The residents measured wealth in water, shade and neighbors.Those who lived here stored food in granaries, which became love letters to the future, sealed with patience, opened by hunger.Mesa Verde isn’t a true mesa at all, but a tilted “cuesta,” a green table set at a subtle angle, about seven degrees so rain and snowmelt can slip through the sandstone, gather on a tight layer of shale, and reappear as life-giving seeps in the cliff face. Cliff dwellings were a late chapter. After six centuries of living on the mesa tops, people moved into these alcoves in the late 1190s and by the late 1200s, the villages were left quiet as families moved on, their descendants among today’s Pueblo peoples. #nationalparks #colorado #adventures #usaroadtrip #landscape_captures #keepexploring #canon_photos #landscape_lovers #ig_masterpiece #canonphotographer #beautifuldestinations #canonusa #nationalgeographic #natgeo #natgeotravel #natgeoyourshot #wander #roamtheplanet #earthfocus #canonphotography #ourplanetdaily #springtime #thegreatoutdoors #natgeoyourshot #canonusa #canonphotography #canon_photos #southwest #raw_landscape #canon by @majorgraham41

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9 months ago