Paul Cory
LightNews LightNews
Paul Cory
@paulcory.bsky.social
630 followers 230 following 400 posts
Photographer, sci-fi and fantasy geek.
Posts Replies Media Videos
Male Northern Shoveler, taken just after he finished shoveling around in the marsh for breakfast at the Ridgefield NWR in Washington State.

#Washington #RidgefieldNWR #artPhotography #photography #NationalWildlifeRefuge #fineArtPhotography #NorthernShoveler #PNW #wildlifePhotography
Male Northern Shoveler, taken just after he finished shoveling around in the marsh for breakfast at the Ridgefield NWR in Washington State. Horizontal color photograph: a colorful male northern shoveler and his reflection in the still waters of the marsh dominate the image. All around home, brown marsh reeds stick out of the water, creating a simple maze for him to navigate as he feeds. He's moving left-to-fight across the frame, looking back over his shoulder in the direction of the camera.
January 23, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Dammit!

A male Ring-necked Duck trying to disentangle himself after diving to munch on some tasty plants in the Ridgefield NWR in Washington State.

#Washington #RidgefieldNWR #artPhotography #photography #NationalWildlifeRefuge #fineArtPhotography #RingNeckedDuck #PNW #wildlifePhotography
Aaauugh! My Breakfast is Fighting Back! Dammit! A male Ring-necked Duck trying to disentangle himself after diving to munch on some tasty plants in the Ridgefield NWR in Washington State. Eventually, the shortness of his legs defeated him, and he just swam around the pond with the offending plant hanging from his bill, hoping the females weren't watching. Horizontal color phot: The duck, white wings, black butt and head, golden eyes and black bill broken by white stripes, is rolled over on its side, vainly attempting to scrape a clinging bit of brown water weed off its bill with a black, webbed foot too short for the last.
January 22, 2026 at 8:47 PM
Northern Harrier on the Hunt

A female northern harrier patrolling the marshes of the Ridgefield NWR in Washington State in search of brunch.

#Washington #RidgefieldNWR #artPhotography #photography #NationalWildlifeRefuge #fineArtPhotography #NorthenHarrier #PNW #wildlifePhotography
A female northern harrier patrolling the marshes of the Ridgefield NWR in Washington State in search of brunch. Never saw these birds out east, so these are new to me. Horizontal color photo: The reddish harrier is flying, wings lifted high. It's in profile to the camera, scanning the marshes below for prey. Its talons are tucked back in tight at the tail. In the background are marsh reeds and trees, heavily blurred by the telephoto lens.
January 21, 2026 at 7:39 PM
American Coot on the hunt in the Ridgefield NWR in Washington State. Despite its fierce mien, it's only a threat to vegetables.

#Washington #RidgefieldNWR #artPhotography #photography #NationalWildlifeRefuge #fineArtPhotography #AmericanCoot #PNW #wildlifePhotography #AnimalArtTuesday
American Coot on the hunt in the Ridgefield NWR in Washington State. Despite its fierce mien, it's only a threat to vegetables. Vertical color photograph: The coot is swimming through still, blue waters, directly towards the camera. Its mirror reflection is visible in the lower half of the image. The ripples of its wake spread beside and behind the bird towards the right side of the frame. The black bird is side lit by the morning sun, throwing its right side in to darkness. The coot's brilliant red left eye grabs your attention, right behind its black-tipped white beak. Some brown marsh reeds are visible in the background.
January 20, 2026 at 6:01 PM
Traffic flows across the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington as Mount Saint Helens looms in the distance. View from Rocky Butte in Portland.

#Oregon #Portland #aroundSunset #artPhotography #photography #Urban #fineArtPhotography #MtStHelens #BlueSkyMonday
Traffic flows across the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington as Mt. St. Helens looms in the distance. View from Rocky Butte in Portland. Vertical color photo: in the foreground car headlights and taillights form streaks of color along the long graceful curve of the I-205 bridge over the Columbia River, visible about 2/5s of the way up into the frame. The traffic leads the eye to the stunted cone of Mount Saint Helens, which is still tall enough to be covered in snow. The sky above the stratovolcano is a lovely blue, with some thin clouds at the very top of the image.
January 19, 2026 at 9:21 PM
Yaquina Head Lighthouse At Sunset

The sun is just about to disappear below the horizon and the seabirds are flying home to roost for the night. From the summer.

#sunset #photography #OregonCoast #YaquinaHead #birds #artPhotography #PacificOcean #pnw #YaquinaHeadLighthouse #lighthouse #Stunday
Yaquina Head Lighthouse At Sunset The sun is just about to disappear below the horizon and the seabirds are flying home to roost for the night. From the summer. Horizontal Color Photo: Atop its rocky cliff jutting into in the Pacific Ocean, The Yaquina Head Lighthouse is lit orange by the very last rays of the setting sunning. The cliffs of Yaquina Head and the sea stacks beyond are almost, but not quite, silhouettes. The birds that dot the orange sky in groups, though are silhouettes. In the foreground, gentle surf rolls in from the ocean, colored by the orange of the sky and sun.
January 18, 2026 at 9:14 PM
Rain Drops on Grass

Sauvie Island Wildlife Area, Oregon - was hunting birds, but got distracted by other things, as I often do.

#naturePhotography #photography #SauvieIsland #Oregon #Raindrops #artPhotography
Square Color Photograph: A green blade of grass, with rain drops glistening like jewels on its surface, comes into the from from the upper right corner and continues diagonally down through the image to exit the bottom just to the right of the left corner. About a third of the way up from the bottom and in from the left side, another blade grass crosses the the subject, and about it, there is a parallel blade : both of these blades are out of focus. In the background, more grass with rain drops, all out of focus.
January 14, 2026 at 7:26 PM
Big Splash, Cape Disappointment State Park, Washington, B&W

This giant splash was caused by an incoming wave hitting a wave rebounding off the cliff face.

#WashingtonState #WashingtonStateParks #artPhotography #photography #PNW #fineArtPhotography #Waves #lighthouse
Horizontal color Photograph: a wave comes rolling in from the lower right corner of the image, coming in diagonally, then arcing back to the center of the image where it explodes into a giant blast of spray where it encounters a the jutting cliff face coming in from the left side of the image (and, unseen, where it crashed into the previous swell rebounding off the taller cliff face along the left edge of the image). Just above the top of the spray, further in the distance, the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse is visible atop its cliff. The water between the wave and the cliff face is frothy white.
January 13, 2026 at 5:49 PM
Big Splash, Cape Disappointment State Park, Washington, B&W

This giant splash was caused by an incoming wave hitting a wave rebounding off the cliff face.

#WashingtonState #WashingtonStateParks #artPhotography #photography #PNW #fineArtPhotography #Waves #CapeDisappointmentStatePark #ClassicMono
Horizontal B&W Photograph: a wave comes rolling in from the lower right corner of the image, coming in diagonally, then arcing back to the center of the image where it explodes into a giant blast of spray where it encounters a the jutting cliff face coming in from the left side of the image (and, unseen, where it crashed into the previous swell rebounding off the taller cliff face along the left edge of the image). Just above the top of the spray, further in the distance, the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse is visible atop its cliff. The water between the wave and the cliff face is frothy white.
January 13, 2026 at 5:48 PM
Who's Next For Dinner?

An American Kestrel - I think (because it's bigger than any kestrel I've seen before ) - surveys the Sauvie Island Wildlife Area outside Portland, Oregon just before sunset.

#naturePhotography #photography #SauvieIsland #Oregon #WildlifePhotography #Kestrel #birdPhotography
An American Kestrel - I think (because it's bigger than any kestrel I've seen before ) - surveys the Sauvie Island Wildlife Area outside Portland, Oregon just before sunset. Vertical Color Phot: The kestrel is perched at the very top of a tree, looking over its left shoulder.
January 13, 2026 at 5:48 AM
I'm Too Sexy for this Field

Great Egret in breeding plumage strutting through Sauvie Island Wildlife Area field outside Portland, Oregon, scanning for prey, predators and potential mates.

#naturePhotography #photography #SauvieIsland #Oregon #WildlifePhotography #GreatEgret #birdPhotography
Great Egret with breeding plumage strutting through a field in the Sauvie Island Wildlife Area outside Portland, Oregon. Vertical Color Photo: The egret is walking through field near the border where grass becomes marsh plants. Its long breeding plumes, aigrettes, are visible on its lower back. Its left leg is lifted, parallel to the ground, with its foot pointed slightly down...caught mid-step. The egret's neck is fully extended as it scans the field for prey, predators, and potential mates, showing off just how long it is.
January 11, 2026 at 4:25 PM
Revenge of the Dinosaurs

A Great Egret consuming a rodent it snatched out of a field in the Sauvie Island Wildlife Area outside Portland, Oregon.

#naturePhotography #photography #SauvieIsland #Oregon #WildlifePhotography #GreatEgret #birdPhotography
A Great Egret consuming a rodent it snatched out of a field in the Sauvie Island Wildlife Area outside Portland, Oregon. Horizontal color photograph: The egret is standing in field near the border where grass becomes marsh plants. Its long breeding plumes, aigrettes, are visible on its lower back. The big bird's neck is bent in an S-Curve, and it's sharp yellow beak is open as it tosses the rodent it's about to swallow to reposition it so it goes down head first. In this instant, the rodent is suspended in mid-air, waiting for the beak to slam shut again.
January 10, 2026 at 6:52 PM
A streetlight glowing in the pre-dawn mists illuminates the walking trail and a bench on the grounds of the Pittock Mansion overlooking Portland, Oregon.

#Oregon #Portland #BWFri #artPhotography #photography #BeforeSunrise #fineArtPhotography #FogandMist #blackandWhitePhotography #ClassicMono
A streetlight glowing in the pre-dawn mists illuminates the walking trail and a bench on the grounds of the Pittock Mansion overlooking Portland, Oregon. Vertical black-and-white photograph: on the left of image, in the foreground, one can make out an old tree silhouetted against the city light int he distance. Branches bared by winter drape down over the asphalt path that threads between the tree to the left and an even larger tree at the right side of the image. Just off the middle of the image, a single streetlight glows in the mist, illuminating the park bench underneath as well as the trail and some bits of the trees. Beyond, the lights of an awakening Portand, Oregon, sparkle softly in the dark.
January 9, 2026 at 4:53 PM
Pittock Mansion in the pre-dawn mists atop the Tualatin Mountains overlooking Portland, Oregon, black-and-white edition.

#Oregon #Portland #cinematic #artPhotography #photography #BeforeSunrise #fineArtPhotography #FogandMist #PittockMansion #blackandWhitePhotography #ClassicMono
Pittock Mansion in the pre-dawn mists atop the Tualatin Mountains overlooking Portland, Oregon. Black-and-White color photograph: In the foreground, a tree silhouetted against the lights of the mansion beyond spreads its twin trunks, with one leading off to the viewers left, into darkness. The other trunk, heads off to the viewer's right, diagonally across the frame, with its graceful branches dangling back down into the scene and obscuring some of the windows beyond. In the background, the lights above the mansion doors glow in the fog, creating a bright halo of light. The windows of mansion shine warm and inviting, as dawn approaches.
January 8, 2026 at 4:47 PM
Pittock Mansion in the pre-dawn mists atop the Tualatin Mountains overlooking Portland, Oregon.

#Oregon #Portland #cinematic #artPhotography #photography #BeforeSunrise #fineArtPhotography #FogandMist #PittockMansion
Pittock Mansion in the pre-dawn mists atop the Tualatin Mountains overlooking Portland, Oregon. Horizontal color photograph: In the foreground, a tree silhouetted against the lights of the mansion beyond spreads its twin trunks, with one leading off to the viewers left, into darkness. The other trunk, heads off to the viewer's right, diagonally across the frame, with its graceful branches dangling back down into the scene and obscuring some of the windows beyond. In the background, the lights above the mansion doors glow in the fog, creating a bright halo of light. The windows of mansion shine warm and inviting, as dawn approaches.
January 8, 2026 at 4:45 PM
Moonset

Almost full moon setting behind a fir tree, Pittock Mansion, Portland, OR.

#Oregon #Portland #blackandWhitePhotography #artPhotography #photography #Moonset #fineArtPhotography #Moon #ClassicMono
Almost full moon setting behind a fir tree, Pittock Mansion, Portland, OR. Horizontal Black-abd-White phot: in the foreground, the blurry silhouette of the branches of a huge fir tree. Nestled in between two upthrust branches is the almost full moon, surrounded by a halo of light thanks to the light mist in the air.
January 7, 2026 at 4:57 PM
Sparkling in the Winter Dark

Portland, Oregon, sparkling as it awakens before the sunrise. Shot from the Pittock Mansion west of downtown.

#Oregon #Portland #beforeTheSunrise #artPhotography #photography #Urban #fineArtPhotography #dramaticSky #worthGettingOutofBedEarly
Portland, Oregon, sparkling as it awakens before the sunrise. Shot from the Pittock Mansion west of downtown.Horizontal color photo: Along the bottom of the frame, the tree line of the Tualatin Mountains is broken by occasional street and house lights. About a third of the way into the frame, downtown Portland becomes visible, glowing with lights everywhere as the city awakens and folks start their morning commutes. Above the city, veins of rich blue sky are visible around the thick, looming low clouds. From the right side of the frame, a fog bank is rolling into the darker areas of the city east of downtown.
January 6, 2026 at 4:49 PM
Brown Creeper

Went out to Sauvie Island Wildlife Area to test some lenses and cameras, and scored a new-to-me bird (a lifer?) with an unfortunate name.

#naturePhotography #photography #SauvieIsland #Oregon #WildlifePhotography #BrownCreeper #birdPhotography
A Brown Creeper pauses during its hunt for food on a moss covered tree branch. Vertical color photo: The bird is perched on the branch facing upwards. It has a thin, curved beak, brown feathers with touches of white on its wings and back, a white chest and belly, and white streak above its eyes.
January 5, 2026 at 5:56 PM
Multnomah Falls in Full Roar

Multnomah Falls thundering in full roar after heavy rains. As winter deepens its grip, I'm hoping to be able to visit during a snow.

#Oregon #MultnomahFalls #artPhotography #photography #Waterfall #fineArtPhotography #Winter #ColumbiaRiverGorge
Multnomah Falls thundering in full roar after heavy rains. Vertical Color Image: At the top of the image, barely left of the image midline, the upper fall plunges over the edge of a misty, tree-line cliff. To the viewer's right, a secondary, seasonal, waterfall is distinctly visible. In the middle of the image, flanked by giant trees, is the steel Multnomah Falls Bridge, with a solitary person in a yellow rain jacket on it, looking at the upper falls. The broader, shorter, lower fall crashes down the next moss-covered cliff face into the plunge pool below.
January 4, 2026 at 5:04 PM
All This Rain is Your Species Fault, You Know

Judgmental Robin looking down at me in the dog park just outside the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Washington State during an atmospheric river.

#Washington #artPhotography #photography #fineArtPhotography #Robin #PNW #wildlifePhotography
Judgmental Robin looking down at me in the dog park just outside the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Washington State during an atmospheric river. Horizontal color photograph: a branch comes into the frame from he lower left corner and crosses the image to exit at the middle right side. The robin sits about midway along the branch, head tilted to the side as it looks at me. It's framed twigs to the left and right of it. It has a yellow beak, black head with black eyes framed by a thing circle of white feathers, black wings and tail, red chest and belly, and a white butt. Another tree is blearily visible in the background.
January 3, 2026 at 4:19 PM
Hunter's Eyes

I went to the Sauvie Island Wildlife Area to test some lenses and cameras. Turns out I wasn't the only one hunting birds that day.

#naturePhotography #photography #SauvieIsland #Oregon #catPhotography #BlackCat
Horizontal color photo: close up of the face of a black cat interrupted while stalking small birds in the Sauvie Island Wildlife Area. The flat-ish face of the cat is visible from just below the chin to the start of the ears. It has bright yellow eyes with vertical slit pupils.
January 2, 2026 at 6:23 PM
I Got Something Say!

Male Red-winged Blackbird telling everybody all about it on a winter morning in the Ridgefield NWR in Washington State.

#Washington #RidgefieldNWR #artPhotography #photography #NationalWildlifeRefuge #fineArtPhotography #RedWingedBlackbird #PNW #wildlifePhotography
Male Red-winged Blackbird telling everybody all about it on a winter morning in the Ridgefield NWR in Washington State. Horizontal Color Photo: The setting is a field of brown marsh grass. The bird is perched on a couple of bent over grass blades, about a third of the way in from the left edge of the gram and with its feet just about at the vertical midpoint of the frame. The bird is facing left-to-right, with its beak wide open as it sings amidst the rain drops falling through the image. The bird is black, except for the orange and yellow highlights on its shoulder.
January 1, 2026 at 6:25 PM
Time for these Ducks to Fly!

Ducks (Common Goldeneye?) take off from a canal in the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Washington State.

#Washington #RidgefieldNWR #artPhotography #photography #NationalWildlifeRefuge #fineArtPhotography #Ducks #PNW #wildlifePhotography
Time for these Ducks to Fly! Ducks (Common Goldeneye?) take off from a canal in the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Washington State. Horizontal color photo: In the foreground, a duck seems to be racing along the top of the water as it takes off, one leg lifted high, flinging off water droplets, and the other foot just touching the surface of the water. Its wings are on a downward flap. It has a brown head and black bill, with a white patch on its cheek between the bill and it yellow eye. The wing feathers are black at the leading edge, but right about the elbow, they shift to white. The duck has a white belly and gray back. In the background, a similarly colored duck, except it's missing the white cheek patch, is erupting from the water as it starts its lift off, wings throwing up columns of water. The water is golden with the reflections of winter marsh grasses and you can see the birds' reflections mirroring them in the water's surface.
January 1, 2026 at 5:33 PM
The final sunrise of 2025., Take 2.

The view is from Joseph Wood Hill Park atop Rocky Butte in Portland, Oregon.

#Oregon #Portland #artPhotography #photography #PNW #fineArtPhotography #MountHood #Sunrise
The final sunrise of 2025, viewed from Joseph Wood Hill Park atop Rocky Butte in Portland, Oregon. Horizontal color photograph: the snow-capped Mount Hood looms over the outskirts of Portland and the less Cascade Mountains around it. It is about a third of the way in from the left of the image, and its peak is about a third of the way up from the bottom of the image. Above the stratovolcano, the clouds clouds glow with the red-orange light of pre-sunrise, eventually, towards the very top of the image, transition to more purples and blues. Below Mount Hood, you can see glimpses of the forest and homes.
December 31, 2025 at 7:30 PM
The final sunrise of 2025.

The view is from Joseph Wood Hill Park atop Rocky Butte in Portland, Oregon.

#Oregon #Portland #artPhotography #photography #PNW #fineArtPhotography #MountHood #Sunrise
The final sunrise of 2025, viewed from Joseph Wood Hill Park atop Rocky Butte in Portland, Oregon. Vertical color photograph: Twin evergreen trees are silhouetted against the snow-capped Mount Hood and red-orange clouds of the pre-sunrise beyond. The trees are to the left and right of the image, and Mount Hood rises between them to just below the midpoint of the image. Below Mount Hood, you can see glimpses of the forest and homes in the valley below.
December 31, 2025 at 7:25 PM