Views of the natural environment and climate change

IUCN Redlist: Osprey–Least Concern, global population is increasing Great Blue Heron: North American population 124k, rebounded over past 100 years with no current conservation concerns. IUCN: LC–Bufflehead Ducks. The species is undergoing a large increase (Partners in Flight 2020). Over the past three generations (18 years; Bird et al. 2020) the rate of increase equated to 88%, although it is noted that there is some data deficiency for the species (Pardieck et al. 2018). I will soon be sending posts via MailPoet. So rather than you receiving a typical email, you will receive a more attractive cover design announcing my new posts. Unfortunately, MailPoet will only send posts to people on my subscriber list. For those of you receiving links to my posts on social media (Mastodon.social, Bluesky, Tumblr, or LinkedIn) just enter your email address in the “subscribe” field located below this post. Readers always have the option to unsubscribe. For those of you currently on my subscriber list you don’t have to do anything. And once again, send me comments. They can be positive or constructively critical, or just about your experience relative to a post. Look for the light -Steve

Over the past two years I have experimented with both Squarespace and SmugMug for hosting my online gallery and selling prints and other items. Although both sites offer great design themes and handle all the administrative work involving production, shipping, and recording all financial information, my sales have been, well let’s say, dismal. The high cost of these sites is not justified for low volume.

Portland, ME I recently went for a photo walk on the Eastern Promenade Trail along Casco Bay. The pleasure boats are mostly in dry dock while the super- and mega yachts have sailed for warmer waters. That leaves the fishing and lobster boats, along with barges, freighters, and other commercial traffic cruising the Fore River in and out of Casco Bay.

It was a blustery day at 35F with the wind NE @ 13 MPH. I was bundled up but my finger tips started getting numb after about 25 minutes handling the camera. To my way of thinking Popham Beach is Maine’s most picturesque beach at low tide. You can see this is the above photo. It has extensive, continuously changing sandbars more than any other beach, and you can wade out to the nearby islands.

Connecticut Nearly everyone photographs in color. Just look at the photos on most people’s smartphones, and Facebook and Instagram accounts. This might be partly due to color being the default setting on smartphones. Of course, color is great when in fact it is the main attraction such as with sunrises, sunsets, sports, fall foliage, nighttime cityscapes, etcetera. Alternatively, black and white is the preferred medium for most abstracts, fine art photographs, and some portraits where color is a distraction.

Here's another one of the usual suspects, eating seeds from the remaining pumpkins in the patch. Like deer, there is no shortage of these animals that live very well among humans. I was out this day, hoping for the return of a red-tailed hawk that frequents the area. Unfortunately for me, the bird always seems to appear when I'm away or without my camera.

As many of you know, deer are all over, and their population is growing. They eat just about anything, except ferns. Some communities recruit bow hunters to cull the herds, and the meat is donated to food pantries. The IUCN Red List lists them as of least concern. I photographed a group of five one morning with my 600mm lens.

Related to the crow family, these birds are smart and aggressive. They also do well living near humans. The IUCN Redlist designates them as LC. The population trend appears to be stable and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (over 30% decline over ten years or three generations). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

The good news is that the climate is warming at a slower pace than originally projected in 2015 thanks to green energy efforts around the globe. The bad news is that the climate continues to warm, though at a slower pace. This still spells drastic effects on us and our environment. Follow all the latest meeting events at COP30 news.

Popham Beach State Park Several lunar lovers turned out on October 6, 2025 to pay homage to the supermoon. So just what constitutes a supermoon? According to NASA, “A supermoon occurs when a full Moon coincides with the Moon’s closest approach to Earth in its elliptical orbit, a point known as perigee.” As a bonus, this occurred during low-tide when the extensive sandbars of Popham State Beach are exposed at their photographic best and the pre-sunset light featured yellow and red highlights.

I’ve spent a good portion of my adult life studying social theory and teaching students how we are both constrained by society while collectively changing it over time. Of course, some people have more influence in changing society and than others, but let’s save that for another time. You can certainly call me a liberal, because that’s where the vast majority of social science study findings led me. This site is my effort, through photographs, to raise awareness of climate change and its effects on the environment. Hundreds of studies have documented that climate changes is caused by us, even though some choose not to believe this. But there’s another side of me that some might call daring or even reckless. I’ve always liked speed. My absolute favorite track event in high school was the 100 yard sprint. I had to learn how to explode off the blocks precisely at the sound of the gun, then stay low for a second or two to minimize drag until I reached full speed at which point I was going so fast my feet barely had time to reach the ground to keep propelling me (one needs track spikes to maintain traction). My best times were 10.4 seconds, the county record was 10.0. Then there were cars. A friend of my family owned a GTO running a 389 engine with triple 2-barrel carburetors (360 HP). He occasionally let me borrow it. Well, how fast would it go? The answer, 135 MPH on a straight, lightly traveled road in Westport, Massachusetts. Dave Braitsch photo There were also airplanes. The most exhilarating phase of flight for me was departure because that’s the only time that you have a sense of speed. I co-owned a Piper Arrow which is a retractable gear airplane that had a three-bladed propeller. I loved lining it up on the runway, applying the brakes, then spooling up to full power, checking power instruments in the green, releasing the brakes and being pressed against the seat-back, rotating (lifting the nose) at 70 knots, and climbing out at 1,000 feet per minute with the ground falling away—wow! But once airborne there’s little sense of speed, even on commercial jets, as you likely know. Then in my later years I’m cycling—occasionally sprinting on the flats at 25 MPH, going downhills at 40+ MPH. Uh, it’s pretty fast on a bike. Thunderbirds Ah, but then are the jet jockeys, you know, fighter pilots. They ride like the one-eyed Jack of Diamonds with the devil close behind. They are gifted with athletic bodies and ultra-fast brain processing enabling them to do all those airshow and attack maneuvers. When you see them doing 90 degree banks in tight turns they are pulling about 9Gs (that’s 9 times their weight); their internal organs are even temporarily relocated. Here’s the Highwaymen singing Silver Stallion. -Look for the light

Early Fall Boats gradually disappear as temperatures lower, heralding the coming of winter. Yet fall is perhaps the best time of the year with its colors (though less so this year), fewer bugs, and temperatures that encourage hiking, cycling, and other outdoor activities. Look for the light -Steve If you like my photos, please forward this post’s link to family and friends.

Rockland Harbor, ME Popham State Beach, ME Odyssey Want to learn more about what is judged to be a good photograph? Well, for those of you in the Lynn Massachusetts area on Saturday October 18, 2025 the NECCC will be judging photographs from 11:00 to 2:00 PM, and the public is invited. I have the two photos, above, submitted via the…

Flooded pier during a monthly king tide. I recently changed the home page photo in my SmugMug gallery showing the Aurora Borealis with this one of Portland Pier during a king tide in January 2022 to make the case about the effects of climate change. Casco Bay floods several piers and portions of Commercial Street about once a month, due to sea-level rise.

Digital downloads

This short video took me several hours over several days to produce using Shotcut software. It is free, has excellent reviews, and provides nearly as many options as the paid version. Its major downfall is that it requires a long learning curve. Since it has been awhile since I've used it I had to relearn many of its functions. In any event, …

This, in addition to a 30% discount on prints, and 15% on coffee mugs and other keepsakes, using coupon codes! Help support my work in raising consciousness about the effects of climate change on our environment. Go to www.StephenFieldingImages.org.

Look up at the night sky and you will see more of our environment, in this case, the nearest and brightest stars, including our Milky Way galaxy. The photo, above, is a 10 shot composite taken at ISO 4000, 15" @ f/2.8 at about 10:30 PM on August 30, 2025. I processed those photos in Sequator to reduce sky noise.

Summer is really not the best time for nature photography. Sunset is too late, sunrise is too early, it is often too hot, mid-day shadows are short, and many birds are hidden in foliage and less active as they prepare for migration. So what’s a nature photographer to do? How about shooting in black and white with the approach of bad weather?

Although many global efforts are moving us towards sustainable energy, our overall burning of fossil fuels continues to pump GHGs into the atmosphere.

As it so often happens, life got in the way, so I have not been getting out much with my camera lately. However, I have managed to spend some time reorganizing my galleries, removing some photos, and adding others. So take a look and see what you think. I will be getting out more soon and posting new photographs.

Wood's Rose This week is a review of some of my macro photos of these two life forms. You will find my gallery, here. If you like my photos, please forward this post’s link to family and friends. Also, please send me any comments about my photos, including any corrections or criticism. I would add that in addition to offering table and wall prints, my photographs can also be applied to coffee mugs and a range of other accessories.