What Animals Think 2022 Calendar
To order this calendar contact me at raineyroost66@gmail.com or through the contact page. $20 each.
I live in a wildlife blind. From my rocking chair I look through three tall windows into a back yard that is teeming with life. A hawk snatched a sparrow four feet from my eyes. Birds feed their young. Raccoons scavenge with babies. There are sheep, deer, chickens, newts, lizards, snakes, frogs, ravens, dragonflies… These windows are like a big screen TV tuned to the nature channel. There is always movement; it is ever changing.
All but one of these photographs was shot within 50 feet of my back door. Nine were taken through the windows in front of my chair. I didn’t go out to find the pictures, they came to me. My job was to watch. With the camera handy and clean windows, I waited. Animals came and posed. Backgrounds changed with the seasons and light. The variety of landscapes and textures and creatures, all within a stone’s throw of my back door, is magical.
Living closely with nature gives me insights into what animals are likely thinking and saying. Focusing on a subject with my camera triggers a flash of understanding, like an epiphany. For those few seconds of concentration I am able to read its thoughts and speech. When the shutter snaps, the spell is broken.
Of course, something may be lost in the translation.
Jay Rainey
British Columbia, Canada
All but one of these photographs was shot within 50 feet of my back door. Nine were taken through the windows in front of my chair. I didn’t go out to find the pictures, they came to me. My job was to watch. With the camera handy and clean windows, I waited. Animals came and posed. Backgrounds changed with the seasons and light. The variety of landscapes and textures and creatures, all within a stone’s throw of my back door, is magical.
Living closely with nature gives me insights into what animals are likely thinking and saying. Focusing on a subject with my camera triggers a flash of understanding, like an epiphany. For those few seconds of concentration I am able to read its thoughts and speech. When the shutter snaps, the spell is broken.
Of course, something may be lost in the translation.
Jay Rainey
British Columbia, Canada