shades of gray

Except for the rich colors that streaked across the sky before the sunrise got swallowed up by the thick bank of clouds just above the horizon, this morning’s adventure was framed in shades of gray.

I made a quick trip up the hill to a vantage point followed by a quick trip down the hill to the lake.  There were two white pelicans on the water but a few minutes later, three more pelicans dropped in, swooping slowly overhead and gracefully landing in the water.   Unlike the smaller Canada geese, these big birds set down in a slow, quiet and graceful manner.  They circle first before landing as if carefully selecting their place in the lake.

White pelicans move through the water rather rapidly, constantly looking down for food.  I kept trying to get close to where they were, only to find myself on the opposite side of the lake most of the time.  Finally, I sat on a rock close to where they seemed to do a lot of fishing.  It was still too far away to get good photos but close enough to have a great view of them diving and eating.  After a couple of day’s closely observing waterfowl, I am definitely saving for a telephoto lens.

My photos all turned out looking almost as if I had used black and white film.  It was early and overcast and rather dark – but still a great start to the day.  We get more than enough sunny days here in Colorado.  I treasure the cloudy ones!