by Kevin Shank | Dec 1, 2023 | 2023, 12 December, Articles & Stories, Study Guide, The Photo Focus
View the December 2023 Nature Friend Study Guide When I first opened my copy of Sky Crystals, by Don Komarechka, I was struck by the beauty of the snowflakes, and Mr. Komarechka’s ability to capture that beauty photographically. Furthermore, I was impressed by the...
by Kevin Shank | Dec 1, 2023 | 2023, 12 December, Birds, Chickadees & Titmice, Favorite Focus, Gamebirds, Hawks, Eagles, & Kites, Study Guide, The Photo Focus
View the December 2023 Nature Friend Study Guide Ruffed Grouse. Photo © Lois Tschetter. Bald Eagle. Photo © Brandon Hollinger. Black-capped Chickadee. Photo © John Leck. Blanca Lake. Photo © Nathan Leinbach. Frost patterns on soap bubble. Photo © Rosalie M....
by Kevin Shank | Nov 1, 2023 | 2023, 11 November, Birds, Creation Close-ups, Deer and Antelope, Mammals, Owls, Plants & Fungi, Wildflowers
View the November 2023 Nature Friend Magazine
by Kevin Shank | Oct 1, 2023 | 2023, 10 October, Astronomy, Birds, Dragonflies & Damselflies, Favorite Focus, Insects & Arachnids, Moon, Nuthatches, Plants & Fungi, The Photo Focus, Wildflowers
View the October 2023 Nature Friend Study Guide
by Kevin Shank | Oct 1, 2023 | 2023, 10 October, Focus Illustrated, Study Guide, The Photo Focus
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by Kevin Shank | Sep 1, 2023 | 2023, 09 September, Articles & Stories, Study Guide, The Photo Focus
View the August 2023 Nature Friend Study Guide Lightning flickered in the west. Invisible waves of wind rocked the treetops. Would it rain? The dry ground could use it.“If there is a storm tonight, I might leave when it is over and go to Salt Fork,” Steven...
by Kevin Shank | Sep 1, 2023 | 2023, 09 September, Bears, Birds, Butterflies, Moths & Skippers, Favorite Focus, Flycatchers, Focus Illustrated, Hummingbirds, Insects & Arachnids, Mammals, Study Guide, The Photo Focus, Warblers
View the August 2023 Nature Friend Study Guide
by Kevin Shank | Aug 1, 2023 | 2023, 08 August, Articles & Stories, Birds, Hummingbirds, Study Guide, The Photo Focus
View the August 2023 Nature Friend Study Guide Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Photo © Kevin Shank. When my wife and I moved into our home in the foothills of the Shenandoah Mountains, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds soon became regular visitors to our feeders. Both Bethany and...
by Kevin Shank | Aug 1, 2023 | 2023, 08 August, Birds, Focus Illustrated, Study Guide, The Photo Focus
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by Steven Smith | Jul 1, 2023 | 2023, 07 July, Astronomy, Galaxies, Study Guide, The Photo Focus
View the July 2023 Nature Friend Study Guide There are few things more beautiful than a breathtaking landscape or nightscape—especially one that includes the Lord’s incredible Milky Way! A panorama enhances everything we love about landscapes, because panoramas show...
by Kevin Shank | Jul 1, 2023 | 2023, 07 July, Astronomy, Auroras, Beetles, Favorite Focus, Insects & Arachnids, Study Guide, The Photo Focus
View the July 2023 Nature Friend Study Guide Northern lights as seen in Kansas. Photo © Thaddeaus Magley. Fireflies. Photo © Steven Russell Smith. It looks to me like Steven Russel Smith’s creative juices were working overtime again. Let this picture sink in; then see...
by Kevin Shank | Jun 1, 2023 | 2023, 06 June Readers' Issue, Articles & Stories, Beetles, Focus Illustrated, Insects & Arachnids, Study Guide, The Photo Focus
View the June 2023 Nature Friend Study Guide I took this HDR panorama just after sundown at a field with a beautiful mixture of Indian paintbrushes and Texas Bluebonnets. I used six individual HDRs and Affinity Photo to make this final panorama. This photo illustrates...
by Kevin Shank | Jun 1, 2023 | 2023, 06 June Readers' Issue, Birds, Blackbirds, Orioles, Meadowlarks, Butterflies, Moths & Skippers, Favorite Focus, Hawks, Eagles, & Kites, Insects & Arachnids, Study Guide, The Photo Focus
View the June 2023 Nature Friend Study Guide Bald Eagle nest. Photo © Melody Burkholder. Scott’s Oriole. Photo © Katherine Hawk. A clouded sulphur butterfly visits a prairie verbena. Photo © Matthew Dzhalovskiy.
by Timothy Waldner | Jun 1, 2023 | 2023, 06 June Readers' Issue, Articles & Stories, Plants & Fungi, Study Guide, The Photo Focus
View the June 2023 Nature Friend Study Guide Photo © Timothy Waldner. My sister is so sweet! She gave me a flower—one flower—but she had a special reason. In the summer, when I see a beautiful photo, that just makes me go and take photos myself. I probably can be...
by Kevin Shank | Apr 3, 2023 | 2023, 04 April, Birds, Crows, Jays, & Magpies, Focus Illustrated, Study Guide, The Photo Focus
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by John Friesen | Apr 3, 2023 | 2023, 04 April, Articles & Stories, Study Guide, The Photo Focus
View the April 2023 Nature Friend Study Guide Palouse Falls in Washington. Photo © John Friesen. There are a variety of aspect ratios used to display photographs and paintings. Some aspect ratios are fairly standard, like 1:1, 5:4, or 4:3. To understand aspect ratios,...
by Anna Boggs, Rural Retreat, VA | Mar 1, 2023 | 2023, 03 March, Articles & Stories, Study Guide, The Photo Focus
Photographing Water Splashes with Minimal Equipment View the March 2023 Nature Friend Study Guide Water droplets. Photo © Anna Boggs. Utterly bored, I stared out at the blinding snow until my eyes began to ache. What was I going to do with myself? At sixteen and a...
by Kevin Shank | Mar 1, 2023 | 2023, 03 March, Answer Key, Astronomy, Birds, Chickadees & Titmice, Favorite Focus, Gamebirds, Nebulas, Study Guide, The Photo Focus
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by Kevin Shank | Feb 1, 2023 | 2023, 02 February, Articles & Stories, Birds, Finches, Crossbills, & Grosbeaks, Sparrows, Study Guide, The Photo Focus, Warblers
View the February 2023 Nature Friend Study Guide MacGillivray’s Warbler. Photo © Kevin Shank. You may remember “The Photo Focus” in January ended with the sentence, “Plus, there is tomorrow.” Well, that was today. When I wrote that, I just thought it was the...
by Kevin Shank | Jan 1, 2023 | 2023, 01 January, Birds, Focus Illustrated, Study Guide, The Photo Focus, Woodpeckers
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by Kevin Shank | Jan 1, 2023 | 2023, 01 January, Articles & Stories, Birds, Study Guide, The Photo Focus, Warblers
View the January Nature Friend Study Guide This is the result from my first effort. The camera was handheld. Photo © Kevin Shank. “The bird must be here,” I stated to the family as we approached the parking lot of Lake Shenandoah. Birders with cameras and binoculars...
by Kevin Shank | Dec 1, 2022 | 2022, 12 December, Birds, Cardinals, Tanagers, & Allies, Focus Illustrated, Study Guide, The Photo Focus
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by Austin Vinar | Dec 1, 2022 | 2022, 12 December, Articles & Stories, Birds, Finches, Crossbills, & Grosbeaks, Nuthatches, Sparrows, Study Guide, The Photo Focus, Woodpeckers
View the December Nature Friend Study Guide Chipping Sparrow. Photo © Austin Vinar. When trying to photograph skittish birds at my feeder, I’ve often thought, Wouldn’t it be nice to have a trail camera that takes good bird photos…. But, knowing that a camera like that...
by Morris Yoder | Nov 1, 2022 | 2022, 11 November, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Planets, Study Guide, Sun, The Photo Focus
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by Kevin Shank | Nov 1, 2022 | 2022, 11 November, Answer Key, Astronomy, Focus Illustrated, Study Guide, Sun, The Photo Focus
View the November 2022 Nature Friend Study Guide
by Kevin Shank | Oct 1, 2022 | 2022, 10 October Bonus Readers' Issue, Articles & Stories, Birds, Owls, Study Guide, The Photo Focus
Box? Did you say box? The large owl was sitting on a branch, silhouetted against a gorgeous sunset of orange and reds. The branch he was on, the trunk he was beside, were flawless—splendid props for this photo that was only etched in my imagination.How can a person...
by Kevin Shank | Oct 1, 2022 | 2022, 10 October Bonus Readers' Issue, Birds, Falcons & Caracaras, Focus Illustrated, Mammals, Study Guide, The Photo Focus, Vireos, Waxwings
by Kevin Shank | Sep 29, 2022 | 2022, 10 October Bonus Readers' Issue, Articles & Stories, Birds, Favorite Focus, Nuthatches, Study Guide, The Photo Focus, Waterfowl - Geese, Swans, Ducks, Loons, Grebes
by Steven Smith | Aug 1, 2022 | 2022, 08 August, Articles & Stories, Butterflies, Moths & Skippers, Insects & Arachnids, Study Guide, The Photo Focus
Meadow fritillaries and Queen Anne’s lace. Photo © Steven Russell Smith. If you are like me, butterflies were the inspiration and springboard for your pursuit of serious photography. Through the years, we have all captured some amazing portraits of these...
by Kevin Shank | Aug 1, 2022 | 2022, 08 August, Birds, Favorite Focus, Hawks, Eagles, & Kites, Insects & Arachnids, Study Guide, The Photo Focus
