Images that place 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd or receive 30 points in regular competitions were eligible for the “Image of the Year” competition judging conducted by Deb Boucher and Jim West. The PSRI Images of the Year for the 2024-2025 season are presented here. Congratulations to our winners.

Springtime. This is the time that you can learn and appreciate how wonderful nature is. As the seasons change, temperatures outside become warmer, and the daylight hours become longer. It is a time to awaken our senses and inspire us to venture outside and appreciate the growth, renewal and transformation of what nature has to offer.

Spring is a time of renewal for birds, animals, trees, plants, flowers, and other things in nature. Birds return from their winter migration and animals emerge from hibernation.

During this renewal period birds and animals instinctively exhibit behavior that can be developed by genetic and environmental influences. They begin with mating rituals, nest or den building and then nurturing, feeding, and protecting their young. There are species that share the responsibility, while another parent may be required to manage and conquer this on their own. It is an amazing time and a joy to observe.

I guess I could be known as a wanderer, because that is exactly what I do when I venture out. Sometimes there are exact destinations planned and other times it is time to explore different areas. Ninety percent of my travels remain in the New England area. I search for water in new areas by utilizing the car’s GPS. Small ponds are best or marshes and breachways. Unbelievably, even puddles after a storm can lend itself to a new “bathtub” for some birds and wildlife. It all depends on the subject I am interested in seeing and photographing. There are many factors that come into play, as we all know. The time, tides, wind, sunshine, clouds, temperature, light, and more, such as a “sleeping subject” can really change how your day goes.

The renewal period is really something worthwhile to observe and learn about. Become one with nature, meaning sit or get low and quietly wait. Observe their behavior and the dynamics of the scene. The subjects you see have a story of their own that prompts you to do further research and educate yourself as to what, why and how of your observations. Photographing various aspects of the renewal period provides me with the ability to revisit wonderful moments and share my experiences with others. The photographs included in this article hopefully evoke an emotion and tell a story of nurturing and how remarkable nature really is.

The parents of all species ensure the growth and development of their youth. It is essential that they forage for food, teach their young nest building, hunting, and protecting themselves to survive. The parents of all species invest many hours searching for enough food to sustain them.

Some species, like the pileated woodpecker, return to a nest and regurgitates the food they have just gathered. This not only nourishes their young, but also facilitates the bonding with them.

A fox mom may return from hunting to provide nourishment to the kits. The kits sense her return, they run to her and begin to nurse. Moments later, she is off to hunt again, and the kits retreat to a safe place.

A least tern mom keeps her babies warm and blocks wind and sand. Dad is out looking for fish and should return soon with nourishment.

A female wood duck has her “hands full” keeping her ten babies safe. This pond has a large number of noticeably big snapping turtles. Sad to say there were eleven babies earlier in the day.

Osprey chicks are hungry and there is a huge fish to satisfy them. They all want to eat, but mom knows whose turn it is. One parent feeds the chicks, and the other is out looking for more fish.

Tree swallows can hover while they feed their babies a dragonfly. The babies then retreat into the hole and the parent is off to find more food. They will soon know when the parent returns and will peek out with their mouths wide open.

So, now is the time to plan new adventures and hopefully be able to observe some won­derful moments in nature. Enjoy, and be safe.

On Saturday, September 17th, a group of PSRI photographers converged on The Dahlia Patch, a beautiful Dahlia garden in West Greenwich. The flowers were in full bloom and all different sizes and colors. Rick Boucher had organized the meet-up and Joyce Boucher had arranged for a co-branding with the garden, which means, in simple terms,that they will help us promote PSRI and we will help promote them. Rick had also prepared a scavenger hunt to help us find different things to photograph. (No prizes were given though).

The Dahlia flowers weren’t the only attraction. There was a zinnia patch full of colorful flowers as well, and those flowers were visited by hummingbirds, butterflies, bees by the dozens, and even a praying mantis. The hummingbirds were the biggest attraction and because they were filling up before their long migration , they paid little attention to us photographers. Some even landed within a foot or two of us, too close even for our lenses to focus.

After the photo frenzy, we all retired to the Leyden Winery next to the garden and sampled some of their wines. Most had collected a Groupon so they would receive a discount on their purchases. Some people brought picnic lunches , some brought cheese, salami and crackers for snacks.

The cost of the day was minimal ($5) to enter the garden. There were bouquets of Dahlias to purchase or you could pick your own for a fee. The wines, as I said, were at a discount if you had a Groupon. It was a lovely day to be outside with our group and I hope we can do the same next year.

This FREE week long event includes 40 presentations by 20 of the leading best-selling authors, Adobe MAX Masters, Adobe Certified Instructors, and members of the Photoshop Hall of Fame.

For those that are new to Photoshop (PS), or are considering adding PS to your arsenal of editing software, there is a FREE Beginners Mini-Course offered the week of October 22 – 28th. Once the course is available, you’ll get a link to the free beginner videos that will be available to watch (as often as you want) during that week.

Learn more about the The Photoshop Virtual Summit 5 and get your FREE pass to the event.

Images that place 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd or receive 30 points in regular competitions were eligible for the “Image of the Year” competition held on 6 June 2023. The PSRI Images of the Year for the 2022-2023 season are presented here. Congratulations to our winners.