New Beginnings

Two juvenile Pied-billed Grebes look after each other on one of the ponds at Papago Park in Phoenix, Arizona. They are almost on their own now and their coloring will change by the time they are adults.  But, even at this size, they still try to hitch a ride on their mother's back.

Prints available HERE

Published: Bird Image of the Day

Wow! What a great honor to be the Featured BIRD IMAGE OF THE DAY on Nature Photography | Wildlife Photography on Facebook. Thank you so much Nathaniel Smalley! Membership count in that Facebook group is over 29,000! 

May 30, 2015

BIRD IMAGE OF THE DAY by Tam Ryan

Published May 29, 2015 - Friday Fotos

This week in the Arizona Highways Magazine blog, my photo of Lockett Meadow was published in this week's Friday Fotos.

This was the height of the fall season up in Flagstaff.  I accompanied my photographer friend, Vince, who offered to do the driving with his four-wheel drive vehicle.  It was quite an experience traveling the backroads to get up there and an experience that I will never forget.

Lockett Meadow

October 9, 2014

Published May 22, 2015: Friday Fotos

Every week for Friday Fotos on the Arizona Highways Magazine's blog, I try to participate with the theme of the week.   Friday, May 22, 2015 was a Water theme: "Good to the Last Drop."

 Snowy Egret

Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch

Gilbert, Arizona

This image link on Arizona Highways is HERE

Bird Photography

“Sometimes I think that the point of birdwatching is not the actual seeing of the birds, but the cultivation of patience. Of course, each time we set out, there's a certain amount of expectation we'll see something, maybe even a species we've never seen before, and that it will fill us with light. But even if we don't see anything remarkable - and sometimes that happens - we come home filled with light anyway.”  ― Lynn Thomson, Birding with Yeats: A Memoir

Most of these birds were from Gilbert Water Ranch in Gilbert, Arizona.  The Barn Owl was from the Raptor Free Flight Demonstration at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson, Arizona.  The set of three images of Sandhill Cranes were from Whitewater Draw south of Tucson, Arizona.

Black Necked Stilts

Green Heron

Ring-necked Ducks

Ring-necked Duck

American Avocet

Kingfisher

Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron

Northern Shoveler

Verdin

Male Ruddy Duck

Pied-billed Grebe

Female Hooded Merganser

Great Egret

Anna's Hummingbird

Sandhill Cranes

Sandhill Cranes

Sandhill Cranes

Adult and Juvenile Harris Hawk

Barn Owl

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

Published in Friday Fotos: Arizona Highways Magazine's Blog

Published image - March 6, 2015 Friday Fotos: Arizona Highways Magazine's Blog

Theme:  Flower Power

This image was taken on March 31, 2014  along State Rt. 87

To see other images that were published in 2015 for Friday Fotos, please visit my link on Facebook at this link:
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10204346016862817.1073741866.1001572453&type=1&l=fb0c759e18

March 1, 2015 Photo of the Week: Old MASTERS - PHOTOGRAPHERS and DIGITAL ARTS

I am so thrilled and honored! This image below and three other images of mine are in Featured Artist of the Week on Fine Art America in the group called "Old MASTERS - PHOTOGRAPHERS and DIGITAL ARTS". This group is for artists/photographers over the age of sixty. The page administrator, Lenore Senior, wrote this in comments: "CONGRATULATIONS, Tam!~You are the Featured Artist of the Week in the group, Old MASTERS--Photographers and Digital Arts! Your work is consistently excellent and appealing!! v/f and FB promotion!"

I traveled with four other photographer friends to visit this amazing wildlife area for water birds. It was a first time visit for all of us. We were in awe of the Sandhill Cranes and their graceful beauty as they flew by in pairs and groups. This is a color photo. But, due to the complete overcast of that day, this appears as monochrome, almost black and white. I love the mood it gives to the image. I had several images similar to this to choose from. But, this one, with the spacing of each bird and the multiple water reflections from their wings just spoke to me.

Some of the comments on my Facebook post about this image were very encouraging! It is so nice to know that some of my images affect others in a positive way, just as they do for me.

I have had three weeks to work with this new Tamron 150-600 mm lens before arriving at Whitewater Draw. I have been impressed with the capabilities of this lens, its clarity and responsiveness. The features that appealed to me were many. I researched blogs and YouTube and heard many good reports of its capabilities and then made the decision to buy the lens for my birding adventures.