I just recently updated my Facebook banner pic to something that’s in steady rotation. One of my absolute favorite photos I’ve taken, I love it, but it does have another meaning:

I love his happy grin, and the reflection on the water. But also…the fact that this almost didn’t happen.

We were on a road trip through Cajun country that was to end up in Lake Charles. Over the course of a long weekend we meandered all over the place, ate some amazing food in little hole-in-the-wall type places, and generally unplugged.

While on some country road in the middle of who knows where, I yelled for Charlie to pull over right now…rightnowRIGHT NOW!

I had spotted a tree- SEVERAL trees- full of roseate spoonbills- they look something like flamingos, with long legs and beautiful pink plumage. Having never seen one in person before I was hopping out of the car with the camera as soon as he’d (more or less) stopped.

The tree was pretty far back from the road, though, and I was trying to figure out how close I could get without spooking them. Edging closer while focusing on (har!) what I was seeing through the lens, I kept shooting.

Until Charlie grabbed me by the arm. Hard. When I glared, he just shrugged and pointed down. “It’s up to you if you want to keep going, but I’d advise against.”

One step further and I’d have set foot into the marsh, which I suddenly realized had a higher concentration of gators then I’d ever seen. In looking up at the birds I’d missed what was at my feet- both in terms of danger and beauty.

That pic was by far the best one I caught that day. In the end, I didn’t get anything spectacular, bird wise, though finding a wild flock was still magical but it remains a reminder to stop and actually look at what’s going on around you before moving forward.

Some other pics from the day: