bradain bello photography

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One of the many abutilon blossoms thriving under our magnolia tree aglow in late afternoon sun.

Patience is often a highly understated and vastly important skill when photographing wildlife, whether waiting with a camera for hours to see if something will perch or going through thousands of slightly different photographs, whittling it down to the best. This image contrastingly required me to be able to capture something quickly. I had only the short period this young raptor allowed before flying away. Due to the hawk's youth, his plumage is black and white, with only his eye and the base of his beak yellow. The pattern displayed in the hawk is mimicked in the speed limit sign due to the salty air of Bodega Bay that eroded the sign.

Often, unconscious nature photographers irritate me with moving overly close to wild animals, including going off trails and even calling at birds. With this pelican, it wasn’t necessary to take even a step closer, as while walking at a public pond in Marin County, this pelican decided to swim towards where I was standing on a trail, taking photos of Bermuda buttercups, and began preening on a nearby rock. From this respectful distance, I watched as the pelican meticulously preened individual feathers with its elongated beak, eventually walking away while the pelican continued to move and dry its wings. Illustrating the necessity to not force art, especially of the natural world.

A common sight in my family garden, an Anna’s hummingbird is displayed in this photograph as a bust-style portrait. Surprisingly, nowhere near a feeder, I viewed this hummingbird perched on a leafless branch of a tree while taking a stroll through a local park. Due to the bright, overcast sky that day, the hummingbird’s iridescent, crowning red feathers were visible when he turned to a certain angle.

The camouflaged subject of this seemingly sepia-toned monochromatic image is only narrowed down to the common name of its genus, dancer damselflies, a contrast to many of the species present in my other images, which generally are named down to species identification. Species within the genus Argia typically have color differentiation between males and females, with males being brightly colored (often blue) and females presenting as duller or even shades of brown, as seen in this image. This damselfly is perched on a dying remnant of spring, allowing it to escape the view of most, appearing only to be an extension of the dried-out weed. Patterns present on this intriguing insect additionally mimic shadowing within the image.

Bodega Bay holds many memories of my family's commercial fishing. The crab pots paired with the Brewer’s blackbird echo my youth, reminding me of taking photographs from the boat.

While previously driving through Bodega Bay, attempting to spot species I hadn’t seen before, I would often ignore the seemingly unassuming blackbirds that would line the sides of main roads and areas near parks. Contrastingly, on this day, I was amazed at the discoloration present on what seemed to be a male Brewer’s blackbird. I then gave more attention and captured photographs of the molting male and the perched nearby beautifully brown female blackbird. Additionally, Brewer’s blackbirds are generally monogamous and mate for life, so these birds, as captured, likely represent love thematically and literally.

local nature photography of the Sonoma Valley and Bay Area

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portfolio
- overcast
- chiaroscuro florals
exhibitions
bio
contact

portfolio
overcast
chiaroscuro florals
overcast
chiaroscuro florals
exhibitions
bio
contact

local nature and garden photography of the Sonoma Valley and Bay Area

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