Recently I spent a day with Nate Clarke (@nate_clarke) and Chris Payne (@paynecr) in the Texas Hill Country, doing our best to document a flock of Cliff Swallows in the Frio River Canyon. It was a day spent crouching alongside shallow mud puddles and sometimes shooting on a long lens out of the back of our rented minivan. It required long periods of sitting completely still, waiting and hoping for a Cliff Swallow to appear, and gave me a tremendous amount of respect and appreciation for full-time wildlife shooters. They must have a deep reservoir of patience to drink from while they wait...and wait..and wait...
Here's the result of our efforts:
“The river is the ruling presence of this place. Here one is always under its influence. … But of all the creatures, except the fish, I think the swallows enjoy the river most. Whole flocks of barn swallows and rough wings will spend hours in the afternoon and evening circling and dipping over the water, feeding, bathing, drinking—and rejoicing, too, as I steadfastly believe, for I cannot imagine that anything could fly as splendidly as the swallows and not enjoy it.” Wendell Berry, The Long-Legged House
This short piece is part of a larger project I've been shooting with Nate and Chris called The Box Canyon Sessions, coming soon.