Tag Archives: Thanksgiving

November 25, 2021 · 6:25 am

As A Photographer, I Am Thankful On This Day (And Every Day, Actually)

*A Thankgiving Toast to the ones that escaped the dinner table*

This was the best photo I could get of this rafter (flock) of wild turkeys seen out at the Columbia Hills Natural Area Preserve. Unlike the rafter of turkeys I encountered back in 2018 at Zion National Park, this group of birds was pretty skittish and flew (yes, wild turkeys can fly) away from me, scattering all over the place almost too far for my camera’s lens to get a decent shot.

As I sit here during the still-dark morning hours, sipping my nice, hot coffee from freshly-ground beans with a dash (ok, more than just a dash) of good ole fattening cream, I think about what I am thankful for on this day (good coffee is one of those things). I am thankful for much, not just on this day, but every day. However, Thanksgiving, like Christmas, tends to laser-focus one’s attention more on whatever it is that a particular holiday espouses.

As a photographer, I am certainly thankful for the fact that at 60 years of age (mentally, I’m still 30, btw), I am healthy enough, still, to take my cameras out and digitally capture the beauty, wonder, and ecosystems within the landscapes of the places I visit. I’m also thankful that I have venues in which I can write about and share with you and others these landscapes and the things within them that I photograph. Heck, for that matter, I’m thankful that cameras have come such a long way from my first HP-brand 2 mp digital camera (purchased from Walmart somewhere around 1999) in technological developments to allow me to render sharp, clear, detailed moments frozen in time. I could go on and on about cameras and computers and such, but you get the gist here.

On a more personal note, I am so very thankful for a roof over my head, clothing, and good food. I’m thankful to have a little bit of family left; my sister and I may squabble on occasion, but it’s sure nice to be with her. I missed out on so much from previous years that I am thankful for the time I have with her now.

For those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving, have a good holiday. For those of you who do not celebrate or even have this holiday, then just stop a moment to count your blessings. Don’t ever take for granted the good things you have and the wonderful experiences you encounter. I sure don’t.

Rebecca Latson, Where The Trails Take You Photography, LLC

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November 26, 2020 · 6:17 am

Happy Thanksgiving

Whew! Is the coast all clear? Can I safely do my turkey trot? Yup, you and your rafter (aka flock) of wild turkey friends in Zion National Park have made it to Thanksgiving Day intact. (I’m keeping mum about the not-so-lucky turkeys).

However you celebrate Thanksgiving – if you even mark it at all – please have a safe day and think about all the things for which you are thankful. I’m thankful for my family, a roof over our heads, food to eat, my cameras (of course), and that we all continue to be healthy within this pandemic (hope I haven’t jinxed anything).

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November 25, 2020 · 7:00 am

Looking Past Tomorrow’s Thanksgiving

*A Wild Turkey In Zion National Park (Utah)*

On my next-to-last day in Zion National Park, I happened upon a flock (actually, it’s called a “rafter”) of wild turkeys. I first encountered them along the road through the park and thought that was pretty cool and I was tickled to have seen them then. Then, during a hike where I was crossing the bridge from Sand Bench Trail toward the Court of Patriarchs, I found a flock – er – rafter – of them hanging out around a park maintenance building. I had the best time walking along with them, photographing them. They weren’t the least bit afraid of me and that’s where I learned they can actually fly – enough to get up into a tree, at least. Wild turkeys, for all their grizzled faces, are pretty cool birds to watch, and their feathers are beautiful.

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Tagged as bird, Canon, holiday, National Park, photography, Rebecca Latson Photography, Thanksgiving, travel, turkey, where the trails take you, wild turkey, winter, Zion National Park

November 28, 2019 · 7:52 am

Gobble, Gobble! Happy Thanksgiving!

Here’s to the one that got away and won’t be found on anybody’s dinner table 😉

For those of you who follow the tradition of Thanksgiving, it’s supposed to be a time of thinking about what you are thankful for in your life. It also is a time to enjoy the bounty of what the earth provides (aka lots of eating and snacking … and watching football).

I’m thankful for a gazillion things, such as my sister, having a roof over my head and food to eat and electricity and clean running water. I’m thankful for having moved back to a part of the U.S. that I love the most, and being back so close to the mountains that I’ve missed for the majority of my life. I’m also thankful for the invention of digital cameras and being able to own a few in order to capture beautiful / interesting images that tell a story and elicit emotion and share them with you all. I’m thankful for our national parks and hope nobody ever commercializes them (any more than they may already be). I could go on and on, but at least you know, I don’t take much for granted and try to find something good in every day.

As for the photo, this is a wild turkey that was roaming around with its flock (or whatever you call a group of wild turkeys) near a Park Service storage building along a trail near the Court of The Patriarchs. Those guys were not afraid of me at all. I should have been afraid of them because thtey were pretty darned big. I followed them around to get still images and video, and it was then that I learned they could fly. Well, from the ground up to a branch in a tree, which is where I photographed this guy (or gal). I also learned that they are very colorful and, despite their faces only a mother could love, are actually kinda pretty.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everybody!

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