Of all the kinds of photography, I think the one I appreciate the most is nature photography - more specifically, pictures of animals. In addition to having the right equipment to get the perfect shot, you also need to have patience, knowledge, and probably a little bit of luck. Jeff Basham is a photographer from northern Indiana, and one of his recent pictures exemplifies what I'm talking about.

Great Egret
Getty Images
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The picture is of a great egret, a bird that is described as "a tall, long-legged wading bird with a long, S-curved neck and long, dagger-like bill" (allaboutbirds.org). Jeff spotted the egret doing what egrets do, wading in or near shallow water to hunt fish, frogs, and other small aquatic animals.

Is It a Bird, or a Dragon, or a Ghost, or What?

Great Egret
Jeff Basham/JB Photo via Facebook
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The picture is unlike anything I've ever seen. For whatever reason, the great egret looks translucent and much of its skeleton is visible. I was trying to describe the photo to a friend, and the best analogy I could come up with was "imagine a bird in a wet t-shirt contest." That may be a little crude, but I'm not wrong. Ha!

Great Egret
Getty Images for Lumix
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I'm assuming Jeff wasn't trying to capture a picture just like this, but he had the right equipment, he was patient, he was in the right area, and he got a little lucky. Regardless of the circumstances, and even though I have no idea what is exactly going on, the picture is really cool. Some of the folks who commented have a great take on the picture.

  • One person described the picture as "eerie" which I think is the perfect word - it is beautiful and neat, but also kind of eerie and spooky.
  • Someone else said, "Cool...looks like one of the dragons on GOT (Game of Thrones)."
  • Another commenter said, "REMINDS ME OF THE ALIEN ON AN OUTER LIMITS EPISODE FROM THE 60s TITLED 'WOLF 359.'"
  • And someone else said perhaps the egret was "blocking the light/sun so it can see the fish in the water better."

Charming Quotes About Birds

I love watching my birdy boys outside. Here are some cute quotes that I found that sum up my newfound bird infatuation.

SEE: 15 Animals You Cannot Own in Evansville

I got the idea for this after seeing an article by Michelle Heart with our Townsquare Media sister-station, 107.9 Lite-FM in Boise, Idaho. She had discovered several animals residents in that city can't own based on city codes she found online which got me thinking about whether Evansville had any regulations that were similar. Obviously, they did or this article wouldn't exist. Chapter 14, Article 3, section 42 and 43 spell out a lengthy list of exotic animals you can get in trouble owning if local officials find out. You can see the entire list on the city's website. These are the 15 I found to be the most interesting.

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