Birds and Cacti

Here are a few selects.  I've whined about not having my Lightroom software to edit the images properly so these are not to a standard, nor, I fear, are they particularly compelling. I haven't felt that sensation that I was really 'on to something' during my time here in Argentina and Chile.  While some images are ok as reportage very few are striking I think. In any case, here is a wee gallery of some 'moments'. Maybe they will provide a sense of place and atmosphere.

The birds, mostly vultures, were taken on a beach a bit north of Los Vilos in a wetland preserve.  The cacti were in a sere field near Socos - about halfway between Los Vilos and La Serena near the Pacific coast. Careful inspection reveals that all cacti are not the same.  There were young, supple ones, strong, middle-aged ones and rotting, parched, insect-riddled ones. I could relate to the latter. The red flowers are not visible from the highway as one flies past.  Getting out and kicking around the gravel and dust, smelling the flinty air with a distant spoor of creosote was a visceral pleasure. 

As for the vultures I am not sure who was more interested in the other - I might have looked like easy game with my distinct hobble and dusty cane. There were enough of them that if it came to a battle I am not sure I would have been victorious. Luckily they are not predators but scavengers.


Again,if you click on the pix they become large enough to reveal some details.  Then you can right and left click to view the lot kind of like a slide show.