Choosing the Photo of the Week...

I've previously discussed the process of coming up with the Photo of the Week in previous blogs, but this last week highlighted how challenging it can be from time to time. Once again, here are the ground rules:

1) The photo had to be taken by me.

2) It had to have been taken anywhere befteen 12:01AM Saturday morning and 12:00PM Friday night of the given week.

3) There can only be one "Photo of the Week".

That's it; no requirement that it has to be a wildlife photo or landscape photo...

Having said that, some weeks it ends up being an easy task; other weeks I wrestle with the decision for sometime, though I kind of have a fourth rule that, if possible, I need to post the "winning" photo by the end of the day on the start of the following week (i.e Saturday). Sometimes, if I'm traveling, and away from the internet, then the posting takes place later, but since starting this, every week there is a new photo...

This past week was one of those where I had a number of candidates, and it seemed like every day, another photo was potentially in the running.

Starting on Saturday, October 10, there were a couple of photos that became candidates in my mind:

Great egret about to land in a tree.

Mallard making a lot of noise while flying.

Both photos were made while the birds were moving, which added to the difficulty in getting the shots.

Then on Sunday, October 11, I got these shots:

A snowy egret in the act of landing in Alameda Creek

A black-necked stilt landing in Alameda Creek

Both these shots involved capturing a moment in time, while showing crisp detail and reflections in the water. At this point, I was kind of leaning toward the black-necked stilt shot.

But on Monday, October 12, I saw this:

A local nesting pair of bald eagles together, perched in a tree near Alameda Creek. These birds have their nest at Ardenwood Farms Park, several miles away, but now that this year's chicks have fledged, they spend more time ranging around the area.

A bushtit stops momentariy on a shrub in Quarry Lakes Recreational Area. These birds are very difficult to photograph, as they are almost constantly in motion.

On Tuesday, October 13, I captured these images:

Sunrise over Lagos los Osos, in Quarry Lakes Recreational Area.

A beautiful pair of western grebes in the water, with a nice reflection.

A double-crested cormorant shortly after taking off from the lake. Again, a nice, crisp image witha nice reflection in the water.

On Wednesday, October 14, another rare event:

This is the first time I've seen a fox along the Alameda Creek Trail!

Another nice sunrise photo, this time with some nice sun rays... this day, had an impressive share of great images.

Another cool photo of a bushtit next to some wildflowers.

A greater yellowlegs going after something in the creek.

A belted kingfisher dives off a tree, down to the creek. I find these birds to be very challenging to shoot, as they don't hang around in any spot too long, and trying to get them in focus in the air can be very tricky.

Something had spooked the American coot (foreground bird) and the two mallards, and I managed to capture them in the act of flying off.

Male and female mallards flying together. Crisp detail and nice coloration.

Ripening strawberry tree (arbutus unedo) fruit on the tree. Fantastic range of vibrant colors and pin sharp focus.

On Thursday, October 15, only one photo that day made into contention:

A snowy egret in Alameda Creek; great lighting and a nice reflection, even if the mallard did photobomb the image.

On Friday, October 16, two more images were of note:

Sunrise over Lagos los Osos, in Quarry Lakes Recreational Are. Smoke from nearby wildfires added color to the dawn skies.

Fishing in the morning; a Clark's grebe successfully catches a fish just after sunrise. In the end, I selected this last photo as photo of the week. It captured a moment in time; the lighting is really neat, as the bird and fish are back-lit by the early morning sun, and the color in the water is an added bonus.

Do you have a different photo than the one I selected in mind? Let me know in the comments...