Life is Wild - James Smith Photography

29/03/2026

Sandhill Crane, Platte River, NE

06/02/2026

06/02/2026

Pete Felten passed away peacefully on Wednesday evening. He was a treasure. I loved visiting his workshop and he would always let me take pictures and he even signed some things for me, which he thought was weird, but I loved it. He was an amazing artist, and I have so many of his pieces which I love. There were times when I would walk into his shop and see him finishing up a sculpture and say “how much you want for that Pete, I’ll buy it off of you right now.“ and then he would let me take a picture of him with the sculpture. He was warm and friendly and open, although he was never quite sure what to make of me ha ha. I always made sure to let him know how much I loved his rocking”Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” vintage T-shirt. He even gave us a tour of his home and his gardens. His sculptures are prominently found all over Kansas, and he will be remembered for a very long time, not only for his work, but for his generous and kind spirit. Rest in peace, sir.

Big thank you to Bruce Burkholder for taking such great care of him in his later years.

22/12/2025

A Young Western Meadowlark from the recent Audubon bird count.

21/12/2025

Yesterday I had the opportunity to participate in the annual Audubon winter bird count. I managed to clock in 13 rock pigeons, 274 European starlings, 16 Canada geese, 50 house sparrows, 13 Western Meadowlarks, 40 Eurasian doves and one northern flicker in four hours. Not a bad haul! And I learned that I can have a 5:00 AM alarm, 6 cups of coffee, (which is 43 cups short of a fatal dose) and have a great time all by myself in a field with my mobile field command post Subaru Outback.

09/11/2025

The Sandhill Cranes and Whooping Cranes are on the move! 

02/10/2025

"You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make". - Jane Goodall

02/09/2025

A young Mississippi Kite.

28/08/2025

A very young Mississippi Kite.

26/08/2025

A Mississippi Kite.