Roxanne Stone Photography

Home
United States
Seabeck, WA
Roxanne Stone Photography

Wildlife & Nature Photographer Birds, Astrophotography, Landscapes

10/25/2026

He had a snack and she wanted it. Considering she was about 30% bigger than him, his options here were very limited.

Something curious about this moment - once she ate his snack, she started following him from fence post to fence post. She seemed a little young for romantic interactions, but she clearly had her eye on him for some reason.

Never a dull moment with these beautiful birds of prey.

Canon USA R5, RF 100–500mm + 1.4x Extender | 700mm, 1/5000 sec, f/10, ISO 800

10/18/2026

January 2021. Just outside Moab, Utah. And I had absolutely no idea how lucky I was.

I was very new to bird photography, and that winter there seemed to be bald eagles everywhere in Colorado and Utah. Having no frame of reference, I assumed this was normal. Surely every winter would be like this, right?

😂

I spotted this beautiful young bald eagle perched in a tree in the middle of a cow pasture. So naturally, I started trudging through the field, trying to get close enough for a photograph, not yet understanding the social graces between beauty and beast (make your own deductions there…)

And here’s the part that makes me laugh now. She let me.

She kept a curious eye on me, but never seemed particularly bothered by my presence. I spent a good 20 minutes photographing her before she finally decided she’d had enough of me and took flight.

And off I went, thinking, “I’ll come back tomorrow.”

TOMORROW. 😂

Oh, the blissful ignorance of a beginning bird photographer.

Five years later, I’ve upgraded my lens, my tripod, and my Photoshop skills (sort of 😂). I’ve learned a whole lot about bald eagles, including that this beauty was a subadult, a term I didn’t even know existed at the time.

And yet, I still come back to this photograph. It’s one of my favorites.

She’s fully grown now, if she has survived, and has a magnificent white head and tail. I could pass her in the wild today and never know it was her.

But I’ll always remember her.

And I’ll always remember that January afternoon, standing in a cow pasture outside Moab, completely unaware of just how extraordinary the moment was.

I keep seeing the forecast for this winter and anticipation of super El Niño and it’s really pi***ng me off. I can’t decide if it’s gonna be feast or famine where I am, but I remain hopeful. 🦅🦅

Canon USA R5, RF 800mm, f/11, 1/6400 sec, ISO 1600

bird

09/27/2026

I was scrolling the interwebs this morning and came across a Bruce Lee interview. He was asked, “How do you find peace?” He smiled and after a few beats said, “You don’t find peace. You choose it. By what you ignore. By what you release. By what you stop giving energy to. That’s the shift.” (I debate the authenticity of the quote, but I love the concept)

If you have ever experienced starlings, they move en masse. They can create something we call a murmuration. A murmuration is when a large flock of starlings flies together in those coordinated, flowing formations that seem to shift, ripple, and create shapes in the sky. This was the beginning of one.

What stands out to me is - as always - a bald eagle’s extreme focus and calm. This beauty did not flinch at the chaos that was forming around her. I don’t know what she had her sights set on - perhaps nothing - but she was most certainly choosing to ignore the chaos.

There are so many lessons in nature, and bald eagles are definitely my teacher of choice. 🦅🦅

Canon USA R5
RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM + RF1.4x 700mm | 1/3200 sec | f/10 | ISO 800

09/25/2026

Fresh off of taking a talon to the face (and just barely missing her eye) this girl was taking no prisoners. She was more interested in fighting than fishing. In my eyes, she’s Queen of this beach. Beautiful raptor.

09/24/2026

Sometimes the path of least resistance is the correct path.

Hummingbirds are famous for feeding on the wing, hovering in place while they drink—a remarkable ability that also requires a lot of energy.

But this little one found a better option.

Why hover when you can perch?

With a perfectly positioned branch beside the flowers, he settled in, leaned over, and drank without wasting energy he didn’t need to spend. Not something hummingbirds are known for 😂

I think this image struck me today, as most of the hummingbirds in my world have started their migrations south. I have not seen one in my backyard in three days. Here’s hoping they find the fuel they need for their journeys. As always, I can’t express the joy they brought me this summer. 💚

Canon USA R5 + RF100–500mm @ 500mm
1/1250 sec | f/7.1 | ISO 1600

colorado

09/22/2026

Male Costa’s hummingbird in early morning light in Scottsdale, Arizona. Photographed just after sunrise, when the light was still soft and cool, this little guy gave me a rare moment of stillness—and just enough light to reveal that spectacular crown and gorget.

The brilliant purple feathers on a male Costa’s hummingbird’s head and throat aren’t actually purple because of pigment. They’re iridescent structural feathers: microscopic structures within the feathers reflect and refract particular wavelengths of light. When the light strikes them at just the right angle, the crown and dramatically flared gorget can ignite into an almost electric violet-purple.

Change the angle between the hummingbird, the light, and the viewer, though, and those same feathers can look dark violet, gray, nearly black—or suddenly flash brilliant purple again. That’s why a male Costa’s can appear relatively subdued one second and absolutely jewel-like the next. In this frame, the early morning light caught portions of the crown and gorget beautifully, while other feathers remained darker, showing exactly how dramatically the iridescence changes with angle.

And considering the light, I had very little margin for movement (I mean, 1/320 sec. 😱🥴). Thankfully, he held perfectly still for a split second. Highly unusual for a Costa’s💜

Canon USA R5 RF100–500mm @ 500mm | 1/320 sec | f/7.1 | ISO 1600

09/20/2026

Broad-tailed hummingbird taking a wee break in my juniper bush - and feeling relaxed enough to get drowsy. She spent a few months in my backyard and got comfortable with me lurking around. One of the things I learned early on with my bald eagle photography - which applies to most birds: if you don’t act like a predator, they won’t act like prey. Trust can be established if you’re patient. 💚

Canon USA R5, RF 100-500mm

09/14/2026

Life advice from a hummingbird: Always check before you stick your beak somewhere.

One of my favorite things about photographing hummingbirds is catching the tiny interactions I don’t always see in the moment - I mean…things evolve QUICKLY with hummingbirds 😂 I was focused on her approach, her wings and getting the shot — and meanwhile, there was a bee sitting right in the flower she was headed toward. 🐝

Canon USA EOS R5
RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM
500mm | 1/8000 sec | f/7.1 | ISO 1600

09/13/2026

Desert hummingbirds are built different.

I caught this tiny jewel early one morning in Scottsdale, just as the rising sun was coming from behind him. The backlight wrapped his little body in gold while his spectacular purple crown and gorget flashed violet, indigo and magenta depending on the angle of the light.

Costa’s hummingbirds (Calypte costae) are tiny even by hummingbird standards, weighing only about 2–3 grams—roughly the weight of a penny. Males are unmistakable when the light catches them: that brilliant violet-purple gorget extends dramatically along the sides of the throat, creating the long, flared feathers that make this species so distinctive.

Costa’s are birds of the desert Southwest, found throughout parts of Arizona, California, Nevada, Baja California and northwestern Mexico. Their movements are more complex than a simple north-to-south migration. Many shift seasonally through desert and coastal habitats, with some populations moving north and into higher elevations for breeding before retreating toward warmer desert regions and Mexico as conditions change.

I love everything about the light in this photograph. Instead of fighting the backlighting, I let it become part of the portrait—the glowing rim around his feathers against that soft desert background makes that impossible purple look even more electric.

Canon USA EOS R5
RF100–500mm F4.5–7.1 L IS USM
500mm | 1/1600 sec | f/7.1 | ISO 3200

09/12/2026

Four years. FOUR YEARS I’ve had this bubble fountain. And…this summer it finally happened. 🥹

A hummingbird discovered it.

And apparently decided it was less “bird bath” and more personal bidet. 😂

He was absolutely getting after it—splashing, rubbing, fluffing, soaking himself—and I was standing there with my camera having the absolute time of my life. I was not prepared for this, and was shooting handheld, but my R5 did beautifully.

I’ve watched and photographed hummingbirds for years, but I had never seen one use this fountain. The completely ridiculous level of joy I experienced watching this tiny bird take his morning bath cannot be adequately explained.

Worth the four-year wait. ❤️

Canon USA EOS R5
RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM

Address

Seabeck, WA
98380

Website

http://www.roxannestonephotography.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Roxanne Stone Photography posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.