A little birdie told me.....Through Facebook!

I was perusing Facebook a while back and a long lost friend of mine from high school had posted a photo of a little bird he had taken while at the beach.  It was as if the bird was tweeting to me.  I kept going back and looking at it with amazement.  I was struck by what a perfect picture my friend had taken.

It seemed ironic to me that my friend, whom I recall to be a big strong macho guy, former football teammate of mine, saw the beauty in this tiny little bird!  It didn’t take long for me to realize it would make a great painting.  The reflection of the bird off the thin layer of saltwater, resulting from the retreating surf, is mirror like.  The scattered air bubbles in the water are almost cloud like.  The purplish-blue shadow cast by this delicate creature completes the composition and creates a most captivating photograph.

I struck up a conversation through Facebook with my old friend after over 30 years of being out of touch because of his perfect photo of a sandpiper.  His choice of the little bird to photograph (and post) I found telling.  We have become reacquainted through our mutual admiration of wildlife.  I learned what a softy at heart my old friend is and it was all through Facebook! 

Since all this, I have been to the beach and done my own photography, chasing the little sandpipers up and down the beach.   They are fascinating to me.  I have visions of capturing these mesmerizing birds on canvas in the near future. 

Here is the photo of the little guy that my friend took.  Hopefully my painting is soon to follow!