I’m a night owl by nature so one of the hardest lessons in photography for me to take to heart is to be up early and often. The reptilian part of my brain does its best to get me to go back to sleep when the alarm clock rings, so some deeply buried part of my consciousness has to struggle with all its might to win out and get me up and out of bed.

While we were in Maine, it was a little easier to win that battle as I knew I had an opportunity to photograph creatures I’ve rarely seen since moving to the west coast. After visiting Gilsland Farm Audubon Center one afternoon, I returned four more times at sunrise and am glad I did, even if it left me pretty tired by the end of the trip. It was the third and fourth visits that yielded my best pictures, such as this wild turkey that visited to feed most of the mornings of my visit.

The lesson that I need to make the most of my opportunities was further driven home Friday evening, when I was deeply saddened to learn one of my favorite photographers was showing his final images. He picked up his camera for the last time in May as debilitating health problems have left him unable to hold his gear.

You never know.