Happy end of April! I hope it was a wonderful month filled with themes of spring and warmth and new beginnings.

The image above is a macro view of a blue and yellow macaw titled ‘The Blues.” These beautiful and colorful birds are found in tropical Central and South America, as well as certain islands and in the Caribbean. The blue and yellow macaw can live up to 35 years in the wild and is listed as a species of least concern by Birdlife International. So we get to enjoy this stunning species well into the future. Let’s keep it that way!

Obviously these birds are not native here in Florida. But they’re often found at animal conservation areas as well as local zoos. This particular macaw is from the Palm Beach Zoo, located in Palm Beach, just east of I95.

As an animal and nature photographer, I thoroughly enjoy photographing animals in the wild. However, I equally enjoy visiting well-known and trustworthy zoos and local animal conservation organizations in order to photograph the animals there. In my mind, every animal deserves photographic recognition and admiration, from the lifetime zoo resident to the wild bird in the Everglades.

I recently made this image into a 30x30 acrylic piece of artwork. ‘The Blues’ will be on display along with two other 30x30 tropical bird photographs at the Palm Beach Gardens City Hall later in the month of May. This is a solo exhibit so I will also have about ten other works inside the building.

As an upgraded subscriber, please feel free to download ‘The Blues’ from this page. Or I can also send it your way. Please send me an email at lara.chapman@theneighborlyfl.com.

Happy end of February! I do sincerely hope it was filled with hearts and kisses and love and lots of special Valentines. It’s also a leap year so we get 366 days this year rather than the 365, and our sweet month of February is awarded the extra 24 hour bump.

The image above is a very pink and peculiar Roseate Spoonbill. If you’ve never seen one of these wading birds before, I’m sorry. Because you need to. They are some of the most fantastic birds to walk and fly the earth. You can find them in both salt and fresh water areas such as marshes, lagoons, ponds, or mudflats.

During the 1800s, most of these birds were either hunted for their feathers or forced to leave their natural habitats during the land boom. Thankfully they have come back but are still considered less common and not always easy to find.

This bird was found in Wellington Florida within Peaceful Waters Sanctuary, a lovely 30-acre wetland park with walking trails and a variety of wildlife. I very rarely see spoonbills there, however, so this one was a treat.

The photograph is available as a high resolution file for all my upgraded subscribers. Thank you for upgrading and supporting my work.

**If you’re interested in receiving a ‘Photo of the Month’ each month in your inbox, please check out the upgrade options or email me at lara.chapman@theneighborlyfl.com.

It’s nearly the end of January 2024, and by now, those resolutions are in full swing or at a full stop. Or, maybe you were like me this year, and never made a resolution to begin with. Either way, I do hope your new year is going absolutely smashing.

This image is of a Great Egret, taken on my recent trip to Anna Maria Island. This beautif…

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It’s the last day of November in the year 2023 and your photo of the month has now arrived… in the nick of time.

This is an image of a purple iris, taken in my flower bed, in the year 2019. As you can tell, the photograph is highly edited for artistic value and is the result of a vision that emerged during the creative process. One such edit was to transform the flower into a mirror image of itself, with an emphasis on angles, lines and deep penetrating color.

The title of the image is ‘Virility.’ By definition, virility refers to manhood, masculinity and procreation. So often we attribute flowers and petals to women and gift giving during romantic holidays. But in the natural world, the male reproductive parts of the flower —the filament and the anther—produce the pollen and are responsible for the fertilization carried out by wind, insects, birds, and others. This is indeed a noble trait, being that it perpetuates the survival of many species, through the production of pollen and sperm cells, spreading from flower to flower, on and on.

The term virility is to men what fertility is to women. And to me, it was the most obvious name to give this photograph. It is strong, sturdy, and full of vigorous life.

The photograph is available as a high resolution file for all my upgraded subscribers. Thank you for upgrading and supporting my work.

**If you’re interested in receiving a ‘Photo of the Month’ each month in your inbox, please check out the upgrade options or email me at lara.chapman@theneighborlyfl.com.

Happy last day of November 2023!

Lara

Better late than never. My apologies for sending out the Photo of the Month this far out in October.

Allow for me to introduce you to Archimedes, a barn owl that I met a few years ago. This fantastic bird of prey previously lived in McCarthy’s Wildlife Sanctuary and his caretaker, Manny, generously allowed for me to come in, on special assign…

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Welcome to September 2023! The photo for this month was selected just for you and in celebration of all things September.

“Bodies Have Wings” is an abstract image of monarch butterfly wings. I chose to create a macro photograph of the butterfly because I wanted to show more intimate details while also instilling a sense of intrigue.

Th…

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Summer is coming to end but not in Florida. It’s always summertime in Florida and our tropical birds are loving every minute of warmth and sunshine. This photograph was taken February 25, 2021 during the height of winter here in the Sunshine State. Can’t you tell how freezing it is by the looks of this image?

Most of you know by now my

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This photograph is titled The Monument and I took it while visiting Washington D.C. in January of 2020, pre-covid and months before the summer riots that left several monuments and structures in the capitol destroyed, defaced and threatened with removal or being renamed.

Peaceful, yet oddly ominous when consider…

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This photograph was taken a few years ago in Orlando, Fl. A crew of several white birds, from ibis to egrets were sitting on top of a tiny cafe building located in Disney World near the Haunted Mansion ride. If my memory serves correct, there were at least one dozen wild birds hovering over the crowds, preening and may…

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Part of the vibrant and colorful Rainbow Lorikeets, a species found in the rainforests and woodland areas in Australia, these are medium size birds, typically about 12 inches in length, and they often travel together in pairs…

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You’re most likely unaware of my flamingo obsession, but it’s bad, really. And I try to…

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