Today I spent some time in Sellwood Riverfront Park. I encountered a Peregrine Falcon and was able to get some nice shots. I also stopped by Willamette Park and took some pictures of the sunset off of the board walk.

I recently recorded with a group called the Out There Quartet. The project is an original jazz suite inspired by Hillsboro Public Art. The Music was composed by Dan Bosshardt and Joe Aloia. You can find more information about this project at danbosshardt.com. Here are some of my latest photos from my piano studio.

There is a thriving population of mallard ducks in Portland. There are many duck ponds that are protected and allow a safe habitat for these beautiful ducks. Male Mallards have feathers on their head that can change color. It can be green, blue, or purple depending on how the light hits it. This iridescence is caused by refraction of light waves. The feather structures split light into its component colors much like a prism. This can also be seen on the heads of male hummingbirds.

Read MoreMallard Gallery

Song Sparrows are beautiful but sometimes ignored by photographers because they lack the vibrant colors of other birds. They make up for their lack of flashy colors with their beautiful songs. I will sometimes record the song of s song sparrow on my phone. I will play back the recording and it will often attract the bird and allow me to get very close. This works with most song birds. Here is a series of song sparrow photos that I took today. I recorded it

Read MoreThe Song Sparrow

Why Become an affiliate for Jonswanservices.com? Firstly, you can earn some passive income. Secondly, you will become an ambassador to help promote the beauty of nature. I believe appreciation of nature is a prerequisite for conservation. Experiencing nature is a remedy for the ugliness of troubled times. It is easy and costs nothing to become an affiliate. To sign up, go to the affiliate area and fill out the form. After you submit your Information, you will get a referral link and QR code. As

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Jonathan Swanson is a music producer and pianist from Portland Oregon. Jonathan performs with his jazz trio around the Northwest. His music has been frequently featured on Portland’s local jazz radio station KMHD. Jonathan has helped record and engineer many of the segments for Lynn Darroch’s Grand Piano Series show featured on KMHD jazz radio. Here are some tracks featuring Jonathan on piano and vocals. Jonathan is also a songwriter and has recorded many original tunes . You can sample some of them with this

Read MoreThe Music of Jonathan Swanson

Jonathan Swanson enjoys photographing wildlife in Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge. Oaks Bottom is a perfect habitat for Great Blue Herons. Jonathan says “I think they are getting used to seeing me and my camera. I was also able to photograph some young Bald Eagles. There are few bald eagles nesting in Portland near the Willamette River. I look forward to the return of the Ospreys later in Spring. I will be making these photos available for download and royalty free use exclusively for my Members.

Read MoreWinter in Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge

The weather has been beautiful in Portland. It is expected to be that way for the next few days. Today I spend a few hours in Oaks Bottom and Willamette Park. Here are some of my favorite photos from today. Please consider signing up to become a member. You will have access to download high resolution files and my music. You will also help support my effort to share the beauty of nature with my photography.

The Mandarin duck is considered one of the top ten most colorful birds. I happened to come across one the other day in Happy Valley Oregon. Here are some of my photos from that session. I will be making more high resolution photos of this Mandarin Duck available to my members. The Mandarin duck is not native to Oregon. It most likely escaped from captivity and made friends with the mallards in a local pond. These photos are popular with my next-door neighbors. Here is

Read MoreThe World’s Most Colorful Duck?