When call of the Loon breaks my early morning sleep I know it is time to pop out of bed, grab a snack, some water and my camera. The kayak is waiting for me on the dock as I slowly slip it into the water and head off in search of the sound makers.
I am fortunate to have a house on a lake that welcomes Loons every summer. For the past 7 years I have had the opportunity to spend dozens of hours and captured many thousands of frames of these stunning creatures.
Sliding silently through the water allowed me to observe and capture Loons in various acts of natural behavior. A rare opportunity to live through my own personal nature show.
I have observed a pair of adults nesting and caring for their kids; fighting among rival unwelcome visitors; one day old babies taking their first swim, being fed by their parents and losing their fuzz on the way to adulthood. I’ve also shared sad moments like when an adult had a fishing hook embedded in its beak and when the couple lost a baby and were crying as they desperately searched everywhere for it.
More importantly I am grateful that they invited me into the family to observe, share and capture some amazing moments with them.
These images included include a variety of the scenes I captured over the years, I hope you enjoy them.
About Mark
Mark Lachovsky is a self-taught photographer. Born in Montreal, where he has lived all his life, Mark’s first experience with photography was in high school working on the year book. Moving through university, he gained further experience working in various areas including freelance work with music magazines and University newspapers, writing and taking pictures.
Over the years Mark’s interest focused more on the beauty that nature has to offer. After, waiting for digital technology to improve to a level closer to that of slide film, Mark finally jumped into the digital world. Though there are positives and negatives to digital technology, the positives now outweigh the negatives particularly in terms of speed and flexibility.
Within the scope of nature, areas of interest include African wildlife, birds and the world beneath the oceans. Multiple visits to Africa provided opportunities to view a stunning variety of wildlife up close in their natural habitat. Mark has had the opportunity to photograph in other locations while traveling but spends a lot of time shooting wildlife in the Montreal area. In summers Mark is often out in his kayak in the early mornings looks for the many local or migratory species to capture.
Other areas of interest include portraits of people (particularly in Africa), underwater and landscapes.
“The key in making images that stand out is capturing the essence of the subject. Ideally with warm light on the subject, eye contact, an unusual angle or expression and freezing that special moment in time allows for the viewer to be part of the experience.”
To view more of Mark’s work please visit: www.marklachovsky.com