Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Photography on June 2 2015, by Patricia Gonzalez
Patricia Gonzalez is an NYBG Visitor Services Attendant and avid wildlife photographer.
I shot this photo in the wetlands of the Native Plant Garden on April 12 of this year. It’s great that these wetlands are attracting all manner of wildlife, including this mallard drake.
Shortly before the Native Plant Garden opened to the public, my department was given a tour. That’s where we learned that when mallards and other ducks fly into the water for a swim, they also carry in fish eggs that have stuck to their feet during visits to other bodies of water. How cool is that? The fish eggs hatch and populate the new location, and the circle of life continues.
![Mallard](https://www.nybg.org/blogs/plant-talk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/mallard.jpg)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) – Photo by Patricia Gonzalez
Posted in Wildlife on May 26 2015, by Patricia Gonzalez
Patricia Gonzalez is an NYBG Visitor Services Attendant and avid wildlife photographer.
This Red-tailed Hawk was found lurking in the Wetlands during my lunch break on April 26 of this year. I noticed him while walking along the Wetlands trail—he was staring intently at some nearby squirrels. A number of visitors caught sight of him as well and we all began snapping away with our cameras.
At that point I had to leave him to get back to my post; whether or not he made one of those squirrels his snack, I don’t know.
![Red-tailed Hawk](https://www.nybg.org/blogs/plant-talk/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/IMG_0912b-1024x687.jpg)
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) – Photo by Patricia Gonzalez
Posted in People, Photography on April 29 2015, by Patricia Gonzalez
Patricia Gonzalez is an NYBG Visitor Services Attendant and avid wildlife photographer.
In the 21st century, a smartphone is no longer just a convenient thing to have on hand if you need to make a call away from home. It is an invaluable tool for the wildlife photographer. I never leave home without it!
Read on for three downloadable apps that I use during my treks at The New York Botanical Garden to address three of the primary concerns of every wildlife and nature photographer.
Sunrise
We shutterbugs are chasers of light. Knowing the exact time the sun comes up and goes down is crucial if I want to get some early morning sky shots before I go in search of wildlife or some late afternoon images when the forest is a beautiful golden brown color. For this I use the full version of Sundroid.
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Posted in Photography on April 2 2015, by Lansing Moore
What does this guy find so sweet about our trees?
![NYBG squirrel mitsubishi wild wetland trail](https://www.nybg.org/blogs/plant-talk/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/0415-squirrel-1200x794.jpg)
Along the Mitsubishi Wild Wetland Trail – Photo by Patricia Gonzalez
Posted in Photography, Wildlife on March 16 2015, by Patricia Gonzalez
Patricia Gonzalez is an NYBG Visitor Services Attendant and avid wildlife photographer.
This year marks the eighth year that I’ll be photographing wildlife here at the New York Botanical Garden. I first began visiting the Garden grounds in 2008. I was so impressed with all the different types of wildlife that I soon became a Member. In 2012, I signed on as a Volunteer Greeter with Visitor Services. Later that same year, I was asked to join them as staff. The rest, as they say, is history.
During all this time, I’ve never stopped shooting. I bring my camera to work every day and try to do some shooting before and after my shift. I also visit the Garden on my days off to get in some extra daylight. Naturally, I have an advantage working at the Garden as I can get in before we open to the public. This leaves entire swaths of the Garden all to myself. Through the years, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some amazing members of the animal kingdom. Here are a few of them.
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Posted in Photography on February 27 2015, by Matt Newman
A somewhat more rarefied visitor to the Garden grounds than our Red-tailed Hawks, Pat tells us the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden and the surrounding Wetlands are often good spots to see these regal raptors.
A Cooper’s Hawk in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden – Photo by Patricia Gonzalez
Posted in Photography on December 23 2014, by Lansing Moore
After the longest night of the year this past weekend, here’s a little reminder that it is always darkest just before the dawn.
![Patricia Gonzalez Native Plant Garden](https://www.nybg.org/blogs/plant-talk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/1214-pat-gonzalez-npg-1200x900.jpg)
Near the Native Plant Garden – Photo by Patricia Gonzalez
Posted in Photography on September 26 2014, by Lansing Moore
![Patricia Gonzalez Perennial Garden NYBG](https://www.nybg.org/blogs/plant-talk/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/0914-perennial-gonzalez-570x428.jpg)
In the Perennial Garden – Photo by Patricia Gonzalez
Posted in Photography on September 16 2014, by Lansing Moore
![Patricia Gonzalez Dragonfly](https://www.nybg.org/blogs/plant-talk/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/0914-Pat-Gonzalez0dragonfly-675x9001.jpg)
Dragonfly in the Home Gardening Center – Photo by Patricia Gonzalez
Posted in Photography on September 5 2014, by Matt Newman
![Home Gardening Center](https://www.nybg.org/blogs/plant-talk/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IMG_3798b-760x1024.jpeg)
Helen’s Garden for the Senses in the Home Gardening Center – Photo by Patricia Gonzalez