Pictorial Definition of Conspicuous Consumption

Not a pictorial definition of the way the two words are usually used together, but a pictorial definition of the literal meaning of the two words.

conspicuous - adjective - con.spic.u.ous
1: obvious to the eye or mind 2: attracting attention: Striking

consumption - noun - con.sump.tion
1: the act or process of consuming 2: the using up of a resource


Great Blue Heron - Fort Pickens Gulf Islands National Seashore - September 2014
Nikon D4, 300mm f/4 with 2x teleconverter
1/1600 sec at f/13, ISO 1600


Swainson’s Hawk - Squirrel Creek road (CO) - August 2015
Nikon D4, 500mm f/4 with 2x teleconverter
1/2500 sec at f/11, ISO 1250


David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit.